The solution to ice-time shortages for St. Albert hockey teams and other users might lie in synthetic ice instead of another arena.
City council on Monday night approved a hastily assembled motion by Mayor Nolan Crouse to put $10,000 towards a two-week synthetic ice trial that has been arranged by the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association (SAMHA).
The opportunity for the trial came about when SAMHA started doing its own research on artificial ice surfaces. It contacted Eclipse Sports in Cambridge, Ont. during its research. The company subsequently offered a trial period, said John Glass, SAMHA’s vice-president of administration.
“The company has offered to provide us with a portion of a rink to have our residents test out and see what they think of it as a product,” Glass said.
The trial will run from Aug. 31 to Sept. 11. The ice will be installed at one of the fieldhouses at Servus Credit Union Place during that period. Eclipse will ship the product and an installer to St. Albert for the trial. The costs to St. Albert will be approximately $13,500 for the trial plus the cost of shipping the surface back.
SAMHA and the city will share the costs of the trial. Servus has already agreed to host the trial. SAMHA wants the community as a whole to give the synthetic surface, which will measure 53 feet-by-53-feet, a try.
“The fact of the matter is there is an opportunity that doesn’t come along very often that minor hockey has been working on for several weeks,” said Crouse.
Synthetic ice is made of special polymer or plastic pieces that are fitted together to form a large surface that allows skaters to glide. The contact between skate and synthetic surface is pretty much similar to skating on a normal ice surface, but with some added drag, Glass said.
SAMHA president Dave Bell confirmed the extra effort required by going for a skate out in Ontario recently and sending in his thoughts by e-mail.
“As we’ve been told, all aspects of puck control, shooting, passing and skating can be accomplished on synthetic ice however, with the added drag, one is reminded of the additional effort,” Bell wrote.
Consequently, a synthetic surface probably wouldn’t be suitable for playing an actual hockey game, Glass said, but it could be used for practice or recreational skating.
“It is not well-suited for game play but it is well-suited for building skills and it’s an alternative that is much less costly than building a rink facility,” Glass said.
The city does have a new ice surface at Servus Place penciled into its 10-year capital plan in 2019-2020, but the cost is pegged at roughly $12 million.
“So to do some research into it now does make some sense,” said Crouse. “There’s even some discussion it has the potential to be put on an outdoor rink with a canopy.”
But there is also the cost of how much ice time outside of St. Albert SAMHA is forced to buy to meet its needs. An internal audit of the 2012-2013 hockey season found the association purchased approximately 85 hours of ice time per week outside of St. Albert, adding up to $461,550 in costs. St. Albert Ringette spent $39,000 for ice outside St. Albert as well. SAMHA says that means they are roughly one ice surface short of accommodating all users.
