Prescott hockey arena permanently closed

PRESCOTT – The Town of Prescott, about 80 kilometers west of Cornwall, has abruptly shut down its hockey arena after a test of the facility’s ammonia cooling system failed.

The town council made the difficult decision Tuesday night to decommission the Leo Boivin Community Center following an emergency council meeting.

The town’s contractor was prepping the arena for the upcoming winter season when a test of the arena floor refrigeration system failed, indicating a leak somewhere.

Ammonia leaks have been taken very seriously since the 2017 deaths of three workers at a rink in Fernie, B.C. A rink in Goderich, Ont. also had to close this month due a similar situation.

Prescott Mayor Brett Todd had hoped they would get a few more years out of the building as a new community center is built. “All we can do now is redouble our efforts and build a new Leo Boivin Community Center.”