Dick Ellis Rink closing causing controversy

By Laine Sedore

The Dick Ellis Rink has been causing a lot of controversy lately. Hockey associations around the area are upset at Belleville city council’s decision to reprieve the use of the Dick Ellis Rink. Photo by Laine Sedore.

Hockey associations around the area are upset at Belleville city council’s decision to reprieve the use of the Dick Ellis Rink.

Vince Pannetta the president of the Quinte Red Devils, said that Belleville is in the same position they were in before they built the multiplex.

“At the end of the day Belleville has built two new rinks, but they haven’t increased their ice capacity. Because if they close the Memorial and they close the Dick Ellis we’re in exactly the same spot we were before the new rinks were built,” he said.

Simon Chapelle, a director for the Belleville Minor Hockey Association, said the closure of the Dick Ellis would hurt minor hockey.

“It’s unfortunate that council is mothballing it after the 12th, so there is a bit of a nail in the coffin, that after March 12th the Dick Ellis will be no longer,’” he said “We will be back to four ice pads and rep teams and other girls rep teams who require the additional ice for practices will have to continue sourcing ice outside the city of Belleville.”

It was in the initial Belleville Multiplex Recreation Community Centre plan to close the Dick Ellis and the Memorial Arena after the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre was built.

“In order to make that business model work and be successful we have to close the two other ice pads,” said Belleville councilor Taso Christopher.

On Monday, council voted to extend the use of the Dick Ellis Arena until March 12, 2012. After that, the rink will be decommissioned and no longer used as a hockey arena. Council still has yet to decide what the arena will be used for in the future.

The rink will no longer be in service following the completion of the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre, which adds two new ice pads to the area. Belleville has five ice pads which include, the Yardmen Arena, the Wally Dever, Rink A and Rink B at the Multiplex and the Dick Ellis.

Pannetta said decommissioning the Dick Ellis wouldn’t pose any problems this year.

“Potentially if we’re going to have a problem it will be in and around the September period for us,”

Panetta said that the Red Devils have kids from all over the Quinte region and try to spread the practices throughout the areas, but Belleville is the hub.

“When it was open we didn’t use a lot of the Dick Ellis ice, we used a lot of the Wally Dever and the Yardmen. But when the Dick Ellis is closed what it means is the teams that typically use the Dick Ellis, if it’s closed now they want more of the ice that we traditionally use,” he said.

Chappelle said all he wants is ice availability in Belleville.

“This is somewhat of a board initiative, but it is also an initiative that’s driven by the desire as manager of a minor atom A team, that I cant find ice’” he said.

Both Pannetta and Chapelle  said the real problem is getting ice time during weeknights.

“There are sometimes available ice on Saturdays or Sundays, but my teams are going to be travelling to Ajax, Whitby or Oshawa. So I can’t book a practice the same time they’re going to be playing an away game,” Chapelle said.

“The real crunch is weeknights, there’s lots of ice on weekends, but it’s very difficult for us to practise on weekends because most the teams are playing. The crunch is always weeknight ice which is prime time,” said Pannetta.

Chapelle said next year there are going to be problems finding ice time for all the user groups.

“Next year we’re going to run into the same problem. It becomes a juggling issue of, is Belleville Minor boys hockey more important than girls hockey. How do you rank that?” he said.

The Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre is located beside the Yardmen and the Wally Dever.  It was a $35-million dollar project funded by the Government of Canada, the Ontario Government and the taxpayers of Belleville.