Chatham-Kent residents who want to take their recreational activities inside this winter may soon have a place to go.
Councillor Karen Kirkwood-Whyte is bringing forward a motion during Monday night's meeting that no ice be installed at Thames Campus Arena in Chatham this winter to accommodate non-ice activities for the 2020-2021 season.
The issue of ice in Chatham-Kent arenas has been a hot topic during council meetings over the past month.
During the November 9 council meeting, recommendations from staff were approved to temporarily remove the ice from Erickson Arena in Chatham and Bothwell Arena and convert them each into a multipurpose facility to accommodate pickleball, indoor soccer, volleyball and ball hockey.
However, the decision was reversed by council on November 23 after an outcry of concern from ice user groups who had already paid to use the two arenas for the upcoming season, including the Bothwell Skating Club, Chatham Ringette and minor hockey leagues.
The ice at Thames Campus was previously removed for repairs and set to be installed in time for the proposed repurposing of the two arenas.
Although the idea of repurposing Erickson and Bothwell Arena drew some criticism from ice user groups, Kirkwood-Whyte said the thought of having a place for dry-land activities garnered a large amount of interest.
A petition was also recently created in support of repurposing Thames Arena for indoor sports, which has collected over 320 signatures in four days.
"They're extremely excited about the possibility of being able to use the facility," said Kirkwood-Whyte. "Given the fact that there are a number of folks that are playing pickleball that are not going south for the winter, looking for opportunities to stay active, this is a real opportunity for them. This is an opportunity for folks to stay active and get out of the house. Given the fact that we haven't had much opportunity to do that over the last few months."
According to Kirkwood-Whyte, she has been in close contact with individuals who represent pickleball and tennis groups. On Friday, she toured Thames Arena with dry-land user groups and municipal staff to get an understanding of how the repurposing would work.
She added that according to municipal staff, there are 119 hours available for use at Thames Campus, and that the municipality has already received interest for 87 of the 119 hours.
"It's not going to be very difficult to create full capacity for the arena," she said.
Kirkwood-Whyte said she plans to present a few questions during Monday night's discussion to get a clear picture from municipal staff about the costs and revenue associated with the repurposing.
