LOUISDALE - After a series of delays related to everything from the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying social-distancing regulations to on-site infrastructure issues, Richmond Arena is finally re-opened for ice rentals and minor sports programs. 

Richmond County's Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Don Marchand, confirmed the re-opening at the county's Committee of the Whole meeting in Arichat, while took place the night before an opening date that has been repeatedly delayed over the past two months. 

During September's Committee of the Whole meeting, a consensus was reached to stick with the original council decision to delay re-opening the facility for public sports programs until the end of October. However, Marchand noted that arena staff detected the presence of mold in some portions of the facility's bleachers, resulting in the need to keep the public out for the following week. 

"The arena staff were already in there, preparing the ice and actually making ice," Marchand recalled. "So we then engaged a firm to do some testing on the mold and determine what it was, and whether it was safe or unsafe. It came back and [the report] said that it wasn't a dangerous mold, but it would impact anybody that had a breathing issue."

"We proceeded to get the work done, and it was completed, but that all takes time, and that pushed the arena opening back even further."

While Richmond Arena is now open to the public, the CAO noted that one of the facility's washroom areas has been cordoned off, and staff working in the arena's Zamboni room have been asked to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) while carrying out their daily duties. 

This fall's arena-opening delays prompted the president of the Strait Richmond Minor Hockey Association (SRMHA), Angie Matheson, to issue a statement on social media in September. Matheson's comments drove home the association's disappointment with council's decision and announced that the group's minor hockey programs would take place exclusively at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre until the Richmond Arena's November re-opening date. 

When TELILE 24/7 reached out to the SRMHA for comment, an official with the association - who asked not to be named - described this delay as "inconvenient" but also insisted that "we are happy to get back on the ice."