More than half of the seats inside the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre are due to be replaced next year.
Owen Sound council will meet next week to discuss the city’s multi-year capital plan, and there’s a report on the agenda concerning some upgrades planned at the Bayshore in 2027.
The report says the arena still has 1,870 seats original to the 1983 building, as well as 40-year-old plywood sheets for an ice cover — a flooring system placed over the ice surface to enable non-ice event use.
“The sheets of plywood have deteriorated heavily over time due to the repeated installation, removal, and exposure to moisture. The ongoing wear has resulted in visible damage, including warping, splintering, and surface degradation,” Owen Sound’s Manager of Arena Operations Ryan Gowan says in a report. “In January 2022, the City hosted a vaccine clinic on the floor, using the plywood floor. After one morning of use, the decision was made to move the clinic to the Bayshore lobby, as the gaps, warping, and overall condition of the floor posed too great of a risk for continued use for another nine days.”
“Similarly, the arena bowl seating is well past its expected useful life. Due to the age and prolonged use, the seating consistently experiences breakage and failure. Replacement parts are no longer manufactured … the ability to complete proper and safe repairs is limited,” Gowan continues. “During the hockey season, staff regularly fix one to two seats following every Owen Sound Attack game, though with limited to no parts, these are often short-term band-aid fixes.”
The seat replacements will cost an estimated $588,000.
A new, modern ice-cover system custom-fit to the Bayshore arena floor is $230,000.
“The city and Owen Sound Attack ownership meet annually to discuss the Bayshore lease agreement and planned capital expenditures,” Gowan says in his report. “This project as well as other planned capital at the Bayshore will be on a future agenda at which time cost-sharing or use of existing ticket surcharge allocations may be considered.”
The report says the new arena ice-cover system and seats would be purchased early next year.
The work to replace the seats inside the Bayshore would be completed sometime from May to August 2027.
The Bayshore is home to the Ontario Hockey League’s Owen Sound Attack during the winter months, and is used in the spring and summer by Owen Sound North Stars lacrosse.