Skating oval support heats up in Halifax

Support is growing to make the new Canada Games skating oval a permanent facility in Halifax.

Anonline petition to save the outdoor oval was launched Tuesday and hadgathered 1,250 names by Tuesday night.

Since the oval opened in the Halifax Common two weeks ago, thousands of people have visited for a skate and to check out the new facility.

Many would like to keep the oval year-round.

"Who wants to skate inside all the time, when you can come out and skate and enjoy the fresh air and laugh and carry on?" asked Fred Lauther, one of a large number of people skating at the oval Tuesday despite bone-chilling winds.

Lauther, who has already been to the oval five times, wants it to stay.

Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly agrees: "Let's look long term. Let's look beyond the Games and let's see how we can keep an asset that is great for family activity, great for a healthy environment."

Business owners launch petition

The group of local business owners who launched the online petition see the oval as a year-round complex for a variety of sports.

"Now what we can do in the summertime is maybe create a new sport, a new activity on the Commons," said Joachim Stroink. "Maybe it is [inline skating], maybe it is a track, you know, a rubber track around it for people to do their sprints and running."

The business community could help offset some of the operational costs to the municipality through sponsorship.

The six chillers at the oval cost $600,000 to install and would cost $500,000 to remove.

The chillers have been promised to other facilities, butKelly suggested the city could use money budgeted for their removal to buy new chillers to meet their agreements. That way, the city could simply leave the chillers at the oval.

The oval itself is having an economic impact; sports stores that sell and sharpen skates have been booming.

"We're sharpening over 50 pairs a day," said Patrick Brown with Source for Sports. "We're selling 10, 15, 20 pairs of skates a day.It's been great, compared to last year."

The oval will be used for the Canada Games from Feb. 11 to 27.