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Clairmont Arena (Photo from the Clairmont Community Arena Facebook page)
clairmont arena

Clairmont Arena to stay closed for remainder of the winter recreation season

Jan 7, 2020 | 3:13 PM

The Clairmont Arena is to remain closed for the 2019/2020 season, says the County of Grande Prairie.

The arena is owned and operated by the Clairmont & District Agricultural Society.

The County says a recent inspection of the arena confirmed that the facility will need to stay closed for the remainder of the winter recreation season.

Cindy Trudel, President of the Clairmont & District Agricultural Society, says most of the user groups who have been displaced have found somewhere else to go.

“Sexsmith, Wembley, Grovedale, I do believe a few went the Coca Cola Centre. I haven’t gotten any reports that people haven’t found ice, I believe there might be a couple of teams out there, but my arena manager has done a spectacular job at placing everybody.”

The County of Grande Prairie was notified by the Clairmont & District Agricultural Society of the closure on December 3, 2019, due to a leaking roof and potential safety concerns. The County then approved funding of $9,850 towards a structural study of the arena on December 9, 2019.

The study was completed by SPA Engineering in December, and results are expected early this year.

“We appreciate the Ag Society’s efforts in working with the displaced user groups as winter programs are very important to our community,” says Reeve Leanne Beaupre in a media release. “I would also extend my sincere appreciation to the operators of the other facilities in the region who have come together to help find space for the displaced groups. It is great to see the community collaborate to help ensure these programs can continue until this situation can be resolved.”