Opening of Fort-Coulonge arena delayed due to mechanical failure

Opening of Fort-Coulonge arena delayed due to mechanical failure

The committee in charge of the Centre de Loisirs des Draveurs Century 21 Élite announced earlier this week that the opening of the arena would be delayed by around three weeks due to issues with their refrigeration system.

Committee member Christine Bourque explained that they had just replaced their condenser and when they turned on the system, they discovered that brine water was leaking. She said that after weighing their options, they decided to replace the parts rather than patch them, which comes at a cost of roughly $78,000.

She said that they had managed to save some money originally budgeted for the condenser installation, which will be put toward the new expense, but added that they would have to have fundraise. She added that the company they hired is already working to replace the piping, with an estimated finish date of November 7, and the ice will go on as quickly as possible after, resulting in a delay of roughly three weeks. This will have an impact on both the Fort-Coulonge Minor Hockey Association and the Pontiac Senior Comets, who had planned their home opener for October 26.

She encouraged the public to donate to both organizations to help them with any additional costs associated with finding ice time elsewhere.