West Kildonan arena closed until further notice after machinery hits exterior wall

Posted on January 28, 2025 by Peggy

Hockey practices and games had to be cancelled at a north Winnipeg arena after machinery working outside caused structural damage leading to safety concerns.

The West Kildonan Memorial Community Centre was forced to close Monday until further notice, after a piece of machinery working outside the arena Friday night hit the corner of the building, said Bryan Huen, the president of the community centre’s volunteer board.

“We’re not happy, of course,” said Huen. “We’re running an arena for the local people, the kids and everything.”

Huen said the impact caused some structural damage to the interior of the building and that the board informed the city.

A City of Winnipeg spokesperson said an assessment was carried out by a professional structural engineer.

“It has been determined that operations at the arena site should be discontinued due to concerns with the integrity of the wall where the damage occurred and the emergency exit,” the city said in an email.

The arena site will be closed until further notice, but a daycare site in the building is not affected and is still open, the city said.

A note posted on the entrance to the West Kildonan arena dated Jan.27 is pictured. It says practices are cancelled and sorry for the inconvenience. — A note posted on the entrance to the West Kildonan arena dated Monday said practices are cancelled. (Josh Crabb/CBC)

The cause of damage is under review, the city said.

The arena, built in 1967, is a city-owned, community-operated facility.

Huen said it’ll be up to the city to fix the problem in order for the arena to reopen.

“[The city is] doing their due diligence and that’s it,” he said. “It’s a city arena, it’s owned by the city, and they handle it.”

The closure forced the cancellation of some games and practices Monday at the normally busy arena, Huen said. He wasn’t unsure if all arena users have been able to find ice time elsewhere, while the board awaits word from the city on what work will be required to reopen the arena.

“We just informed the particular people that use the arena,” he said.

It’s mainly used for hockey, and Huen is hoping the closure won’t last long.

“I imagine nobody’s happy when you cut down anything, but people do understand,” he said.