The Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation announced Tuesday evening that it has chosen Saint-Jérôme for the development of its 14th community rink. Blue White Red. Work will begin in the summer of 2023 in Melançon Park, and the skating rink will be ready in time for the 2023-2024 winter season. It will be built on the current baseball field: there was obviously no question of cutting down the large trees located in the wooded part of the park at the back.
The investment by the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation will be enhanced by the City of Saint-Jérôme, which will invest in the construction of a roof to extend the season for the use of artificial ice, in addition to carrying out a complete renovation of Melançon Park, the details of which will be announced on Wednesday.
The program Blue White Red of the Canadian consists in erecting outdoor, refrigerated and multi-sport skating rinks, which are intended to be places of gathering, animation, meeting and physical activity allowing children from less well-off backgrounds to discover the advantages of a lifestyle healthy and physically active. The donation offered by the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation is close to $2 million.
Geneviève Paquette, Executive Director of the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation, added that the new skating rink is part of a desire to establish these quality facilities outside the greater urban area of Montreal. The project will provide an additional sports and recreational platform for children and families.
Saint-Jérôme has a large number of elementary and secondary schools with a high deprivation index. Although the population of the locality is growing faster than the national average, several sectors of the city remain materially and socially disadvantaged, highlighting the growing needs in terms of sports facilities nearby and accessible to all.
Melançon: an obvious choice
“Parc Melançon is a privileged location for this Bleu blanc rouge skating rink thanks to its proximity to many schools, community organizations working for youth and social housing. I sincerely thank the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation for having chosen to collaborate with the City of Saint-Jérôme for the realization of a promising project for our entire community,” added Mayor Marc Bourcier.
A “full size” ice rink
Built according to the standards of a regulation NHL rink (200 feet x 85 feet), the Bleu blanc rouge rinks offer an ice quality that meets professional standards and the versatility necessary for the practice of other disciplines according to the seasons. . While the ice season extends from the end of November to mid-March, various other sports such as basketball and ball hockey as well as several sports activities are practiced there from spring to autumn.
Since 2009, 13 skating rinks have opened in Montreal, Longueuil, Laval, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Joliette, Val-d’Or and Saguenay. A skating rink located in Quebec is added to the list at the same time as the announcement made for Saint-Jérôme. The ice rinks built since 2019 are distinguished by the use of a new high-efficiency CO2-powered refrigeration system, as well as an infrastructure adapted for the practice of sledge hockey. Since its creation in 2000, the Foundation donated nearly $40 million to more than 900 organizations working for the well-being of underprivileged children across Quebec.
A domino effect
The announcement comes as it seems increasingly likely that the old Melançon arena will be demolished. The building, whose refrigeration system gave up the ghost a few years ago, houses a sports center of excellence despite an architecture that is unsuitable for this use. In addition, the strong winds caused by the Right from May 22, 2022 caused damage in Saint-Jérôme, including a weakening of the roof of the old arena, built in the early 1950s. For its part, the hall of the arena had been rebuilt in 1985, in preparation for the 1986 Quebec Games. Well before the new skating rink was announced, the organizations that use the Regional Sports Institute were advised that they will have to relocate shortly.
The recent expertise obtained by the municipal administration leaves few options other than the demolition of the old arena.
The announcement also means that Saint-Jérôme will have to accelerate its project to replace the ball field next to the arena. The work schedule calls for construction of the ice rink to begin this summer, which means that several baseball teams, including the Saint-Jérôme Cardinals, will have to find a new home at least for the 2023 season.
