After 7 years with shuttered arena, Fort Good Hope to build outdoor rink

The arena in Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., should be filled with children this time of year, trying to imitate their favourite NHL stars, with parents watching their young ones fall over as they learn to skate, the smell of popcorn and hotdogs.

But instead, the blue building is empty and shuttered as it has been for about seven years, due to what leaders say is a fire code violation that requires a costly repair.

"The arena is a lifeline for our youth," said Collin Pierrot, chief of Fort Good Hope.

"The youth are attracted to hockey, like any other young kids, and this is something our leadership has been focused on, how we can secure funding for this arena to get it up and going again?"

Pierrot said they are trying to raise funds to eventually renovate the arena, but in the meantime the community will build an outdoor rink.

He says they decided on building it near the Northern Store, which will be 120 feet long and 75 feet wide. Pierrot says they plan to have boards around the rink but will likely need to wait for the winter road to access materials.

The chief says this is just another example of how the community is struggling as a result of low water levels that have prevented barges from bringing in goods.

"Every community in the Sahtu region is suffering because of this," he said.

Joseph Tobac, president of the Yamoga Land Corporation, says leaders are trying to find money to renovate the arena. (Luke Carroll/CBC)

Joseph Tobac, the president of the Yamoga Land Corporation which represents Fort Good Hope Dene, said the prolonged closure is having an impact.

"Our community really feels that absence in terms of activities for the youth, adults, there's a big void right now," he said.

Tobac said the land corporation has been able to raise some funds, and there are conversations with the community about how that money should be used.

Pierrot said there are also discussions with residents around whether it's worth building a new arena. For now, he says the plan is to eventually repair the old one, but it's unclear how much it will cost.

The arena's closure was discussed at the Sahtu Secretariat Inc. annual general meeting in Fort Good Hope last month. It came in contrast to another community, Délı̨nę — where the arena was recently upgraded and will be featured on Hockey Night in Canada on Oct. 12.

This isn't the first time a fire code violation has prevented a building in Fort Good Hope from opening. Elders in the community were unable to move into a seniors centre until two years after the opening ceremony due to issues the fire marshal identified with the building.

CBC News reached out to the N.W.T. fire marshal about why the arena is closed, but didn't receive an answer by deadline.

Although the arena may not be open now, Chief Pierrot said he's hopeful that it won't be long until those familiar sights, sounds and smells of hockey return to the community.

"I'm starting to think positive here that it's gonna happen, it's just a matter of time."