Anyone walking through the Cambridge Centre mall over the past two years will have noticed the food court area has been eerily quiet compared to pre-pandemic times.
That’s because the once -frequently-used ice rink sits bare and dark. No cracking of metal blades on the ice, no pucks hitting the glass and no one tickling the twine to the elation of teammates.
Morguard, the real estate company that owns the facility, closed it in March of 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic.
But as other arenas around the city have been welcoming back families for public skates and hockey teams for games for several months, the unique Cambridge Centre rink remains nothing more than a cement floor.
When CambridgeToday reached out to Morguard for an update on the status of the ice pad, a two sentence response from Monique Marceau, general manager of the Cambridge Centre, was returned.
“Cambridge Centre’s ice rink remains closed,” Marceau said via email.
“More information will be provided at a later date.”
The City of Cambridge also had no answer, as the facility is not their property.
John Morton, president of Cambridge Minor Hockey, says the organization has used the facility in the past primarily for their MD level tournaments in the fall and certain select programs.
Without the ice pad this year, more games for these programs have had to be spread around the city to other arenas.
“We utilized Hespeler Arena more for our U12 to U18 MD tournaments this year,” Morton said.
“But with Hespeler Arena having Olympic sized ice, it’s not necessarily the best scenerio to have the younger kids playing there.”
Decommissioning an ice pad is far from ideal given the popularity of the sport and is something Morton is avidly against.
“It takes a rink out of circulation, which I’ve been vocal in the past minor sports does not want to do,” he said.
“It pushes everything down. Anyone who did utilize the mall rink is now trying to find ice time elsewhere. The city is attempting to be fair in the distribution of ice time.”
Morton remembers when the mall was buzzing with excitement as players hit the ice but now one less facility will certainly have a negative impact on a changing demographic.
“Hockey has become a prime time sport with so many families needing a dual income,” Morton said.
“Morning and off-peak hour practices and games are already becoming harder for people to commit to. Removing ice services doesn’t help.”
