Construction continues at the Cambridge Sports Park as the original opening date for the renovated facility has come and gone.
Scheduled to open Sept. 1, a combination of significant supply chain issues and inclement weather has forced Buckingham Sports and the city to move the goal posts on their expectations.
"We’re nearly two months behind," John Cook, vice president of Buckingham Sports Properties Co. said over the phone.
"It's difficult, the steel for the building was a couple months late and the precast concrete was six to eight weeks late. The weather also had an impact because until you get a roof on, every time it rains, it floods."
Due to the delays, the facility is now going to open in phases, Cook said.
The first ice pad is slated to be operational Oct. 26 with the second opening on Nov. 15. The entire renovated section of the building should be ready to welcome players and spectators on Dec. 15.
There have been a few alterations to plans for other sections of the arena, as well.
The initial concept had seating being installed around the two existing ice pads but that's no longer the case, Cook said. Instead, the bar area overlooking the rinks will see additional seating and an expanded view. That work is now slated to begin next spring.
"We're putting separate seating inside the bar area and a glass wall that will look out onto the two rinks," Cook said.
"We don't have the blueprint to put the seating inside the rink and I didn’t want to interrupt minor hockey any more. I want to fulfill our obligation to the city so the kids are no longer impacted."
In order to accommodate the city's minor sports programs, Buckingham has pushed some of its own adult programming later so that the younger teams could use the ice time.
The city was also prepared for the potential delays and intentionally left time open at Duncan McIntosh arena.
"The City of Cambridge has a strong working relationship with Buckingham Sports Properties and we continue to work closely with them to accommodate our minor sports groups on their existing pads as part of a wider contingency plan during the construction delay," Lesley Head, director of recreation and culture for the city said.
"As part, we continue to explore long-term options for Homuth, Dickson and Duncan McIntosh arenas. We didn't actively program the Duncan McIntosh arena as part of a larger contingency for delays to the Buckingham project. The availability of this additional ice pad has been effective in our ability to allocate the user groups from September and October."
Despite the many obstacles and frustrating delays, Cook said everyone involved has been easy to work with as they try to get the project across the finish line.
"No one is more disappointed than Buckingham Sports," he said.
"The city has been very good and the residents of Cambridge have been really understanding. Has there been disappointment? Yes. It’s not perfect."
