Leo Boivin arena permanently closed

(Newswatch Group/File)

PRESCOTT – Mayor Brett Todd says it’s a very sad day for the town as it has to immediately close its hockey arena.

Following an emergency council meeting tonight, the municipality made the decision to decommission the Leo Boivin Community Center ice rink.

The move follows a test of the refrigeration system in the floor of the rink on Prince Street, prompted by the three deaths last year in Fernie, B.C. after an ammonia leak at a rink there.

The pressure test on the Prescott rink failed, the town said in a news release Tuesday night. “(It) indicates that there is a leak in the public floor area of the ice plant system.”

An arena in Goderich, Ont. faced a similar situation and had to close its ice rink earlier this month.

The Leo Boivin Community Center is being “decommissioned” and the town will look at other uses for the building.

Mayor Todd had hoped they would get a few more years out of the building as a new community center is built. “All we can do now is redouble our efforts and build a new Leo Boivin Community Center.”

The rink is named after Hockey Hall of Fame inductee and Prescott native Leo Boivin, who played for the Boston Bruins.