Summer ice in Haldimand County

Haldimand County is committed to providing the highest level of service while ensuring taxpayer resources are maximized and provided in a fair and equitable manner.

The County operates four arenas (Caledonia, Cayuga, Dunnville and Hagersville) which are available for winter ice—depending on location—from mid-August to mid-May. The current Council-approved subsidy level for winter ice at arenas is 61%.

In 2018, summer ice was to be discontinued due to lack of support. However, in response to community interest, Haldimand County Council directed staff to initiate a three-year pilot project to investigate the financial and operating feasibility of offering summer ice on one pad in one arena. The Haldimand County Caledonia Centre’s (HCCC) Clark ice pad was selected for the pilot project and remained open from May to September.

During the pilot program (2018-2020), the interest in summer ice was as follows:

• Weekly, the total available prime hours was 59 hours;
• The highest percentage of prime time summer ice hours booked in one of the three years of the pilot was 42%; the average of prime time summer ice used over the three years was 36%. This is less than half the number of prime time hours as are booked in the winter;
• The hours booked were predominantly during the week, with almost no uptake on the weekends. In order to make summer ice more financially feasible the County needs at least 14-16 hours of prime time booked consistently on a summer weekend;
• Of the summer ice booked, about 30-40% was by non-residents (mostly from Hamilton), meaning Haldimand County taxpayers are subsidizing ice rental rates for non-taxpayers;
• It should be noted that, although the County’s arenas closed in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, applications for summer ice had already been processed and were incorporated into the summer ice schedule.

In 2024, ice user groups were polled about their interest in a return to summer ice. Based on the responses, as well as other operating and financial considerations, staff do not recommend a summer ice program for the following reasons:

• Typical scheduling of ice time requires a minimum four-hour block of rentals to open the arena. This policy is in place to maximize staff resources. During the three-year pilot, the County accepted any rentals at any time during the day to encourage customer interest. In the future, if the policy of a minimum four-hour block of rentals was enforced, there would likely be a reduced uptake for summer ice;
• Following the regular season and spring tryouts, minor hockey associations are not permitted to book ice for their rep level players until mid-August and local league until after Labour Day (e.g. until after the summer ice season);
• Staff suggested the Cayuga Arena might be the most cost-effective location for summer ice (newer and more efficient facility); however, the majority of historical summer ice users (resident and non-resident) indicated they do not want to book or travel to Cayuga, which will likely result in fewer rentals, especially in prime time;
• Keeping summer ice results in increased demand on utilities (approximately $30,000 more for June/July/August) and staffing resources (as the County’s arena staff normally transition to parks/fields/trails work in the summer);
• While staff do not support summer ice, it is recommended to keep one pad open in Caledonia until the May long weekend to accommodate playoffs, spring tryouts and other occasional rental requests, e.g. skills development. Should demand for this extension increase, it is possible the second Caledonia pad could also remain open.