Cobourg Community Centre taking shape
By PETE FISHER, NORTHUMBERLAND TODAY - Updated 5 days ago
COBOURG -The Cobourg Community Centre is fast on track for the grand opening next month.
The centre will feature two National Hockey League size rinks, a 12,500-square-foot gym, a 3,000-square-foot meeting room that can be divided into three among many other features.
"The building is rapidly taking shape thanks to a dedicated construction crew and municipal staff who are ensuring that the project remains on budget and on schedule for completion by March 31, 2011" Cobourg chief administrative officer Stephen Peacock says.
Two crews are working from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. six days a week to complete the community centre.
Up to 80 tradespeople, including masons, dry wall installers, painters, tile installers, electricians and plumbers, are working on the facility.
There will be 11 dressing rooms, and a score clock on the main arena that would make OHL rinks jealous with an eight-sided video scoreboard which has four, six-by-eight-foot video panels.
Arenas manager Harry Jeschke said the video scoreboard will be able to show hockey games along with instant replays and is expected to arrive at the end of February.
"We're really excited about the score clock."
The Layton Dodge Press Box is framed and taking shape. The entire facility will house wireless Internet, allowing reporters to file stories and photos. The smallest dressing room at the new centre measures 750 square feet, which is Approximately 60% larger than what the Jack Heenan arena has now. Each of the dressing rooms has four ceramic tile showers.
On the second floor, between the two arenas, there is a bank of offices for Cobourg Minor Hockey, CCHL, West Northumberland Girls hockey, Cobourg Cougars and a special office for children who like to play mini-stick hockey.
"It will look just like an NHL rink with markings for the blue-line and centre ice, and kids will be able to play mini-stick on it," Jeschke says.
There will be 27 security cameras inside and outside the facility to monitor everything from the hallways to parking lots.
Ice will be in one of the rinks year-round. The closest facilities with year-round ice are in Peterborough, Oshawa and Kingston.
The two rinks will have boards the same height as NHL rinks: 42 inches high. On the sides of the rinks, glass will be six feet six inches and on the ends glass will be eight feet six inches. The only netting will be on the ends and will not interfere visually.
The netting on the ends serves two purposes, not only does it protect people from getting hit by pucks, it saves the walls from getting damaged by flying pucks.
The systems used by the facility will recycle nearly 100% of the heat off the compressors which will be used to heat the structure.
"For us to operate the machines to produce the ice, we're taking that heat and pumping it through the rest of the building," Jeschke says.
"By the same token, in the summer time when we're running these machines to keep ice in the summer, we have ice batteries that can be frozen and can be pumped through the building to give us air conditioning."
Jeschke said another added bonus is the centre will be LEED silver in terms of energy efficiency and the green program.
"It basically means they are conserving as much energy as possible and their business practices are all based on the green concept.
CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST NEWS STORY
PAD ONE - ABOVE PHOTO BY PETE FISHER
OFFICES - ABOVE PHOTO BY PETE FISHER
GYMNASIUM - ABOVE PHOTO BY PETE FISHER
Click HERE a virtual tour!
KEEP CHECKING OUT THE UPDATED TOURS OF OUR NEW RINK!!!
