Marmora and Lake Dr. Hamilton Crawford Memorial Arena Currently Closed Due to Equipment Failure

Marmora, ON — October 30th, 2024 — It is with regret that the Municipality of Marmora and Lake announces that the Dr. Hamilton Crawford Memorial Arena will remain closed for the time-being.

Council and staff are extremely disappointed with this outcome and had the best intentions to move forward with ice installation for November 1st. When beginning the ice-making process on October 16th, it was discovered that the arena chiller had a catastrophic failure and needs replacement. The cost to replace the chiller would have an extreme budgetary impact on the ratepayers of Marmora and Lake.

In a Special Regular Meeting on October 24th, Council directed to staff to apply for a grant through the Ontario Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund to help offset the cost of the chiller replacement. Notification is to be provided to both successful and unsuccessful applicants in early Winter 2024/2025. In order to remain eligible for this funding, we cannot begin work on the chiller replacement until funding is confirmed and, without the chiller, ice cannot be installed. 

Supporting documentation for the grant application included letters of support for the project from community members, user groups, and organizations – which resulted in an amazing outpouring of support provided by our community in such a short time. Thank you to all who helped in this way. Staff were able to complete and submit the application before the deadline on October 29th.

Please bear with us as we await a positive response to our funding application. We commit to providing the public with updates as we are able.