New Arena in Richibucto

-Fredericton: In the village of Richibucto December 8th will be a good day. A new arena will be opened after years of deliberations and meetings.  Almost 10 years ago the arena burned to the ground after burners were not shut down in the kitchen.  The committee met for over three years before finally getting the project to launch. Denise Hannay says the government was a major factor in the process.

“The stars aligned with federally and provincially with the Liberal government and so we went after those funds and then we also did a fund raising of 1.6 million that we achieved”.

The arena is a 10 million dollar project and will be put 15 feet from the old one. The old arena was built into an outdoor rink a few years ago. Minor hockey has been playing in Elsipogtog First Nation. It is 15 minutes form Richibucto and registration has dropped over the last three years. Competitive hockey has also gone away with the senior team disbanded this year. The fight for money and a new rink came to a halt and the two parted ways.

On the other had the new arena will have some cool features amenities. Beyond the ice surface, the rink has a full basketball court and gym, a walking track and a full bar. The arena will have something for everyone and Hannay hopes it is a meeting place going forward.

“It was really the center of you know our community with you know the hockey and dances, any type of event beer garden community events”.

The wait is almost over for the community of Richibucto. They have a community meeting place back and they can enjoy it during the holiday season. The committee can only hope that the community enjoys this arena for many years to come.

-Noah Warren