Buckingham and Masson-Angers arenas need care

Mélissa Gélinas

For several years, the Buckingham and Masson-Angers arenas have needed renovations and new equipment. According to Daniel St-Gelais, president of the Gatineau Lièvre Minor Hockey Association, the city is having a hard time keeping its infrastructure up to date.

"They're always waiting for something to break before replacing it, but the reality is that our facilities need to be modernized," explained St-Gelais. "We don't have to have futuristic arenas, but we need a bare minimum of renovations to make it a pleasant experience for everyone."

According to St-Gelais, the Buckingham arena's decor has remained unchanged since 1971 and is in dire need of a refresh. The ceiling also needs to be repaired, and equipment such as the scoreboard and safety net need to be replaced. "We inherited the old scoreboard from the old Robert-Guertin arena, and the entire display system is backward, making it extremely difficult for officials to manage everything."

As for the Masson-Angers arena, it would have issues with the volunteer room, which, according to St-Gelais, is completely outdated. "We use this room a lot," he explained. "Last year, the refrigerator pipe broke, and instead of repairing it, it was locked."

"Furthermore, when visitors come, we often receive comments saying they would have preferred the tournament to be held in facilities like Slush Puppie or Branchaud-Brière." St-Gelais estimates that the city will have to spend between $60,000 and $70,000 to get the two arenas operational. "In my opinion, that's not much for the City of Gatineau, when we're talking about maintaining their infrastructure, which should have been done a long time ago."

Daniel said that he hasn't received an official response from the city. He did, however, manage to meet with Mathieu Lacombe, Member of the National Assembly for Papineau. "I was very well received, and according to him, my requests are very legitimate [...]," he emphasized. "I will also be having a meeting with Buckingham City Councillor Edmond Leclerc, as well as a second meeting next week with Masson-Angers City Councillor Mario Aubé."