Construction delays at one Burnaby ice rink will have a “knock-on effect” that will delay a second arena project.
Construction on the Rosemary Brown arena, located at 10th Avenue and 18th Street in South Burnaby, is now a year and a half behind schedule.
The arena, originally supposed to be complete in fall 2021, is now expected to be finished in June 2023, according to reports submitted to the city’s financial management committee.
The delay means construction on the new arena at the Burnaby Lake Bill Copeland site will be set back.
“We’re not going to be able to demolish the old Burnaby Lake Arena until this one (Rosemary Brown) is up and running … it does have a knock-on effect onto the other project,” Burnaby’s senior manager of civic building projects, Tim Van Driel told the NOW.
The city has developed contingency plans for summer programs at the existing Burnaby Lake Arena, such as relocating or rescheduling the lacrosse and summer camps, if the Rosemary Brown building isn’t ready.
After delays in sourcing mass timber slowed the Rosemary Brown construction process, the arena was rescheduled from its original fall 2021 completion date to December 2022, then March 2023, then June.
“Once that initial delay happened, it pushed everything else, and if we could have recovered everything perfectly, then that revised schedule could have been met,” Van Driel said.
The costs for the delay are borne by the general contractor, as the city does not have any contractual relationships with any of the subcontractors, according to Van Driel.
“I’m confident it’s going to be done sometime this summer,” he said.
📣 SOUND OFF: Will these construction delays affect your recreation activities? Do you use the ice rinks in Burnaby? Send us a letter.
