A community meeting has been called on the future of the Rolf Zeiss Memorial Arena in Lac La Hache.
The Lac La Hache Community Club announced on its Facebook page that the arena will close for the 2026-2027 season because of structural damage.
Beverly Fry, the President of the Community Club, says an employee of the Club did a perimeter inspection along the Arena’s west wall and found seven out of 12 of the support columns had rot damage. Fry said after the employee’s check, the Club got an assessment completed by Octo Engineering, a Williams Lake firm.
“We got the assessment back on the fifteenth[of Oct.], and it came back showing severe deterioration of the supporting log columns, and there was visible distress on the columns and on the building,” Fry said. “Sad to say, but the conclusion was to immediately restrict public and even routine employee access for safety.”
According to Octo’s early assessment that was shared via the Club’s Facebook post, eight columns have severe rot and damage. The club is in the process of getting quotes on what the costs will be to try to fix the damage. Fry is hoping that the community could brainstorm ideas on how to afford the costs during the upcoming meeting.
“I’ve had some community members reach out to me, and some different companies too that are interested in the assessment, and would like to go over it with us,” said Fry. “Right now, I think we’re in a waiting game ’cause we’re not too sure what this cost is going to be to try and fix this building. Right now, it’s a safety and liability issue, so we have to focus on that.”
The Rolf Zeiss Memorial Arena was first built in 1941, in Williams Lake. At the time, it was called the “Williams Lake Memorial Arena”, before being purchased for $20,000 in 1989. Lac La Hache Community Club volunteers handled the logistics of dismantling, transporting, and rebuilding the arena in Lac La Hache.
In its heyday, the community had up to five hockey teams using the arena throughout the season. Currently, an adult league for 15 years, the Lac La Hache school, and other skating programs use the arena on a weekly basis.
Fry said that operating the arena has “always been a financial burden” on the Community Club, but she hopes there will be a way to keep the arena open.
“You know, my dad was one of the ones that helped bring that arena to Lac La Hache, and some of the other community members’ fathers and families helped too. So, it’s really kind of hard on our hearts,” says Fry. “But we’re gonna try and see what we can do. We’ll wait and see what the financials all find us, and the community has always rallied behind the arena to support it.”
The Community Meeting will be held at the Lac La Hache Community Hall on Tuesday, October 20, at 6:30 p.m.
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