Halifax man floats idea of NHL-sized rink in the middle of the oval

Ryan O’Quinn thinks the Emera Oval is the best project built in the municipality in the past decade, but he thinks it could be better.

The Halifax man has noticed the inside of the oval is full of unused space, and he has an idea about how it could be utilized.

“We have an immense opportunity, with an empty space in the middle of our oval, to actually fit a full-sized NHL hockey rink,” he said.

O’Quinn told NEWS 95.7's The Sheldon MacLeod Show, with climate change, the opportunity to play shinny on ponds and lakes in Nova Scotia just isn't there like it used to be.

He said the hockey equipment needed in a recreational league is expensive, which makes the sport inaccessible to many, but all that's needed for a pickup game is pair of skates, a stick, and a place to play.

O’Quinn also thinks there could be an opportunity to use that space outside of winter months.

“If we put a concrete pad down there in the middle, we can actually have roller derby people being able to use it, we could have ball hockey leagues use it in the summer,” he said.

He thinks it would be easy to find an organization to donate the upfront costs to get the project off the ground, then sponsorships and revenue generation from events could cover the operating expenses.

“We could have the first junior hockey Winter Classic,” he said. “We could have the Mooseheads play the Screaming Eagles in the middle of the Commons in the middle of winter, and bring everybody out to enjoy the game.”

O’Quinn said he's currently researching the financing so he can put together a business plan to present to Halifax Regional Council.