Hamilton plans to reopen four arenas by end of August

The city plans to reopen four arenas to late-summer skaters by the end of the month with physical-distancing measures in place.

Chedoke, Morgan Firestone, Rosedale and Mohawk arenas are to allow a maximum of 50 people - between skaters and parents - at each location.

That will mean 20 to 25 people on the ice and one parent or guardian per participant in the arena at one time, Chris Herstek, director of the city's recreation division, said Monday.

Once parents drop off kids, they can go into a physically distanced viewing area.

A half-hour buffer" between one-hour ice times will allow staff to clean before the next batch of skaters arrives, Herstek said.

Ontario Hockey Federation registration is expected to take place from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31, he said.

Once we get that demand, we'll open additional arenas."

However, staff have already heard that some user groups may not offer programs or delay them until November or December, Herstek noted.

Coaches will have a list of team members and parents who drop them off to conduct contact tracing in the event of a COVID-19 case, he said.

It typically takes about two weeks to put ice into arenas, Herstek said.

Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com