On Thursday, the City of Winnipeg said the Maginot Arena would be closed through the end of year while crews work to address a recently discovered mould problem.
Now, teams who used the arena in St. Boniface are left scrambling to find ice time elsewhere.
"In this calibre of hockey in this day and age (if) you don't practice you're not going to compete. It's just as simple as that," said Ron Barbour, a parent and hockey coach.
He said his team won't be able to make up every practice and it also means more travel and a lack of choice.
"Generally, you don't get primetime ice times. You get all the stuff that basically people don't want. I find myself having to leave work early picking up - I have the truck and five kids," said Barbour.
Officials said Thursday the mould likely grew because of better insulation used in a new roof in the arena, combined with the fact hot water was used to make the ice during a warm September.
"I think all of those factors contributed to this unprecedented event," said Barry Thorgrimson from the City of Winnipeg.
"We're confident in what we've been told by the experts that there is no ill effect to staff or public that's been in the facility," said Thorgrimson.
Some involved in minor hockey suspect the mould is linked to the age of the arena.
"I've seen this rink deteriorate over time…I can't really see the arena lasting much longer anyways," said Dave Bilyk from the St. Boniface Minor Hockey Association.
Mould was also discovered at three other city arenas, Bertrand, St. Vital and Roland Michener, but the city said those will remain open because there is no health risk and further testing is underway.
The city is talking with the private sector and non-profit groups about ways to fix up arenas.
City officials also said they are working with teams who normally use Maginot Arena to find ice time by extending hours at other arenas.
- with a report from CTV's Jeff Keele
