A Facilities Review review prepared for Bluewater council pointed to some disturbing trends in arena use.
C-A-O Gary Long says they wanted a review done now to help them in upcoming budget deliberations, but what it pointed out was that overall rental contracts had dropped off in Bluewater over the last few years, and hours-of-use in Bluewater are lower than many neighbouring municipalities and throughout Southwestern Ontario.
Long adds hockey organizations are merging because they don't have as many hockey players and that's a result of declining populations and shifting demographics.
The review also pointed out that of the three arenas in Bluewater, the Bayfield Arena was the only one that has shown in increase in hours of use over the last year.
One year ago, the volunteer group that took over the promotion of the Bayfield Arena was given three years to turn use of the arena around.
The Bayfield Arena Community Partners group will be making a presentation to council later this fall to outline projects for this year.