City receives $4.9M insurance payout on Fairview arena collapse

The city's insurer has paid out nearly $5 million following the collapse of the Fairview arena last year.

However, Calgarians may never find out what caused the mishap.

No one was injured when the building, which dated back to 1972, collapsed on Feb. 20, 2018.

Much of the rest of the arena was demolished soon afterwards, although the Indefinite Arts Centre is still operating in a building that was attached to the rink.

Some of the details of what has happened since the roof collapse have been obtained by CBC News through a Freedom of Information request.

A briefing note to city council written by the city's recreation department one week after the incident states that "snow and ice loads were not the cause of the roof collapse."

The city's insurer refused to pay out under the terms of its insurance coverage until the cause was determined.

A briefing note from September 2018 indicates the insurer still could not pinpoint the reason the roof failed. So it chose to fund a study by an external consultant at the University of British Columbia.

"Until this report is closed the city will refrain from discussing causation with the public," the note states.

The cost of the study was not revealed in the documents.

A report was ultimately completed and submitted to the insurance company. On the basis of that report, it decided to pay the city for the cost of a replacement roof.

Combination of factors

The city's acting director of recreation, James McLaughlin, said the report was shared with the city and pinpointed a combination of factors that led to the roof collapse.

But he can't discuss those factors.

"The report's not our report. We don't actually own it. We are not at liberty to actually quote it or distribute it in any way, shape or form," said McLaughlin.

The factors are unique to the Fairview arena so he said there is nothing that can be done or changed at any other city facility to make them safer as a result of what was learned by the consultant.

He said it's not unusual that the matter took as long as it did to settle.

The pay-out to the city was $4,929,523.95 which was the valuation of replacing a roof structure.

After covering the $600,000 cost associated with demolishing the remainder of the arena and remediating the site, the city says there's approximately $4.3 million left.

That money will be kept in a fund while the city determines what happens next. It would only be a portion of the cost of a new recreation facility.

McLaughlin said an ice requirement study is currently underway to determine the city's ice needs and where new arenas might be located. A report is expected within a year.

Options for rebuilding

The city has ruled out rebuilding at the Fairview site.

He said that the city now only builds multi-sheet ice arenas and the former Fairview arena site isn't big enough for a larger, modern facility which would also incorporate other uses.

"It's more effective to put multiple uses together to cut down the operational costs and the construction costs as well. So from a service provision perspective, we're always looking at how we can do it most effectively," said McLaughlin. 

What happens to the Fairview site next is also not known.

Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said the local community has been asked to think about short, medium and long term plans for the land which is owned by the city.

In the short term, he said the site could be appropriate for smaller projects, such as a community garden in the summer or an outdoor skating rink in the winter. But no firm plans have been drawn up.