Late last week, the City of Guelph released a report proposing that youth ice sports will no longer have regular scheduled ice time at the Sleeman Centre and the youth ice subsidy (which was reduced this year), will also be completely removed. This change would have a profound impact on the Guelph Minor Hockey Association and the thousands of local families who depend on accessible municipal ice. It risks reducing opportunities, increasing costs, and pushing young athletes out of their own community.
The proposed changes to the operations and pricing model at the Sleeman Centre will have a significant and deeply concerning impact on the Guelph Minor Hockey Association and the thousand plus local families who depend on accessible municipal ice. These changes risk reducing opportunity, increasing costs, and limiting the ability of young athletes to participate in the sport within their own community.
It is important to understand the reality our association is already facing:
- GMHA does not currently have enough ice pads to meet demand. An independent audit completed approximately four years ago identified that Guelph requires 14 ice pads to properly serve the community based on population. We are already operating well below that need, with 6 pads under the management of the city
- Our association is functioning at or near capacity across most age divisions. As a result, our ability to expand recreational programming or welcome additional families into the sport is extremely limited.
- At the moment, we will struggle to ensure our skating school and First shift kids will have a place in our recreational programming
- Losing weekly access to the Sleeman Centre effectively removes over 152 hours of ice time from GMHA. Over the six-month season, that represents a substantial loss of critical development time—124 hours of which are practice ice. In practical terms, the city is presenting two new pads while simultaneously removing the equivalent of one that is currently relied upon by many ice users. The result is essentially one net pad for the entire community, not two.
- The removal of the 42.5% youth ice rental subsidy for the use at Sleeman will not simply raise costs—it will directly affect accessibility. Hockey is already becoming increasingly expensive for families, and further cost increases will inevitably reduce participation. Furthermore, removing the ability to utilize Sleemans center, will continue to force our association outside of the city to obtain ice, further increasing the cost of youth hockey and making it unaffordable for many families, even at the recreational level.
- The Ontario Minor Hockey Association has mandated longer game formats for representative hockey. For example:
- U10–U13 games have moved from 10-10-15 periods to 10-15-15
- U14–U18 games now require 15-15-flood-15, which requires 1 hour and 45 minutes of scheduled ice
This increase in ice time will put further impact on the amount of practice time we can provide our teams, which is already impacted by our current ice contract. These changes increase the amount of ice required per game across the season, placing even greater strain on an already limited supply.
During discussions regarding the expansion of ice pads at the Cambridge Sports Park, the City indicated that moving forward with the project would require allocating 40% of the available ice time to the Cambridge Minor Hockey Association. That association serves approximately 900 members, while our association supports roughly 1,700 participants. At the time, the City of Cambridge highlighted the importance of prioritizing youth sports as a key consideration in the expansion discussions and the positive impact it has on the community.
The new facility at the South End Community Centre is often referenced as a solution to the low inventory of ice because it introduces two new pads. However, in practice, those pads do not represent two additional pads available to existing community users. With the loss of consistent access to Sleeman ice, one of those pads effectively replaces ice that associations already rely on today at Sleeman. It would be physically impossible to allocate those users to different arenas when there is technically very little prime time ice available at the other 5 pads within Guelph. When you factor in the continued growth of hockey and other ice sports in the city, the remaining capacity is quickly absorbed.
The reality is that GMHA teams are already travelling outside of Guelph for practice ice and tryouts, something that places additional strain on families, volunteers, and young players, through additional cost of food, gas, and time. Removing access to a central municipal facility like Sleeman will only accelerate that trend. Instead of strengthening local sport, these changes risk pushing community hockey further away from the very community it is meant to serve, while exponentially increasing the cost of hockey in unaffordable capabilities.
Minor hockey is more than just scheduled ice time—it is a foundation of youth development, community connection, and accessibility to sport. Decisions that reduce available ice and increase costs do not just affect an association; they affect children, families, and the long-term health of hockey in Guelph.
For these reasons, the proposed changes deserve careful reconsideration to ensure that the needs of community sport—and especially youth hockey—remain a priority.
At the moment, GMHA requires:
· 1500 plus hours at the University of Guelph
· 200 plus hours at the Cambridge Sports Park
Our teams additionally purchase approximately 1044 hours of ice outside of their allotment through GMHA and approximately 30% of that ice is outside the city (roughly 400 plus hours), as well as outdoor rinks such as Puslinch, and the ball hockey arenas, above and beyond the 400 hours.
While we support ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the Sleeman Centre, we do not support doing so at the expense of youth sports at this facility. With thoughtful planning, blackout dates, and clear communication, entertainment events and youth athletics can coexist.
On March 4, 2026 at 9:30am, there will be a Committee of the Whole meeting where they will discuss the new proposed plan for the Sleemans centre. This discussion starts behind closed doors at 9:30am and open doors at 10:30am inside city council chambers at city hall. REGISTER TO SPEAK - CLICK HERE
As members of the city, and members of GMHA, here are some ways that you can help provide awareness and support to ensuring that the Sleemans center does not become an obsolete rink in our community for youth sports, but more importantly, that the city gains 2 pads, not one with the new proposal:
1. Share this information
2. Email or call your council members:
3. REGISTER TO SPEAK - CLICK HERE on March 4, 2026 at 10:30am.
4. You can also reach out to Guelph Today who recently posted an article about the proposed Sleeman plan.
To read more about the proposal. Please click here