The Hamilton Bulldogs in conjunction with The Home Depot, the City of Hamilton and the Bulldogs Foundation held a community practice on Tuesday, February 9th at the Chedoke Twin Pad Arena.

The community practice was held to celebrate The Home Depot and the City of Hamilton’s initiative to retrofit Chedoke Twin Pad Arena with accommodations for those with special needs.

Immediate general improvements to the arena will include painting four dressing rooms for the Green Rink along with raising and refinishing all the benches and replacing washroom partitions. Replacement of rubber matting, innovative clear rink boards and sledge-accessible player benches will be completed during the summer months.

Two local schools also attended Tuesday’s event as coaches Guy Boucher, Daniel Lacroix and Martin Raymond led the Bulldogs through a full team practice at Chedoke Arena. Players wore unique practice jerseys that were signed by the team and donated to the Home Depot in support of the cause. Following the practice, several Bulldogs players competed in a sledge hockey competition against Hamilton and District sledge hockey players.

Background Information

In October 2009, The Home Depot Canada Corporation approached the Community Services Recreation Division with a proposal to undertake a renovation improvement project at a city-operated arena facility in Hamilton.  The Home Depot agreed to donate $120,000 to the City of Hamilton for the Chedoke Twin Pad Arena to improve accessibility to the change rooms for sport and recreation users.

The Chedoke Twin Pad Arena is home to the Hamilton and District Sledge Hockey League.  After consultation with the organization and players from the sledge hockey league, a variety of accessible upgrades were identified.  The renovations included automatic door openers to the rink area, new rubber flooring, new bathroom partitions, raised benches and new paint in four of the dressing rooms.  The upgrades to the changerooms meet the City of Hamilton Accessibility Standards.

In order to complete this undertaking, Home Depot provided funding along with volunteer staff hours in labour over a three-day period in the month of January, 2010. The Home Depot’s Community Hockey Program was established more than 15 years ago as a way to support communities through hockey, and to help improve local arenas by leading refurbishment projects.

The Home Depot and the City of Hamilton officially kicked-off the initiative at the Chedoke Twin Pad Arena on Tuesday February 9, 2010, as part of the Home Depot’s Community Hockey Program. The event included a ceremony and practice games with the Hamilton Bulldogs and the District Sledge Hockey Association.  Former Toronto Maple Leaf and current Sportsnet hockey analyst Nick Kypreos was the Master of Ceremony with representatives from the City of Hamilton, Hamilton Bulldogs and Home Depot.  Over 200 people including school children were in attendance at this event. Positive media and public relations were garnered from CHCH-TV, The Hamilton Spectator, Sportsnet Ontario and the Hamilton Bulldogs media team.

At the end of the hockey season, additional work is planned at Chedoke Arena as part of the Federal Government’s Recreation Infrastructure Canada (RinC) Project along with the remaining funds from the Home Depot’s Community Hockey Program. New rinkboards will provide sledge hockey players easy access to the ice by incorporating large doors. In addition, clear plastic panels in front of the benches which will enable players to watch the game when not on the ice.