This site is put together by several interested citizens of Halifax, Nova Scotia. We are business owners, tax payers and active citizens and would love to see the Canada Games Skating oval become a permanent fixture on the North Halifax Common.
If you’d like to get in touch with us, email info@savetheoval.ca.
If you’d like to email the city about keeping the oval, you can do so by emailing skateHRM@halifax.ca.
For additional information about this site, please call Jeff White @ 902.478.4989.
The hosting for this site was graciously donated by Dynamic Hosting, a local web hosting company.
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Save the oval – It’s great family fun!
Skating from mid December to mid March would be fabulous!!
Great job!! I can’t believe those fools at city hall planned to tear it down in the first place!!
Definately need this in Halifax.
I think that you should save the oval and it is in a great
place because when you drive around the Commons you see all the
people enjoying it, I think it is something that will make this
City even better…
Being a life long resident of Halifax for 45 years, I’ve
been to the Commons twice – once for the Rolling Stones and now for
the Oval. Lets keep the Oval so that more people can enjoy the
Commons for their intended purpose.
I think it is a great idea for the city. It is not only a free activity for the people but also helps to keep people active and healthy. The space can be used for many things in the summer i.e. Inline skating rink, skateboard park, ball hockey. I hope the city chooses to keep the rink. Most major cities have an outdoor rink in the winter that people can use.
What a great addition to HRM, how could we possibly go backwards and tear it down. Just look at the hundreds of people having fun!!
Whatever structure was determined to fund the initial construction it is incredible that, for the scale of investment, a long term application was not considered as requirement from concept. Given the positive public response, and the opportunity for year round application (conversion to a recreational track during the summer – etc.) to not do so now would be irresponsible.
I think the Oval is great, but before we save the oval I have a few questions and concerns. What happens in the summer with this area? The commons is jammed packed with softball, soccer, ultimate Frisbee, football, and then just people relaxing and enjoying the sun. What will happen to this space that will not be able to be skated on in Spring and Summer? Will it just be a wasted space or will it b e easily converted into a green area for summer enjoyment? Most week nights every ball field is taken by a league game and the open fields have Frisbee leagues, where will they all fit and what room will be for the rest of the people? Maybe I haven’t heard what the plan is, or maybe people are jumping on Save The Oval without really thinking about the rest of it. How much will it cost to keep it running every year especially with our warm and rainy climate? Would it be more efficient to just freeze pieces or the commons each year? I do not know and am just asking these questions to get a better understanding, so please do not jump down my throat for being a Oval hater, because I am not. I love hockey, I love skating, and having a free public skate is great, but is it really in the best interest of everyone to keep it? I know it does seem like a big waste of money to just rip down, but there are more things to think about before we just keep it. Hopefully it all works out for us all.
I hope that we can save it before it is run through the chipper! This is really a fantastic thing a venue that has people outdoors excercising and socializing. Please don’t let it go!
Save. The. Oval. The oval is like a new best friend to the people of Halifax. Love at first sight. Finally a space that is FREE for everyone to enjoy. I think many more Halifax residents will benefit from the oval than tearing it down for one ball diamond that accomodates a very select few. KEEP THE OVAL. I’m so happy to see this happening in my favorite city! I haven’t been skating in years, but I plan on sharpening my skates and heading on down to the oval!!!!!!!
Leaving the Oval is a great idea! It’s already there, let’s take advantage of it! It’s been a great opportunity for many people that couldn’t afford to get out otherwise.HRM has always been short on ice time, leave this one for families to enjoy. Summer ball can always practice at 7am like the 8 year olds have to do for hockey! I can’t wait to enjoy my first skate there in the great Halifax outdoors with my family!
The sheer number of people out skating on the Oval tells us
that a facility like this was sorely lacking in our area. Having it
on the commons is a perfect spot, it’s public land intended for
public use. Nowhere is there a description that says public land
for rental by ball teams. This is a great use for part of the
Commons, easily accessed by students, downtown workers, commuters,
and most residents of HRM. Summer use could include a walking
track, rollerblading, and activities like this that are so popular
in other areas that have a space for people to join in. Anything
that encourages activity and fresh air is a positive
investment.
for those that say what about the space in the summer time
must not be walking up there in the summer for the last 2 yrs i
been walking to work and seen on 1 given day the max 3 ball games
going on other then that just ppl walking or laying down or before
QEH and St pats guys training (football) other then that the
commons only draws a crowds for the concerts which they could just
have on the Hill like back in the day i say save it
I am 100% delighted to think HRM will permanently take up a
little bit of the Baseball, Ultimate, and Soccer fields I play on
throughout the summer months. There is simply no replacement for
curing your winter blues then healthy outdoor recreation for all of
Halifax to enjoy in the heart of the city. Go out and see all the
smiling faces of people enjoying the good-old outdoors in the
months they are usually hibernating or cramming themselves into
Gyms. It’s nice to see we have a use for the Commons now in the
winter months, and I look forward to getting roller-blades, and a
volleyball for the summer months. Thanks for your efforts in saving
the Oval.
Please save the oval. Not only kids enjoy it but it is family fun.
The Halifax Common’s, by its very namesake, should be for
the people of Halifax. Sadly I work in Ontario but still call 2050
Robie street home and while spending my Christmas holiday’s at home
I was very excited to see the Oval. I don’t play hockey and can
barely skate and yet can appreciate how the Oval helps warm
community spirit during the cold winter months. The Halifax Commons
is for everyone. The summer concerts are nice but it was so nice to
see families enjoying themselves in a very Canadian and wholesome
fashion in Halifax’s most visible and accessible open space. The
Commons should be about so much more than baseball diamonds and the
odd concert. The onus falls on the HRM to ensure that this is so.
The driving force behind the big summer concerts is money. The Oval
represents so much more and I just hope our politicians can
appreciate what the citizenry of Halifax want in common; that the
Oval is made a permanent fixture for the continued enjoyment of
all. David
If we tear it down it will cost money, if we leave it up couldn’t it make money? rent skates, a canteen, charge a buck or two to get in. rent it to office parties/ groups. I mean there are tons of ways to generate cash flow.
Leave it up! Great addition to the city!
Across the country in a much more northern climate, we too have an outdoor oval, running from November to maybe March. Hopefully it too will be put to use as we are hosting the 2015 C.W.G.
It has been a struggle to get the City of Prince George to accept the fact that the public would support such a venture. But with a lot of volunteer support for the first ten years or so, it is now seems a lot closer to an annual realtiy.
The hope is to make it a refrigerated outdoor oval, but of course would require a strong financial commitment from both the business sector and the City to become a reality.
RJD
So far I have on skated on the Oval once, with my Son and two Grandsons. The experience was very exhilarating and will be a lasting lifetime memory. I fully intend to skate on it again. Hopefully the city and community will perserve this great landmark for the enjoyment of future generations. I am adamantly against charging any fees to skate on it. It is on the commons, the peoples land. As a taxpayer in HRM I would gladly pay a 1 or 2 dollar yearly charge on my tax bill to keep the Oval so everyone can afford to use it. I think the Oval is a great complement to a green space that has the potential for one corner to be used all 12 months of the year. It has been one of the biggest positives I have seen in my 40+ years of living in HRM. Please people, let’s keep the Oval.
I think the skating Oval is a wonderful idea, although I hesitate to support it. My hesitations surround an already cash strapped Municipality. Our roads are in disrepair. Our Police services are lacking. Water infrastructure requires expensive updating. The Muniipality already has contributes to ice rink facilities in the Region for which residents pay a premium in their municipal taxes. Despite capital dollars being contributed towards the project, nobody has yet done a good cost benefit analysis to determine if annual operation will drive the municipality further into debt only to drive taxes higher or cut other services. This is a decision that should have been considered BEFORE the infrastructure was in place.
Oct. 20th – what’s the latest on the Oval? Still looks like alot has to be done before December 2011. Is construction on schedule?
Thanks