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IQALUIT - Iqaluit city council will soon decide whether to invest in the necessary repairs to restore the Arctic Winter Games Arena as a fully-functioning facility.

In preparation, councillors opened the floor to citizens at a public hearing Sept. 9.

The response from parents, coaches, educators and athletes, both in person and through written submissions, was overwhelmingly in favour of making the necessary repairs, arguing the older Arnaitok arena can no longer support the growing needs of its users.

"I still believe that two arenas could be justified and supported in Iqaluit," said Jeff Bisson, coach, referee, hockey parent and representative of the Iqaluit Amateur Hockey Association executive. "The advantage of perhaps having two ice surfaces... (is) it also allows all the different programs to not impact each other."

Hockey mom and recreational athlete Siobhan Moss said demands on ice time have grown, and added that even the older arena was in poor condition.

"Playing broom ball we have to run through puddles sometimes. There are cracks in the ice. When we're teaching the little kids, trying to get them skating, we have to (put) pylons on the ice to watch out for dangerous spots," Moss told council.

After hearing the comments, Kieran O'Sullivan of the North West Company stepped forward to say the company would like to see the Arctic Winter Games Arena restored. He said the company is willing to discuss with council how they could help in this regard.