Outrage after garbage left in Sudbury arena stands overnight

Many Sudbury hockey parents are upset after they showed up to the Sudbury Community Arena on Saturday to piles of garbage left in the stands from the Wolves game the night before.

Piles of trash were left in the stands overnight at Sudbury Community Arena after the Wolves' game Friday. Oct. 21/23 (Lisanne Gauld)

The Sudbury Lady Wolves U15AA, a competitive minor hockey team, hosted the Barrie Sharks for its season home opener Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Lisanne Gauld, whose daughter plays for the Sudbury team, said she was embarrassed, sad and disappointed to see the state of the arena the team rented for their game.

She posted photos of the piles of trash under the seats and on the stairs in the aisles calling them "shameful and disgusting."

"As if we don’t have enough trouble getting out-of-town teams to come up north to play hockey, soccer, etc., etc… Our city is already way behind the times for facilities, venues, etc. for our talented, amazing athletes here in the north," Gauld said.

"What do you think the Barrie team, coaches and parents were saying (and thinking) seeing our 'main city arena' in this state? What an embarrassment!! Our shoes even stuck to the ground."

Her post had dozens of comments echoing her dismay and more than 380 shares, including one from Dario Zulich – the owner of the Sudbury Wolves OHL team – that has since been taken down.

The post Zulich shared on his social media account had 135 comments and 14 shares before it was removed Monday morning.

"We showed up at 12:30 for a 1:30 game and the pics you see are the state of the arena. We left the arena at 3:30 and it was still like this," Lisa Lebrecque said in the comments of the post.

Trash was left all over the Sudbury arena floor after Friday's Wolves game. Oct. 21/23 (Lisanne Gauld)

"We had parents so embarrassed they cleaned the bathrooms for the Barrie parents. We had elderly relatives not being able to climb the stairs because of the debris. Half-full beer cans were left all over the rink!!! Is that safe for siblings in the rink??"

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CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca confirmed as owners of the arena, the City of Greater Sudbury is responsible for cleaning the bleachers and other common areas of the facility.

"Arena staff are scheduled to clean the facility following OHL and basketball games and other events where concession services are offered. When required, the city will use third-party resources (temporary employee agencies, vendors) to support cleaning requirements," city spokesperson Sacha Novack told CTV News in an email.

"The lack of cleanliness of the Sudbury Community Arena on Oct. 21 is not consistent with our expectations when it comes to cleaning and maintaining our facilities."

Many Sudbury hockey parents are upset after they showed up to the Sudbury Community Arena on Saturday to piles of garbage left in the stands from the Wolves game the night before. Oct. 21/23 (Lisanne Gauld)

Novack explained the staff scheduled to work Friday night's Wolves game did not complete their shift and assigned cleaning duties.

"We are meeting with staff involved to reinforce expectations around cleaning following events and review our resourcing and scheduling plans," she said.

The cleaning was completed by 4:30 p.m. by scheduled staff Saturday, Novack said.

While the lack of cleanliness is unacceptable, many comments discussed the need for fans to take responsibility for disposing of their garbage and recycling.

"They have five full-time students who get paid minimum wage and worked until midnight and couldn’t possibly get all of that mess cleaned up," Ricky Leblanc said online.

"The city doesn’t want to hire more staff, it’s actually the people attending who apparently cannot use a garbage can."

"Just because they hire people to clean up, it doesn’t mean people should throw their trash on the floor," Veronique Leblanc said about people leaving garbage on the floor of the Sudbury arena stands. Oct. 21/23 (Lisanne Gould)

Veronique Leblanc agreed people should be responsible for their own trash.

"Just because they hire people to clean up, it doesn’t mean people should throw their trash on the floor," she said.

CTV News reached out to the Sudbury Lady Wolves U15AA team and Dario Zulich for comment and is awaiting a response.