Canada Games centre in, Garden City complex out
St. Catharines city council is moving forward with its partnership in a new Canada Summer Games sports facility and decommissioning the aging Garden City Arena Complex.
The Garden City complex — it consists of the 83-year-old Jack Gatecliff Arena ice pad and 56year-old Rex Stimers Arena, now a dry pad — would have required $7 million to address capital requirements.
The still-to-be-built centre at Canada Games Park in Thorold at Brock University will include two ice pads, of which St. Catharines is securing 60 prime-time hours a week.
Mayor Walter Sendzik said the centre is truly a “legacy project.”
“The Jack had a wonderful history,” Sendzik said during city council’s Monday night meeting.
“The reality is this Canada Summer Games project, which is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our region, allows the future generations to now build on these kinds of building blocks and they’ll be the ones that will benefit from that park for decades to come.”
The centre also includes a gymnasium with four courts, a 200-metre indoor track, a health and well-being centre, outdoor athletics facility and beach volleyball courts.
City council was unanimous in voting Monday to release $10 million that it had pledged in May towards building the Canada Games centre, along with a Henley Rowing Centre in Port
Dalhousie, after being told preconditions of its contribution had been satisfied.
Deputy chief administrative officer David Oakes said city staff have been working since May with Brock University, the City of Thorold, Niagara Region and the 2021 Canada Games Host Society on a series of agreements related to operating the centre and managing the facility. That includes the entire property indoors and out.
He said all five parties agree on a series of guiding principles that oversee all of the operating framework and governance options for Canada Games Park.
Four partners will own the facility — St. Catharines, Thorold, Brock University and Niagara Region. It will be operated by St. Catharines, Thorold and Brock.
Oakes said the project allows the city to move into a new facility and share risk with its partners while leveraging significant funding from federal and provincial governments and other municipal partners.
“It made a lot of sense when we looked at it from a financial analysis but it made, in particular, a lot of sense when we looked at it from the cost to actually get a new facility.”
A consultant’s arena strategy, which council endorsed in June, called for the Garden City Arena Complex to be closed and replaced with either a Canada Summer Games ice pad or a new pad built north of the QEW.
The decision to decommission the Garden City complex and support the new Canada Games centre was split into separate votes Monday at the request of Port Dalhousie Coun. Bruce Williamson.
Williamson said closing the complex was a broader, important civic issue and he wanted a full community discussion for “transparency and openness.”
He said Garden City complex is an older facility but it has had a lot of newer infrastructure put into it, particularly when the Niagara IceDogs came to the city and played there before Meridian Centre opened.
“It’s still a serviceable facility,” he said. “It’s a communityowned asset and I think the community should have a share in saying what future it has.”
Director of community, recreation and culture services Phil Cristi said all user groups were contacted during the creation of the arena strategy.
St. Patrick’s Coun. Mat Siscoe said the arena strategy was clear about how the city was going to move forward and the community did have its say.
He said aging facilities are very expensive to maintain and while the Garden City complex has had changes and modifications, it’s still an 83-year-old facility. He said there are a major cost savings to having a new facility.
“For the residents of St. Catharines and for the community to be able to get the best value for their tax dollars, we need to replace that facility at this time.”
Council voted 9-2 to decommission the Garden City Arena Complex once the replacement facility at the centre is open and available, with Williamson and fellow ward Coun. Carlos Garcia voting “no.”
The complex will eventually be re-purposed or declared surplus.
All councillors present were in favour of the new Games centre.
They approved allowing the mayor and clerk to execute agreements between the city, Region, Thorold, Brock and the 2021 Canada Games Host Society provided the agreements don’t exceed the funds approved by council.
They also approved the expenses for the city’s share of project management associated with legal and procurement issues to an upper limit of $200,000.
The province and federal government have each contributed $32 million to the 2021 Canada Summer Games, which will see 5,000 athletes compete Aug. 6 to 22, 2021.
Oakes said the project allows the city to move into a new facility and share risk with its partners while leveraging significant funding from federal and provincial governments and other municipal partners.