If provincial parameters for capital funding of an expanded Sadlon Arena are consistent with operational funding guidelines, the construction shortfall might be millions of dollars, says a city staff memo councillors could consider Monday.
The latest estimates are that the expansion could cost $12 million to $25 million, depending on the extent of the project.
Last month, council approved a motion that city staff report back to them before completing and submitting a grant application for the Ontario Community Building Fund - Capital Stream to expand the Bayview Drive facility in south-end Barrie.
It would involve a three-storey addition on the north side of the building, including a new grand entrance to the arena with additional multi-purpose/trade show space, ticket booths, concessions, a multi-use sports bar, additional office and retail space, and possibly a new home for the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame. It would also include additional dressing rooms, player dining and lounge facilities, medical facilities, storage and meeting space, a media lounge and VIP lounge, a new sound system, an upgraded green room along with additional spectator seating too bring its total to about 5,000 people.
That report, in the form of a memo, is now available.
But Coun. Gary Harvey, who proposed the expansion plan, says there’s still not enough information to decide whether or not to go ahead with a larger Sadlon Arena.
“It is still far too early to make any informed financial decisions on this, which is mentioned in the report as there are still several unknowns,” he said. “In the end, after further information on the forthcoming grant is obtained, council will make a decision that is best for our city.”
Coun. Keenan Aylwin holds another opinion.
“I do not think expanding the Sadlon centre should be a top priority for the city right now and with the huge price tag, I'm even more convinced of that,” he said. “It's not a responsible use of taxpayer dollars and we have more important priorities than spending potentially tens of millions of dollars on an arena that would primarily benefit one private company (the Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts).”
Last March, the province introduced a new investment of $105 million through a new Community Building Fund to support non-profit tourism, culture, sport and recreation organizations, funding to help recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and meet the needs of their communities. The fund is being administered by the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF).
The fund has two streams — $55 million in operating funds for trail systems, heritage attractions, winter activities and local sport and recreation programming, and $50 million in capital funding to municipalities and non-profit organizations to carry out sport- and recreation-facility infrastructure repairs, including retrofits and rehabilitation to meet COVID-19 public health protocol requirements and local community needs.
The capital stream hasn’t opened and the eligibility criteria have not been released yet, as Harvey noted.
But the OTF website says, "in order to ensure equity and in consideration of unique regional needs across the province, each of OTF’s 16 catchment areas will be allocated a minimum of $3 million for distribution, through both streams. Additional funding will be allocated to catchment areas on the basis of population."
Barrie is in the Simcoe-York catchment area which includes Simcoe County municipalities, as well as York Region municipalities such as Aurora, Keswick, Markham and Newmarket.
"Based on the current description and populations, the entire Simcoe-York catchment area would be eligible for just under $3.25 million,” the city staff memo says. “It is unlikely that Barrie would receive the entire $3.25 million allotment for the catchment area. However, there is the potential that if the entire operating funding stream was not allocated, some of those funds may be available as well."
In the operating stream, organizations were able to apply for up to 80 our cent of their total eligible operating expenses or up to 100 per cent for First Nation, Métis, Inuit or other Indigenous communities with a project maximum based on total eligible operating expenses.
Organizations with total eligible operating expenses of $1 million or more were eligible for up to a maximum of $250,000, while organizations with total eligible operating expenses of $500,000 to $999,999 were eligible for a maximum of $100,000. Organizations with total eligible operating expenses of less than $500,000 were eligible for up to a maximum of $50,000.
"As the total amount of funding for each stream was relatively similar, this may be the maximum grant amount for the capital stream as well,” says the memo. “Should this be the case, the shortfall for a Sadlon Arena expansion is estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars. Until further details are released, it is unknown."
Harvey’s plan to pay for the Sadlon Arena expansion not only includes the Community Building Fund. It also includes money from the municipal accommodation tax (MAT) of four per cent on the room portion of costs associated with overnight accommodations.
The intended purpose of implementing a MAT is primarily to provide stable, predictable, sustainable and performance-based funding for sales and marketing programs, but also to increase spending on non-sales related tourism development projects, events and activities.
The current balance in the tourism reserve is $269,000, but there are 2021 commitments of $218,000. Budgeted MAT revenues for 2021 have been estimated at $396,000. Should that happen, a balance of $447,000 would exist at year’s end.
And should council proceed further with the concept of a Sadlon Arena expansion, a capital project would need to be added with funding in the amount of $175,000 to allow staff to develop a design to get a more accurate estimate of the expansion costs.
At this point, option No. 1 has a sport tourism focus. There would be approximately 33,000 square feet of additional space, including 6,000 sq. ft of additional concourse space, a new and more convenient front entry, new facilities for the Barrie Colts including a fitness room, medical centre, video replay room, media lounge, three new dressing rooms, a larger Barrie Colts store and new, improved ticket windows for all events.
Option No. 2 features event tourism as well as sport tourism. This means all of option one’s elements plus a 10,000-sq.-ft banquet hall with, a separate entrance, seated reception options for 300, 600 and 1,000 people, cocktail reception space for as many as 1,100 people, multi-hall options, catering facilities, a covered balcony, landscaped garden with water feature, room for the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame, an additional 15,000 sq. ft. of storage space and indoor parking. In total, approximately 75,000 additional square feet.
Based on the square footage of each option and current construction pricing, the estimates are $12 million to $14 million for option one and $25 million for option No. 2.
Harvey remains enthusiastic about the expansion.
“Overall, I am still totally supportive of this expansion as it will have a huge economic impact on our tourism sector and positively assist a sector that has been hardest hit in our hoteliers and restaurateurs through the pandemic,” he said. “It will also have great economic spillover to several other sectors as families from around Canada or the world come to our city for national and international level competitions if this expansion goes ahead.
“I don’t know of any other project in the city that has the economic impact that this expansion has with sport tourism.”
Again, Aylwin disagreed.
“The city is facing a severe housing crisis and we could really use additional capital funding to build more social and supportive housing,” he said. “The performing arts community doesn't have a functional theatre space and they've been waiting for years to get the ball rolling on the Fisher Theatre. The proposed downtown permanent public market doesn't have the funding it needs.”
Sadlon Arena, formerly known as the Barrie Molson Centre, is located at 555 Bayview Dr., and was built in 1995. It is home to the OHL’s Barrie Colts. It is also utilized for community ice rentals, from Barrie minor hockey and Barrie women’s hockey associations to the Mariposa School of Skating and a variety of other event rentals.
It has a National Hockey League-sized ice pad with 4,200 stadium seats for sporting events and more than 4,550 seats for concert events. There’s also more than 2,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, to accommodate trade and consumer shows as well as exhibits.
