Should the Baycats play ball at Queen’s Park in downtown Barrie?
Marshall Green’s report — titled 'The Southshore, Barrie Sports and a Revitalized Downtown' — recommends the Intercounty Baseball League team be approached to move from Vintage Throne Stadium at the Barrie Community Sports Complex in Midhurst, and the city work with the team to reconfigure and renovate Queen’s Park to accommodate them.
Green, a retired lawyer with a specialty in municipal law and land-use planning, made the recommendation as part of his investigation into city sports fields, which included advice to city council not to build a synthetic turf, multi-purpose youth sports field and parade grounds, east of Military Heritage Park near Lakeshore Drive.
His report also includes information on seven unused soccer fields and eight unused baseball diamonds in Barrie that may help fill the need for more sports spaces.
This list does not include the Queen’s Park field, which sits largely unused by youngsters and adults. The Queen’s Park tennis courts are still well used and skateboarders are active at their park near Barrie Armouries, but not ballplayers.
Steve Periard, chairman of the Baycats’ board of directors, said Tuesday afternoon he has neither seen nor read Green’s Aug. 14 report, and thus had no comment on it at this time.
“But the Baycats are interested in moving into Barrie,” he told BarrieToday.
The Baycats have a five-year, $50,000 deal with the city to use Vintage Throne Stadium until August 2026.
Jeff McKeown, president of Barrie Community Tennis Club, which plays at the Queen’s Park courts and might be squeezed by a larger baseball field there, could not be reached by BarrieToday for comment about the BCTC’s position on the Baycats possibly moving there.
Ward 2 Coun. Craig Nixon, who represents the downtown area, says a new ball field for the Baycats must have the proper amount of space, parking nearby and have accessible public transit.
“I would fully support the Queen's Park location if certain criteria were met,” he said. “Having the Baycats downtown would be a huge boost to the area and greatly assist our downtown revitalization plans.”
Any plans to move the Baycats, Nixon said, would have to be presented to the team’s management and ownership, “whose opinion and acceptance is critical before anything happens.”
Green’s report says he spoke to Baycats’ president Dean Bell about the relocation, and was told the team would need appropriately sized bleachers, a clubhouse with washrooms, a concession area and a scoreboard there.
Green said a ball field large enough for the Baycats — the current one at Queen’s Park is too small — would fit into the Ross Street park, which is 9.6 acres in total size. He also said the tennis courts would not be affected by building a baseball field in Queen's Park and that they could stay as is.
“Yes,” Green said. “That was Bill’s assessment when he compared the facilities at Midhurst to what could be placed at Queen’s Park. The playground equipment would have to be moved.”
Bill Scott is with the Allandale Neighbourhood Association and helped Green with the report.
Scott is also a geophysicist and has expertise in measuring various physical properties of the Earth.
“For the consideration of the possible Baycats move, I traced the outlines of the Baycats facilities at Midhurst, where they presently play,” he said. “The outlines included the field, the dugouts and the stands. These outlines I transferred to an air photo of Queen's Park, making sure that the measurements were correct in scale.”
Green’s report says there are other advantages to having the Baycats at the downtown Barrie park.
“Minor league baseball could return to Queen’s Park during the many days that the Baycats are on the road, and in the evenings when they are not practising,” he wrote. “And it opens up the possibility of realigning the Baycats’ Midhurst space and thus providing more space for soccer, football and other sports.”
This is not the first time having the Baycats play in Queen’s Park has been considered.
During the 2022 city election campaign, mayoral candidate Gerry Marshall floated plans for a new multi-use outdoor sports stadium there that could also include soccer, football and lacrosse fields.
The plans included relocating the Barrie Community Tennis Club and the playground.
Another challenge would be parking, as there are just more than 1,000 public parking spaces within a 10-minute walk of Queen’s Park.
The contentious waterfront sports field in question would be for soccer, rugby, football and lacrosse, and marching for the Sea Cadets/Navy League, and there could be amenities such as lighting, benches and site furnishings, along with a paved asphalt 35-stall parking lot.
It has council support from May 15, but a permit is still required from Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, because its regulated area crosses the sports field’s top portion, and an archaeological assessment is also needed.
One day after Green’s report was made public, on Aug. 15, Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall directed city staff to pause further work on council’s decision to go ahead with the sports field and parade ground, to allow for public consultation to take place and be presented to council later this fall.
Nuttall took this action using a strong mayor powers directive. Ontario’s Municipal Act provides the head of council with the authority to direct staff, in writing, to do certain things related to their additional powers and duties.
