The city plans on dusting off its decade-old Arena Renewal Strategy to help map a future for the city’s aging collection of arena infrastructure.
Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre and Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh passed a motion to that effect during Monday’s community and emergency services committee meeting of city council.
The motion piggybacks off another successful motion the two introduced during 2023 budget deliberations, which deferred more than $5 million of arena repair work.
“Sometimes when we don’t look at the whole situation of our arenas, we’re going to be putting patchwork on roofs when maybe we should be looking at something larger than that,” Lapierre said during February’s budget talks, adding the buildings won’t fall down in the meantime.
This sentiment was reaffirmed during this week’s committee meeting, when the two councillors’ motion pushing for an update of the 2013 Arena Renewal Strategy was approved.
“We need to look at the big picture, not an isolated one-by-one approach,” Lapierre said this week, adding that consolidating some facilities into new twin pads might be an ideal solution..
“We have limited funds to invest in our buildings, roads and pipes, and it is prudent to ensure we’re investing in buildings that can best serve our community well into the future, and make right decisions on whether to renew or replace existing buildings,” McIntosh said this week.
“We’re looking at pausing investing these large amounts of money in these older buildings with a view to review the whole thing, just as we are doing with our aquatics facilities.”
The Arena Renewal Study review will be done in conjunction with a rationalization and modernization review of the city’s aging aquatics facilities.
Similar to the McIntosh/Lapierre push to defer arena repair work until a more in-depth arena report has been completed, Ward 4 Coun. Pauline Fortin introduced a successful motion in February for the Azilda therapeutic/leisure pool project to be put on pause until the aquatics report is completed.
Both the arena and aquatics reports are expected to be completed in 2024 as part of the Parks, Open Space and Leisure Master Plan update, which provides a 25-year vision for arena facilities in Greater Sudbury.
There are 14 arena facilities throughout Greater Sudbury, including the downtown Sudbury Community Arena.
Meanwhile, the city is still waiting on funds from senior levels of government before moving forward with the Valley East Twin Pad Multipurpose Sports Complex in Hanmer. Although it was approved during 2022 budget deliberations, the city moving forward with the $29.2-million project is contingent on receiving $20 million in funding from senior levels of government.
An early awaited events centre report is expected to reach city council chambers by July 11, which will include the latest on a new or renewed Sudbury Community Arena. The report will be tabled one day shy of the one-year anniversary of city council’s decision to back away from the Kingsway Entertainment District, which would have replaced the downtown arena.
The arena renovations Lapierre and McIntosh’s motion deferred during 2023 budget deliberations include:
- $2.4 million in roof replacements to the I .J . Coady Memorial Arena, Cambrian Arena and Carmichael Arena.
- Almost $2 million for the Garson Community Centre and Arena roof replacement and various other repairs.
- $662,916 to replace the Toe Blake Memorial Arena’s evaporator and condenser replacement
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
