June 8, 2020

Niagara Region council votes to assume control of construction of Canada Games Park

Niagara Region will be responsible for managing the remaining construction of Canada Games Park, after a vote of council Thursday.

Regional councillors voted for staff to assume the contractual lead for managing the construction process at the park, which is being built at Brock University. The park will serve as the centrepiece of the 2021 Canada Summer Games in Niagara.

The previous council voted to cover any capital or operational overruns for the Games.

“The decision to do this is already made,” said Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati. “We have committed to this project. You can’t be partially committed like you can’t be partially pregnant.

“It’s the right decision for the Region to backstop this because we have some control. Trust is good. Control is better. With the experience we have here on staff, I feel much better about this.”

The Region has committed $24 million to date to the project. Once the Games are over, the facility will be run by a consortium that includes Brock University, the Region, the City of St. Catharines, and the City of Thorold and be available for community use.

The facility will house a quad gym, two ice pads, a track-and-field facility, beach volleyball courts, a cycling pavilion, and parking. One of the ice pads will seat 1,200 spectators, the other 200. The gym will have an upper-level, 200-metre track for walking and running in winter.

The budget for Canada Games Park, as well as a new accessible rowing facility on Henley Island, is $88 million, with about $5 million earmarked for the Henley project.

“The host society and the federal and provincial governments, are evaluating everything about the Games on an ongoing basis and whether any alternatives are required because of COVID,” said Ron Tripp, the acting Regional chief operating officer. “Nothing has been decided.”

The host society also hasn’t asked for any extra funding at this point, Tripp said.

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