THUNDER BAY – A long-awaited report shows the City of Thunder Bay has reviewed eight outside proposals to build a multi-use indoor turf facility – but the details will stay under wraps, as the city awaits an answer on its application for over $20 million in federal funds.
It’s the latest twist in the years-long debate over the facility at city council, which will receive the report from general manager of community services Kelly Robertson on Monday.
The city received four short-term proposals, which could include solutions like a soccer bubble, and four long-term proposals, in response to its Expression of Interest process that closed at the end of August, according to the report.
The proposals were reviewed by a technical committee of senior staff, but Robertson indicated administration won’t bring them to council for a decision until the question of federal funding is resolved.
In the meantime, details on the proposals will be presented to council behind closed doors, but won’t be shared publicly.
The EOI process allowed companies wide leeway to propose their own designs, with the ability to suggest alternate locations to Chapples Park, shorter-term solutions, and arrangements like public-private partnerships.
At the same time the city sought those proposals, its application for over $22 million from the federal Green and Inclusive Community Building (GICB) Program remained under consideration.
That would cover just over half of costs for a design approved by council, before some members later balked at its growing price tag.
“There’s a lot potentially on the table with that application,” Robertson said. “If we were successful, I think it might help mitigate some of those concerns.”
The building would have to be redesigned slightly to comply with the fund’s net zero carbon emissions design requirements, increasing costs by an estimated 15 per cent.
Infrastructure Canada recently requested further details on the funding application, which Robertson said was a good sign it’s being seriously considered. The city expects an answer on the application this fall.
Mayor Bill Mauro said the city is essentially “back to the drawing board” on the project, which he has vocally championed. He noted council had gone through a previous expression of interest process and that competition is fierce for federal funds.
He had not yet reviewed the proposals, he said.
“There may be something good in there, I don’t know,” he said. “I do know these funding programs are always over-subscribed – there are always more people trying to get money than there is in the program – that’s not a criticism, that’s just the reality of it… You just hope that on this one, perhaps we’ll get some good news.”
Mauro has framed the project as part of larger push to attract and retain young people, and talented professionals in particular.
Thunder Bay’s city council threw the door open to new possibilities for the turf facility in May, after narrowly rejecting a $39 million tender to build an approved design at Chapples.
At the time, councillors who voted not to award the tender said the facility’s mounting price tag and the uncertain financial impacts of COVID-19 left them unable to support it.
Coun. Mark Bentz, who proposed the new EOI process, hoped the additional flexibility would bring forward less expensive options.
Proponents still had to meet minimum requirements such as a playing surface of 90 by 150 feet, height clearance of 40 feet, and readily accessible parking for short-term proposals, and be ready to operate no later than the fall of 2023.
Minimum requirements for a long-term solution included a playing surface of 190 by 310 feet, a two-lane walking/running track, and seating for 900 spectators. It would have to be completed by March 2026.
Administration will report back to council when it receives an answer on the GICB funds. If approved, the city would proceed with a proposed construction timeframe of May 2022 – Sept. 2023, Robertson’s report indicates.
The city has also been invited to proceed to the second phase of a NOHFC funding application for $2 million, but Robertson’s report suggested that application will remain on hold until council sets further direction.
The GICB is the same program the Thunder Bay Art Gallery has applied to for its planned new building on the waterfront.
Fort William First Nation has also asked for $25 million from the fund to build a long-term care home.
