Replacing the Leisure Centre

I’ve been seeing chatter and getting direct feedback about the Leisure Centre fieldhouse being closed with no immediate replacement available. While I agree with some of what I’m hearing, I’d also respectfully push back on a lot of it.

The Short Version:

The biggest thing I’d push back on: the speed of decision making for “next steps.” Some have characterized Council’s actions as ignoring kids, not understanding the needs of user groups, or not caring.

I STRONGLY disagree with that. I think Council absolutely wants to build a strong community for kids and setup user groups for success. But we want to do what is best for the long-term. When it comes to the Leisure Centre: some short term pain is worth the long term gain. It is worth waiting until the Old Leisure Centre and Composite High School are demolished so that a new indoor facility can be built on the same location.

Council isn’t dragging its feet or ignoring things. Instead, from my perspective, it is moving at a deliberate and appropriate speed to replace the Leisure Centre.

The Long Version

In my first election campaign, way back in 2017, replacing the Leisure Centre was a key part of my platform. It’s remained an area of focused work for me.

I also have kids who LOVE soccer. They are currently missing out because we are currently down to one indoor pitch.

So I respect how painfully long the process of replacing the Leisure Centre feels. But:

Council needs to make decisions that are best for the City on a 20+ year horizon. Not just the ones that are best for “right now.”

Personally, I think that the best long-term place for a replacement indoor field house is where the Old Composite High School and Leisure Centre sit (Avondale). This site is right next to two high-schools and close to three elementary schools. It is close to the hospital and Northwestern Polytechnique. It is an area that has excellent road access and proximity to amenities people need when in town for tournaments. It’s also very accessible to South Avondale (a neighbourhood with high socio economic needs) and our Northwest side of town where a lot of our future housing growth is likely to happen. Finally, this site already has roads, utilities, and parking which would be expensive to build elsewhere.

The Avondale site is the best place for a new indoor recreation facility. We can’t do work until the old buildings are fully demolished. But that wait is worthwhile. It is worth a season or two of reduced capacity to re-build indoor field space on the best possible piece of land.

I suspect some will read the above, fully agree with it, but still have some pushback. They will likely say “we can agree with you on location and construction start timelines, but Council should’ve already made a decision on the replacement so we can have certainty about what will happen next. Don’t leave us hanging!”

To some extent, I agree with this. In public meetings, I’ve shared my frustration that we don’t have concrete plans yet. And while Council has taken steps that show a strong intention to rebuild on the Avondale site, I would like to see it making a very firm commitment.

But I also respect why colleagues are moving cautiously and taking their time. Since it is impossible to start construction before 2024, two good reasons to not make a decision about what to build until late 2023:

  • A LOT of effort is going into working with our regional partners to see if we can work together on new or expanded sport facilities (whether they are in the City or elsewhere). It makes sense to give these conversations as much time as possible before the City decides what it will do.

  • Things change. And they have REALLY changed recently. COVID has impacted how people participate in sports. And a variety of factors have massively inflated construction costs. It makes sense to delay decisions as long as possible to make sure that the latest information can be considered.

Given that I want to see a new facility built in Avondale and that can’t begin until 2024, I’m ok with a decision about replacing the Leisure Centre not being made yet.

That being said: I’ll be advocating VERY strongly for Council to make a decision in 2023 so that we can begin construction as soon as practical in 2024.

And a 2023 decision is very achievable because Council has done VERY significant work to inform the work, including:

  • Engaging in conversations on indoor recreation facilities with other regional municipalities.

  • Extensive consultation with Swan City Football Club, dozens of other sport groups, and the public at large to assess current and future recreational needs.

  • Forming a Committee composed of Councillors and School Board Trustees to discuss future land uses around the Composite High School and Leisure Centre.

  • Largely based on that Committee’s work, passing the Avondale Area Redevelopment Plan to lay out short, medium, and long-term plans for this site.

  • Budgeting $11,000,000 to action the Avondale Redevelopment Plan (although $10,000,000 is currently “unfunded”).

I strongly believe that we need a replacement facility for the Leisure Centre Field House. I also strongly believe that it should be on the Avondale site. Because of the extensive work already done, Council could (and should!) begin this work as soon as the land is available in 2024.

Thanks for reading what I have to say! As always, I’d love to hear from you. I’m happy to respond to online comments. But am even happier to arrange a phone call or coffee meeting to talk in person.

Important note: replacing the Leisure Center might just get our recreational space back to where it was in 2022. There is a good case to be made that we actually need expanded space. If we do build something new in Avondale, I don’t think that necessarily prohibits us from working with partners to also get other facilities built.

Last thought: some believe a pool should also be built on the Avondale. I agree with that. The Eastlink Centre is often very full during lessons. It is a long drive for a large portion of our City, and almost inaccessible for many residents who don’t own a vehicle. A pool on the north end would be beneficial. I also get excited about the possibility of having a pool close to the hospital for therapy and close to Northwestern Polytechnic for athletic training.

But I don’t know if we have the resources or community will to build a pool at this time.

As we talk about building indoor field house space, I’ll also be advocating to layout the site and construct changerooms/washrooms in a way that would allow for a pool to be easily added in the future. As we consider the Avondale site, it is important to think about long term community needs.

Dylan BresseyComment