Province investing $11.8 million for region’s recreation facilities

The Government of Ontario is committing some serious cash to help fund repairs and revitalization efforts at Waterloo Region’s recreation facilities, as well as to ensure a signature piece is completed on schedule.

Kitchener Mayor, Berry Vrbanovic along with Minister of Sport, Neil Lumsden, were among the dignitaries on hand at the Monday morning announcement.

Lumsden said the province would be investing $11.8 million as part of a larger $200 million province-wide investment from the Ontario Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure fund.

The $10 million will go specifically towards the completion of the massive new recreation complex under construction at RBJ Schlegel Park in Southwest Kitchener.

That money will help complete the multi-purpose quad-gymnasium at the 222,000 square foot facility, ensuring it is ready to go when the rest of the complex opens sometime next summer.

“This is the single largest project the city has undertaken in its history, both from a scale and size of the building but also in terms of the budget. And, I can tell you that we are currently on track and on budget,” Michael May, CAO of the City of Kitchener, said.

The budget for the project is a cool $174 million.

May was asked to narrow down the timeline for completion, but wouldn’t get into specifics, saying only that there are mechanisms built into the development plan that allow for some flexibility for unforeseen circumstances, but the project is on track to be ready for summer 2026.

Along with four gymnasiums, the rec facility will house an aquatic center with both a lap and leisure pool. A four-turf field house that converts into a regulation FIFA-sized soccer pitch. Two cricket practice nets, an elevated walking track and multipurpose rooms.

The $10 million announcement was actually the second investment from the province in this project. It provided $8.1 million for the initial phase of the complex.

Investments across the region

Along with the $10 million announced for the RBJ Schlegel Park recreation complex, $1.8 million was earmarked for other recreation-based projects in the region:

• $650,000 has been allocated to Chicopee Ski Hill and Summer Resort in Kitchener, to upgrade snowmaking equipment, lighting and to add a new surface lift at the hill.
• $775,000 will be used to revitalize the Albert McCormick Community Center in Waterloo. Namely to upgrade the entraces with sliding, automatic doors. Refresh the lobby and add a new cooling system to support year round activities.
• Nearly $380,000 will go to replace the aging refridgeration system for the ice rinks at the Wilmot Recreation Complex.