Kitchener Indoor Recreation Complex is now in the works, FIFA-sized field coming to the city

Kitchener is getting a new indoor recreation complex after it was approved by city councillors on Monday. The facility will be located at RBJ Schlegel Park.

The $144-million project will be home to a FIFA-sized indoor turf field. It will be used for a variety of sports.

The Kitchener Soccer Club has plans to move into the new facility after it opens, shifting from its spot at Budd Park.

Tim Hart, the executive director of the club said they are excited to play at the new facility and thinks it will be a game-changer for them.

“It’s a massive shift that will enable players who otherwise weren’t able to play because of the limited inventory, this will give us opportunity to virtually wipe out our waiting lists,” said Hart.

Hart added they have about 7,000 young athletes who play in the Kitchener Soccer Club. Every year about 500 or less are kept on the waitlist.

Hart said that more people want to play soccer because they view it as affordable to enroll their child in comparison to other sports.

“Currently they have to go outside of the region or outside of the city to train on a regular basis and they’re normally the shoulder months of the sport which is the winter. So, it will save 800 families over the road on those nasty winter nights trying to get to soccer tourney,” said Hart.

“They are delighted, they are absolutely thrilled and this will meet and exceed our current and future growth inside the club.”

Part of the hopes of the new FIFA-sized field is to attract larger sporting events to the city.

The aim is to have the Kitchener Indoor Recreational Complex completed by the summer of 2026.

More information about the recreation complex can be found here.