Kitchener waits on funding decisions as construction on new quad gymnasium begins

Kitchener councillors gave the green light for construction to start on a new 33,000+ square foot gymnasium at RBJ Schlegel Park. This will be part of the Kitchener Indoor Recreation Complex (KIRC) that’s being developed.

It will have four multipurpose courts with 40 ft. ceilings and competition level flooring for sports like volleyball and basketball. This would ensure the facility could host provincial or national tournaments that drive revenue into the city.

But the City of Kitchener is still waiting on up to $20M in grant funding from upper levels of governments. Both of which have delayed those requests, largely due to the ongoing election in Ontario and looming federal election.

City staff say that Kitchener will have to shoulder the debt incurred for the project with development charges if they can’t get funding approved. This could eliminate the city’s ability to fund other indoor recreation priorities for the next 10-15 years. That information was previously shared with council when the KIRC debt was approved.

 Project Manager for the new recreation facility, Osama Siddiqui, mentioned during the council meeting that construction of the KIRC is at a point where a decision by those upper levels of government has to be made in order to remain on schedule for a summer 2026 opening date.

“If we wait for final decisions from the federal and provincial governments before moving forward, the cost of the project will increase by millions of dollars,” said Siddiqui.

“By building the gym now, alongside KIRC, the city will save millions of dollars compared to delaying a decision constructing the gym as a stand-alone facility. What we’re already building at KIRC is a great community centre and premiere recreation destination, one that will stand out province wide. But with the addition of the gymnasium, we are not just making the facility better, we are truly maximizing its impact.”

Osama Siddiqui

City staff also pointed towards other financial issues including the tariffs on steel and changes in Ontario’s government which could drive up the cost of construction.

Councillors unanimously approved the motion to move forward with the new quad gym, telling staff to keep advocating for the grants requested, some of which included the project’s environmental sustainability initiatives. That would make it Kitchener’s first net-zero carbon building and one of the most sustainable buildings in the country.

City staff say the new gym will host solar panels along the roof, a bonus they made recently.

“We have had a period where we see our debt outstanding on a downward trend and we’re now starting to see that go up as we start to debt finance some of the gross related infrastructure in our community,” said Jonathan Lautenbach, city staff.

“We do anticipate, in addition to the KIRC facility, we’ll likely be taking on in the range of about $200M in DC related debt in the next 10-years. It’s important to note as we continue to consider debt as a tool, we have to consider what those debt levels look like.”

Jonathan Lautenbach

Delegating at the council meeting was the Director of Sport Hosting at Explore Waterloo Region, Allister Scorgie, who said that they struggle to find facilities to host sport events.

Scorgie added that there isn’t enough inventory of private sports facilities across the region to keep up with demand. Public schools are hard for them to access through the year making them difficulty to book for things like the Ontario Volleyball Championships which takes place each spring in Waterloo RIM Park.

“The Ontario Volleyball Championships drive approximately $7M in economic activity for every weekend they take place in Waterloo, usually four to five weekends each year. The new Kitchener indoor recreation complex could become a second host venue as early as 2027 if construction advances.”

Scorgie endorsed going ahead with phase one on behalf of Explore Waterloo Region and the Sport hosting office.

City staff said the new quad gym will bring up 200,000 visitors each year, contributing to about a third of the KIRC’s overall projected attendance.

Kitchener’s Mayor Berry Vrbanovic supported the project saying that until the provincial election was called, MP Tim Louis and Mike Harris Jr. were supportive of the work and helping to get the grants completed.

“It will be our intention to continue with Mr. Louis and whoever is the MPP after,” said Vrbanovic.