Thunder Bay to spend additional $25K on indoor soccer facility business case

The City of Thunder Bay will approach the provincial government to seek financial help for an indoor soccer and turf sport facility proposed for Chapples Park.

But before applications can be drawn up, the city will have to spend an additional $25,000 to improvethe business plan that the city and other proponents can presentto the province, as well as anyother potentialfunders.

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The money was approved at council's Wednesday budget meeting, along with the directive to city staff to apply to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) to help fund the proposed complex's construction. City administration told councillors the $25,000 will be used for additional research into the expected impact the facility will have on tourism and the local economy.

That's information senior levels of government will require when considering a funding application, said Kelly Robertson, the general manager of the city's community services department.

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"Members of administration did meet with the representatives from FedNor and NOHFC within the last two weeks to talk about the project and the draft business and concept plan," she said. "They specifically gave us the feedback that the business plan was weak in respect of the project's capacity to generate this kind of impact."

"We need to do a little bit more work on that front."

City staff believe it will cost between $27 million and $30 million to build, higher than the $25 million the concept plan estimated, and that, if the work isn't done in phases, the province could kick in up to $5 million.

A memorandum from administration says "there is no information available at this time to confirm any new federal/provincial infrastructure programs, their eligibility criteria, funding limits, application process, timelines, etc," but added that city staff will continue to explore other financing options.

City administration is expected to bring a more detailed report back to council by the end of April on the project and the city's ability to fund it, but on Wednesday noted that council could elect to consider options such as debenture spending or the Renew Thunder Bay reserve fund, which currently has $16.8 million in it.

Councillors continued to speak in favour of the project, noting the large number of people in the city who play the sport.

"We want to make sure that we have all the ingredients necessary when we put forward our proposal," said Coun. Paul Pugh. "I'm hopeful that the predictions that funding this year will be forthcoming for these kinds of projects and that we will quality."