Peterborough City Council met for General Committee on the evening of June 19th in what is sure to determine which Councillors will land on the naughty list this year. 

One of the major reports for deliberation during the discussion was the long-debated construction of a new major sports centre located in the downtown.

It is important to note the overwhelming stress on the 2024 budget before understanding the debates council held around the proposed sports and event centre. Notably, Council met on June 1st and brought forward a 4.8% all-inclusive tax increase in order to sustain an already overly ambitious 2024 budget. During the Finance Committee on June 19th, that same all-inclusive increase has now jumped to 5.59% in less than a month.

With a massive tax increase to be implemented in this city—one that for now, seems likely to continue to rise—and an extreme housing crisis, crumbling transit, and homeless residents in need of immediate help, it seems unsavoury that our trusted city officials should move forward with the demolition of the already standing Peterborough Memorial Centre (PMC) and the pricey construction of a new sports and entertainment centre before addressing key problems at hand. 

Mayor Jeff Leal began the debate by outlining the supposed need for “a major initiative for downtown Peterborough.” Leal stated that a new revitalized sports centre would bring economic growth to the downtown core, and it presents a “great opportunity.”

Importantly, Leal compared the current PMC to the newly renovated Kamloops Sandman Centre in an attempt to sway his fellow council members to vote in favour of the build. In comparison, he drew attention to the possible economic attraction Peterborough could see with the implementation of a new sports and event centre by stating “You can’t put a price tag on that publicity.” 

The only problem is that there is a price tag on that publicity, one to the tune of $107 million dollars. On the table this evening was the feasibility report which asked for approval of $353,000 to be provided to Sierra Planning and Management to continue on to the next phase of the project. Mayor Jeff Leal reminded council that the $353,000 is leftover funds from the 2019 Capital Budget.  

Councillor Gary Baldwin shared his belief that a new sports centre will “help reimagine downtown,” and told his experience with the PMC being overcrowded, resulting in long lineups at the concession stand. It seems odd then, that within the context of every proposal that passes over councillors' desks, long lineups for hot dogs are the final straw needed to implement an actionary response to what is deemed essential for the city.

Councillor Keith Riel showcased a passionate night at city council with several lively speeches as one of few voices of reason sat around the horseshoe table. Riel was quick to squash the romanticization of a shiny new entertainment centre and handed a reality check somewhat absent amongst councillors. 

“Unfortunately, I will not be supporting spending $353,000 for a report that will sit on the shelf and gather dust,” he said. Riel spoke about the current reality of PMC, stating that he and Councillor Gary Baldwin have been in attendance for the past decade, and besides the winning year for the Pete’s currently, the PMC has never consistently reached its capacity. 

The new proposed centre would hold 5,300 seats, to which Riel exclaimed to council, “Peterborough Memorial Centre might average 2,300 [attendees] and you want to build a 5,300 seat arena for 3,000 seats to sit empty?” 

Riel continued to provide a cutting vision into the reality of the situation at hand. “Santa Claus isn’t in the audience. Everybody has a wishlist, everybody wants things and I would like to have this too. But I'm hearing reports of arenas that were built [in Kingston] and Oshawa that have to have part of a curtain come down over seating so it doesn't look empty,” he said, and shared his fear that due to the current failure to meet capacity at PMC, an increased capacity arena would likely see the same result.

In response to the conversation surrounding collaboration with private investors, Riel shared details of a past conversation with himself, Councillor Baldwin, private business owners, and people in the sports entertainment industry about a private partnership in regard to a new event centre in the downtown and showed council a blank piece of paper—“not a signature on it,” he said.

Baldwin also stated that he thinks private investors should “foot the bill” for the feasibility study, however, he is unaware of there being such a partner and asked staff whether the cost could be debated later. 

To this request, Commissioner of Corporate and Legislative Services, Richard Freymond, responded that although it is a difficult question to answer, it would be a key aspect of a private partnership.

Councillor Alex Bierk seconded Riel, stating “Our taste in these things outweigh our appetite to fund them…I like the idea if we’re willing to fund it alongside roads and social services,” and he “questions the reality of us finding the funding for this.” 

It truly begs the question—who is this arena for? There was a mutual understanding amongst council members that a new arena would be nice, however, the feasibility within council’s control, in addition to the more pressing issues in Peterborough shines an ill light on the sense of urgency to spotlight a new build when in reality it's not immediately needed. 

Besides the estimated traffic from neighbouring cities coming to the new centre, it is hard to conceive how Peterborough residents without a vehicle are feasibly going to be able to make attendance when the reliability of the city’s own public transport system is understood to be a running joke—especially considering City Council’s lack of action in regard to funding a better one.

Peterborough council has a long history of placing its own residents second. Whether it be to their own needs or the needs of tourists, the timing of this proposed build only further enhances the rhetoric that municipalities simply do not care what residents actually need. With deteriorating infrastructure, unreliable public transportation, a vastly worsening housing crisis, and a homeless population in need of immediate support, it seems illogical to move forward with a massive and expensive build in Peterborough’s downtown before it is able to address its core issues. This centre, in the current context, is essentially a bad paint job over a crumbling city.

In response to Laidman admitting there has been some miscommunication with Sierra due to a change of employment on their end, Riel was visibly frustrated and asked Laidman how much Sierra will actually charge for the feasibility study. “You've made a decision to go with this company, you should know what they are charging,” said Riel. 

Laidman then responded that he is not aware of how much Peterborough has paid them so far, but can provide those answers within the week.

“I shouldn’t even bother to read the reports…What's the number? What’s the use of me getting a report?!” said Riel, who then moved to defer the feasibility report because he “is not getting the numbers [he] wants.”

The deferral, however, was lost 5-6 with Lachica, Baldwin, Leal, Crowley, and Vassiliadis voting against.

The conversation then shifted to label the new centre as not only a sports and entertainment hub, but also as a cultural centre, studio, and art spaces as suggested by Councillor Joy Lachica. 

In addition, conversation arose from Bierk to integrate the area as an entertainment district, to which Laidman stated that “those things could be considered.”

The original motion to update the feasibility report to start planning the build—including securing a location—passed with only Riel voting against.