Niagara Falls City Council voted late last week to approve the Chippawa Willoughby Community Centre project, a $59-million venture that will include an NHL-sized arena, among other amenities.
According to the city, the project is the result of more than two years of planning, analysis, and engagement with stakeholders. The design that Council chose to move forward with responds to feedback heard from local residents, including expanding recreation opportunities.
“This project is an investment in the future of Niagara Falls,” said Mayor Jim Diodati. “We already know that this will become the place to be! It will be an exciting hub for ice-skating and hockey, host to a library and all things community. We can’t wait to see it take shape and welcome everyone there!”
As Diodati alluded to, in addition to a new NHL-sized arena, the Chippawa Willoughby Community Centre will also include a new public library. That library will have accessible spaces for reading, lifelong learning, children’s programming, digital resources, and community gathering.
Part of the plan also includes reusing the existing arena and turning it into an indoor turf facility, which will offer new year-round recreation opportunities, including for soccer, baseball, cricket, track and field, off-ice training, football training, fitness programming, and general community recreation.
A more expensive option had been to fully tear down the existing facility, but this would have led to the loss of several hockey seasons, and it was decided that transforming the existing arena into an indoor turf facility would be more appropriate.
There will also be a new community gymnasium, as well as multi-purpose community spaces to facilitate meetings, programs, events, and activities for Niagara Falls residents of all ages.
How will the $59-million facility be paid for? According to Diodati, it will be funded through a combination of $10 million from the provincial government, municipal reserves (which are presently roughly $6.3 million), proceeds from the sale of surplus municipal lands, and long-term financing. Council’s goal was to minimize the impact on local taxpayers, as well as reduce the city’s overall borrowing requirements. More money will likely be allocated from reserves as reserves build up between now and 2029. Staff estimate that this could be up to an additional $8 million.
Now that Council has officially approved the project, the project team is set to continue with a detailed design and other pre-construction activities through the Progressive Design-Build process. The city is promising that construction updates and key milestones will be shared with Niagara Falls residents as the project moves forward.
Jay Goldberg is the Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
