THUNDER BAY – The City of Thunder Bay is turning to the private sector for solutions on its stalled plan to build an indoor turf facility.
Outside entities will be invited to submit expressions of interest in working with the city to build – and potentially finance or operate – a complex hosting soccer, football, Ultimate Frisbee, and other activities.
A new, Expression of Interest (EOI) process approved unanimously by city council on Monday will allow companies wide leeway to propose their own designs, with the ability to suggest alternate locations to Chapples Park, and shorter-term solutions such as soccer bubbles, for example.
Proponents must meet minimum requirements like field size and accessibility standards, however.
Expressions of interest will be evaluated on six criteria: experience and capacity, consideration of community needs, proposed site, proposed building solution and sustainability, social stewardship, and financial implications for the city.
Mayor Bill Mauro pointed out the city was also still pursuing funding opportunities for a previous design, for which council rejected a construction tender in March.
As recently as last week, council approved a recommendation from administration to apply for up to $21.28 million from the federal Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program to build a facility based largely around the previous design with a total estimated cost of $42.55 million.
The building would have to be redesigned slightly to comply with net zero carbon emissions design requirements of the fund, increasing costs by an estimated 15 per cent, said general manager of community services Kelly Robertson.
The city is also seeking around $2 million for the turf facility from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC).
“Is there a bit of a mixed message here?” Mauro asked. “We seem to be going down parallel paths at the same time.”
“If [we] receive an approval from the federal government in say four months, and you already have solicited expressions of interest from the community, what position does that put us in? Are we just able to say sorry, we’ve been successful with the feds, and we no longer need your [EOI]?”
The EOI process is a low-risk, non-binding process for both the city and interested parties, Robertson responded, suggesting the city was better off keeping its options open.
“I believe the intent of this process was to generate options for council’s consideration,” she said. “We see this as an opportunity to, in a fair way… see what project proposals would come back.”
The EOI process is set to open on July 12, with a submission deadline of Aug. 27. Short list selections will take place on Oct. 4, with recommendations from city administration coming back to council by the end of November.
That will include a report from administration outlining general information on expressions of interest received that meet its minimum guidelines.
Thunder Bay’s city council threw the door open to new possibilities for the facility in May, after narrowly rejecting a $39 million tender to build an approved design at Chapples.
At the time, councillors who voted not to award the tender said the facility’s mounting price tag and the uncertain financial impacts of COVID-19 left them unable to support it.
Coun. Mark Bentz, who proposed opening the process to the private sector, has said at least four groups have approached municipal leaders with unsolicited interest since council rejected the tender.
The report sets out two different sets of design requirements for EOIs, one for short-term and another for long-term solutions.
For short-term solutions, proposed facilities must be available from mid-October to mid-April, offer FIFA-quality synthetic turf, minimum field dimensions of 27.43 by 45.72 metres, minimum height clearance of 12.12 metres, accessible washrooms within or adjacent to the facility, and be located near sufficient parking and public transit
Short-term solutions would also have to be able to open to the public by the fall of 2023 or sooner to qualify.
Proposed long-term facilities must meet those criteria and more, being available from October to mid-May, offering a field of at least 58 by 95 metres, change rooms, the ability to partition to accommodate multiple concurrent users, administrative space, and storage.
Long-term proposals must also include a walking track of at least 318 metres, spectator capacity for at least 900 people, and comply with the city’s facility design standards and net-zero emissions policies.
The local soccer community has expressed frustration over the city's indecision over how to respond since a privately-owned sports dome at the CLE collapsed in 2016, leaving thousands of players without a permanent indoor venue.
City administration is set to report back on the status and outcome of the Expression of Interest process by Nov. 30.
