Volleyball and velodrome groups face uncertain future in Burnaby, B.C.

The future of Volleyball B.C.'s home base is up in the air after Burnaby city council voted to issue an open call for bids on a new lease for the facility.

The city owns the Harry Jerome Sports Centre, just off the Barnet Highway, about six kilometres from the Vancouver border, and has leased the 53,000-square-foot air-sprung building to Volleyball B.C. since 1997. 

Volleyball B.C. president Jake Cabott said the organization is disappointed with council's decision to go to an open bid process.

"Literally, the facility is lined with our blood, sweat and tears," Cabott said.

"If you talk to anybody in the volleyball community, they've played volleyball at Harry Jerome. It's a hub for volleyball in the Lower Mainland."

The lease on the building has expired, and a consultant's report indicates the sports centre needs up to $20 million in repairs over the next 20 years to keep it in good working order.

Volleyball B.C. disputes the amount needed for maintenance and is concerned for its future at the centre.

'Some decisions to make'

Cabott said almost 2,400 Burnaby residents participated in Volleyball B.C. programs last year and more than half of its youth recreation participants were from Burnaby.

The organization leases the facility for $1 a year from the city, though Cabott said the non-profit pays for the facility's capital upgrades and maintenance and has spent almost $2.3 million since 2017.

"We do spend what needs to be spent to keep the facility maintained," he said, noting an independent consultant commissioned by Volleyball B.C. estimated a much lower repair cost of about $5 million over the next two decades.

"We don't think that the city needs or should be out there looking for a new tenant when they have a great tenant," he said.

He noted it's a challenge for sports organizations all over Canada to find indoor recreation space.

"Volleyball is growing exponentially, and we're so excited. But it's a real challenge for us as a provincial sport organization to be able to capture that growth, and having six courts available to us … means that we can continue to try to capture some of this growth."

Cabott said the Volleyball B.C. board is considering whether to bid on the request for proposals.

"It's too early for us to tell. Certainly that option is open to us.… We have, as a provincial sport organization, some decisions to make."

'Terrible' if Harry Jerome lost: velodrome club

Volleyball B.C. subleases the 200-metre indoor velodrome, a cycling track designed for racing, to the Burnaby Velodrome Club. 

It's the only indoor velodrome in the Pacific Northwest, and the only one in Canada east of Milton, Ont., according to John Mayr, a director of the Burnaby Velodrome Club.

"To say that we're a bit stressed, I think would be an understatement," Mayr said.

He said losing the velodrome would be the "worst case scenario" for track cycling in the region.

"We think it would be a terrible loss," Mayr said.

He said while it's still early days in the planning process, the board is hoping to put together a multi-sport coalition to bid on the Harry Jerome lease that could maximize the use of the facility and raise the kind of funds necessary to maintain it.

Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley said council wants the winning bidder to deliver "strong community benefits" while minimizing the financial burden on taxpayers.

"We're very concerned about the maintenance costs that are coming for this building, and we want to be sure that we place it well, so we can have those maintenance costs taken care of," he said.

While the consultant suggested three possible future options, including demolishing the facility and converting the site to parkland or an alternative municipal use, Hurley said the call for bids will focus on what can be done to keep the facility as a recreational space.

"Maybe it'll be volleyball again," he said. "I don't know the answer to that, but we'll wait and see."