Thunder Bay's proposed turf sports facility takes major step forward

A proposed indoor turf sports facility to be built on Thunder Bay's north side is closer to becoming a reality than ever.

Thunder Bay City Council voted on Monday to award the contract to build the facility to Finnway General Contracting.

The decision has yet to be ratified.

"It was amazing how having that much support from council really resonates," said Michael Veneziale, president of Soccer Northwest. "I think it really sends a strong message that this time we got it right."

The facility would be built on a site next to the Canada Games Complex and Thunder Bay Community Auditorium for a cost of about $36 million.

A user group — which includes Soccer Northwest — is working to raise $1 million toward the project. So far, they've brought in $500,000 through a donation from the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission.

Veneziale said more details of the fundraising campaign will be released soon.

"Getting that $500,000 was just the start," he said. "Now we need to get on board with administration. We're still waiting for them to provide us an agreement so we can start doing the the fundraising campaign."

The turf sports facility has been in the works for a long time. The project was prompted by a lack of space to play sports like soccer in Thunder Bay during the winter months.

That problem was exacerbated by the 2016 collapse of the Sports Dome on the CLE grounds, and the subsequent closure of the Confederation College bubble.

Monday's vote passed 11-1. Coun. Mark Bentz was the sole vote against awarding the contract, but he told CBC News his issue isn't with the facility itself — he thought the project could have brought in millions of dollars from outside funders or other levels of government. 

"This is a $36 million expenditure. All of it is coming out of our tax base," Bentz said. 

"External funding could be secured, but we've already made the commitment to move forward."

Bentz did say the door is not completely closed to funding from other levels of government, however.

Bentz said had external funding been secured prior to Monday's vote, "I would be an emphatic yes."

"It's a good project," he said.

He noted that some said there is external funding in the project, but that it was from the gas tax. "It's certainly not leverage funding," he said. "It's just kind of funding that's still in our lap, much like the special dividend from the Tbaytel, which we also steered into the turf centre (Monday) night."

Veneziale noted that the city will get back 100 per cent of the HST paid on the project, because it's a community recreational building.

"The actual cost to the city is going to be just over $32 million," he said.

Assuming council ratifies the decision next week, construction is expected to start in July, with the turf sports facility open by Oct. 2026.