With renovations at the Cambridge Sports Park slated to be completed in September and the construction of the Preston Memorial Auditorium expansion set to begin later this year, the City of Cambridge will soon need to make decisions on some of their currently facilities.
As part of the leasing agreement for the new Sports Park, it's believed that the Dickson and Duncan McIntosh arenas will be decommissioned as they'll be considered surplus to the city’s needs.
But what exactly that entails is still unknown.
When reached for comment the city said a process will take place to determine the future of the two facilities.
“I can share that once the Sports Park facility is operational, a report will be provided for council’s consideration on the options for decommissioning Duncan McIntosh and Dickson Arena,” the city told CambridgeToday in an email.
During a special meeting of council in January 2022, councillors voted unanimously in favour of accepting a lease agreement with Buckingham Sports that will see the City of Cambridge pay $1.245 million a year for ice time at the expanded Cambridge Sports Park on top of an annual base lease of $150,000 for the next 25 years.
The renovations of the Sports Park includes two additional ice pads, renovations to the two existing ice pads, and other amenity upgrades.
Later that year, in July 2022, council approved a plan to expand the Preston Auditorium, directing staff to complete the detailed design at a total project budget of about $29 million.
Design and cost estimates are currently taking place, with a tender for the work currently taking bids.
Construction on the expansion is scheduled to begin in late summer or early fall.
Shane Taylor, project lead for recreation services for the City of Cambridge, told CambridgeToday back in the fall there are a number of things to consider when determining what to do with surplus facilities.
“We look into the future impact, the budget we have to fix them and how much life is left in a facility before big expenditures have to happen,” Taylor said at the time.
“Those are all things that come into play. Sometimes we don’t even consider closing a facility entirely, we may just decommission the ice in an arena for instance.”
When asked specifically about the two arenas, Taylor said it would come down to the city’s long term vision.
“They’re both older arenas,” he said.
“They both function a certain way now, but is that the way they need to function going forward is the question.”
The city says commissioning and decommissioning of facilities is a regular part of any municipalities operations and that assessments of city owned buildings happen regularly to determine work that needs to be done to keep them operational.
Karl Homuth Arena is an example, as the nearly 50 year old building lacks most modern standards and needs a new roof, electrical work and other repairs. It's slated to be demolished in favour of parking for the Preston Aud expansion.
The city currently has over $130 million being invested into recreation infrastructure in the next five years.
