Peterborough city council has voted in favour of committing $57 million towards the cost of a proposed $170-million sport and event centre in downtown Peterborough.
At its general committee meeting on Monday evening (May 4), city council considered a staff report from community services commissioner Sheldon Laidman with six options for next steps for the approval and construction of the event centre. Councillor Alex Bierk, one of the two councillors for Town Ward where the event centre would be located, was absent from the meeting.
Earlier in the day, Mayor Jeff Leal held a media conference to advocate for the project at the office of the Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce, which was also attended by city councillors Kevin Duguay and Gary Baldwin.
Six financing options for $170-million project laid out for council
Laidman’s report to council outlined six funding options for a new event centre, summarized below.
- Approving $1.7 million in funding so the project can proceed to a concept and site development phase, without committing to full financing for the project.
- Approving $30 million in debt financing (the city’s existing debt limit) while seeking partnerships with the private sector for the remaining funding.
- Approving $57 million in debt financing by increasing the city’s debt limit while seeking remaining funding from other levels of government.
- Approving $170 million for the entire project through a combination of $70 million in debt financing by increasing the city’s debt limit and $100 million in funding through the sale of city assets.
- Approving $170 million for the entire project through debt financing by increasing the city’s debt limit.
- Not proceeding any further with the project.
At Monday’s meeting, Laidman provided council with a presentation on the proposed event centre, noting that reports for the project date back to 2015, including justifications for the project, market analyses, comparisons to other cities and their event centres, basic financial analysis for property tax increases and funding options, basic parameters for the project including seating capacity, and possible site locations.
Last August, city council approved the preferred site location as 182 Townsend Street, a city-owned property where the existing bus garage is located, and also approved a request for quotations process if council approved funding options.
Laidman explained that the impetus for the new sport and event centre is the aging 70-year-old Peterborough Memorial Centre, which does not meet new Ontario Hockey League standards or expectations of large concert promoters, and lacks modern expected amenities.
He said that addressing the deficiencies is not feasible, that $22.4 million for capital repairs would be required over the next 15 years just to keep the facility operational, and that additional costs would be incurred for structural roof enhancements to support ceiling rigging for equipment used for large-scale concerts.
Laidman said that the new event centre, at an estimated cost of $170 million, would be built between 2027 and 2031. Using debt financing to fund the centre would result in higher debt servicing costs and would reduce the city’s flexibility to use debt financing for other capital projects. According to the staff report, debt financing options would result in property tax increases ranging from around one per cent to five per cent, depending on the option selected.
He noted that increasing the city’s debt ceiling to finance the project may affect the city’s credit rating and result in higher financing costs, with his presentation stating that restricting debt financing to the existing debt ceiling of $30 million would be the “most financially sustainable approach” as it would provide flexibility for other capital projects and minimize the tax increase to less than one per cent.
Laidman also noted the real estate development that would take place in the area of the event centre, should it be built, is estimated at $270 million. Development could generate $7.5 million in tax revenue for the city, which would “come close” to covering annual debt payments over 30 years, and additional revenue could be generated from sponsorships and naming rights, ticket surcharges, and an increase in the municipal accommodation tax for hotels and motels.
Mayor proposes city commit $57 million to project
Following Laidman’s presentation, Mayor Leal put forward a motion that combined three options from Laidman’s report:
- That council commit one-third of the cost, approximately $57 million, towards the event centre project;
- That staff be directed to provide a report identifying the funding plan to finance this $57 million commitment including amendments to the city’s debt limit;
- That staff be directed to initiate proactive advocacy and explore options to acquire the remaining two-thirds of the cost, approximately $114 million, from the Government of Canada, Province of Ontario, County of Peterborough, private sector partners, fundraising, naming rights and sponsorship opportunities, and non-debt supported sources;
- That staff be directed to provide council with a report detailing options for funds from non-debt supported sources; and
- That $1.7 million be pre-committed in the 2027 budget to include a project manager position, site studies, and preliminary consultant services.
“I fundamentally believe that the 3Ds initiative is no longer viable — dither, delay, and defer,” the mayor said after reading his motion.
“I believe it’s time to pick a lane. Lane one is a new modern event centre that will lead to revitalization of our downtown, enhance regional economic development, and position Peterborough for Vision 2096 for the next seven years. Lane two is to continue investing in a 70-year-old building with a minimum of $20 million to keep operating, with costs not determined as yet to possibly reinforce the roof and walls, and that will be the determination of a study that’s currently ongoing.”
Leal said Peterborough MP Emma MP Harrison arranged for a meeting on the project with federal government officials, which took place on April 27, and he also met with MPP Dave Smith. He said he had received a letter from a former player with the Peterborough Petes who works with one of the largest equity firms in Canada, and that person — who Leal did not identify — has expressed interest in investing in the project.
Councillors split over risk to taxpayers versus moving forward to secure partner funding
In responding to the mayor’s motion, councillor Keith Riel said that, while he is not opposed to the idea of a new event centre, “what I am opposed to is making financial commitments before we fully understand the risk to the taxpayers.”
He pointed out that experience shows municipal projects like this rarely stay on budget, increasing pressure on taxpayers. He also said that increasing the city’s debt capacity is “a fundamental shift in how the city manages its finances.”
“It limits our ability to invest in core infrastructure, like roads, water systems, and housing. Right now, it feels like we are committing to a project before we’ve completed the due diligence. The public expects us to ask the hard questions before, not after, we make a decision of this magnitude. I’m prepared to support moving forward cautiously, not in a way that exposes taxpayers to open-ended risk or changing our financial framework prematurely.”
Riel then attempted to introduce his own motion, but councillor and meeting chair Andrew Beamer said, under new council rules, he needed to submit his motion in advance of the meeting. Riel noted that he only had the opportunity in the afternoon to review the mayor’s motion, which had been distributed to council earlier in the morning before the mayor held his media conference.
Councillor Kevin Duguay spoke in support of the mayor’s motion, noting that the city will not be able to secure federal or provincial funding for the project if it is not prepared to commit its own funds in advance.
“If we don’t pre-commit to this project, I’m wondering how it will be possible to entice and consider a private sector investment,” he said. “We’re saying ‘We have an idea — we’re thinking about building a new events and sports facility, but we’re not prepared to commit funding.’ We’re going to have a devil of a time securing any funding from our upper levels of government and enticing the private sector to be involved.”
In her remarks, councillor Joy Lachica said city staff should be providing council with a “comprehensive funding and implementation strategy to secure the remaining two-thirds of the project cost” before the city commits one-third of funding for the project, and made a motion to defer the mayor’s motion.
“To just go today and rubber stamp this without that information brought to us from staff is short-sighted, and a deferral would be helpful to us in order to make next-step decisions,” Lachica said.
Councillor Gary Baldwin spoke against deferring the mayor’s motion, saying “We’ve kicked the cans down the road since 2015.”
“What the mayor’s motion says is we’re going to put our money up front, we’re going to commit to the project, and then seek out those partnerships. If no other partnerships come forward, we haven’t spent a nickel.”
For her part, councillor Lesley Parnell spoke in favour of deferring the mayor’s motion.
“This is the biggest project in the history of Peterborough, and we’re talking about it six months before an incoming council, and they could very easily just turn it over at their very first meeting,” she said. “It is going to definitely impact capital financing, our ability to build almost anything else in the city for decades, and definitely affect the next council and the council after that and the council after that. I think they (the incoming council) should be the ones to make the decision.”
“We can’t just have all of our eggs in this one basket. We continue to need to improve our roads and numerous other facilities throughout our city. There’s a lot of pressure from different segments within our community. A lot of it should be provincial responsibility, but it’s coming down onto us and the consequential cost of those social ills is on us. Those are all true costs, whether capital or operating, so we really have to be careful.”
Parnell said she wants a new events centre and acknowledged the issues with the Memorial Centre, “but we have to be realistic about what we can afford to do with all of our other responsibilities.”
Councillor Riel said he would support the deferral, echoing Parnell’s comments by saying he doesn’t want “to saddle the next council” with the funding commitment, adding there’s no “business plan” for the project.
Councillor Duguay said he would not support the deferral, referring to the positive economic impact of event centres in other communities.
“I can appreciate some of my colleagues’ hesitancy from a financial perspective to proceed, but if we continue with our financial hesitancy, that procrastination will only lead to this facility costing more and more money and I think it would be, from my perspective, to the detriment of our community.”
Councillor Parnell said that, while an event centre will improve the community, it will not make money for the city.
“What are we going to sacrifice to get it?” she asked. “Are we going to be looking at some selling of our assets that actually do create revenue — interest — for us?”
“We do need to do our due diligence, just like you would in your own household. You really want something, but can you afford it, and what are you going to sacrifice to get it? I do want this to move forward, but I do think it’s a decision for the next council. That does give the time for staff to do much more of their due diligence, and hopefully secure some of those dollars from other sources.”
Meanwhile, councillor Baldwin said deferring the mayor’s motion would mean members of the public would not have the opportunity to delegate to city council about the project at next week’s meeting.
“I’d like to hear from the community,” he said.
Speaking against deferring his motion, Mayor Leal said that reinforcing the roof of the Memorial Centre would require an estimated $4 million or $5 million, and that the walls would have to be reinforced at additional cost. He added that the facility would have to be “offline for nine to 12 months” and that would affect city revenue as well as users of the arena.
Deferral fails as mayor and five councillors back funding commitment
Council voted on the motion to defer the mayor’s motion, which lost 6-4, with Mayor Leal and councillors Matt Crowley, Don Vassiliadis, Beamer, Duguay, and Baldwin voting against and councillors Lachica, Parnell, Riel, and Dave Haacke voting in favour.
Returning to the debate on the mayor’s motion, councillor Baldwin offered a five-minute history of the Memorial Centre before reiterating his support for the motion.
In his final remarks, councillor Riel said “I haven’t heard one councillor say they are not in support of a new sports and entertainment centre.”
“I haven’t said it. What I’m talking about is funding this with the city’s taxpayer money. Right now on the books, we have a police station at 90 plus million, a fire hall to pay off, Miskin Law arena at 60 plus million, a transit garage to build, and then add 57 million if we have that tonight … former mayor (Daryl) Bennett said ‘I don’t see any money trees planted on the front lawn of City Hall.’ This is taxpayers’ money that’s used to do something.”
Councillor Lachica said her motion to defer did not reflect a lack of support for the project.
“The deferral didn’t have anything to do with saying no to it or putting it off for another term of council. It was simply asking that that we take the time to be fiscally responsible — take a few months for the reporting to come back.”
“We’re not taking the time to have that fiscal responsibility,” Lachica added. “There’s no more wiggle room. There’s so much uncertainty about the municipal tax debt and what that will be in 2027 and forward. In 2025, our asset management plan highlighted a 132 million annual shortfall for our backlog … We need to take all these things into consideration as we consider our municipal tax rate and the impact that this will have. This is not about saying no for another whole term. This is about saying no until we had more information.”
Council then voted on each of the five points of Mayor Leal’s motion.
Councillors voted 7-3 in favour of committing $57 million to the project, with councillors Lachica, Parnell, and Riel voting against. Councillors voted 10-0 in favour of the next three points in the mayor’s motion, related to city staff providing council with a financing plan for the $57 million, identifying options to secure the remaining funding, and providing a report to council on those options.
Councillors voted 9-1 in favour of committing $1.7 million in 2027 to hire a project manager and to conduct site studies and preliminary consultant services for the project, with councillor Lachica voting against.
Items endorsed by general committee will be considered by city council for final approval on Monday (May 11) when registered delegations will be allowed to speak.
