A year of ice time at the expanded Cambridge Sports Park will cost the city $1.245 million on top of an annual base lease of $150,000.
That's according to an amended lease agreement the city wants to enter with Buckingham Sports Properties Company to allow the Toronto-based company to build two new ice pads at its existing facility on Franklin Boulevard.
The amended 25-year agreement is coming to council next week, six months after council asked staff to negotiate the terms and conditions of the deal.
Staff say finalizing the agreement was met with difficulties and delays due to “substantial changes in construction costs since early 2020 due to the pandemic and supply-chain issues.”
The partnership with Buckingham is considered an affordable option to the $26 million projected cost of adding a twin pad arena to the city’s planned southeast recreation complex.
The expanded facility will complement the recent decision to create two NHL-sized ice pads and extensive renovations to the Preston Memorial Auditorium next year.
Once the new facility opens its doors, the city will decommission the Dickson and Duncan McIntosh arenas since the older arenas will be considered surplus to the city's needs.
Based on ice rental revenue projections and operational savings once those arenas are closed, the city says it will net $675,000 with an estimated tax rate impact of .67 per cent.
Construction of the four-pad facility will add two new ice surfaces, one of which is NHL size, with 700 seats total. The facility’s two existing rinks will get another 100 seats each and one of the rinks will be able to accommodate sledge hockey.
Other amenities include 12 new dressing rooms, two referee rooms, office and storage space for user groups, showers and washroom facilities.
City staff will provide input and approve the final design.
All costs related to the design, build and maintenance of the expanded facility are the responsibility of Buckingham.
The city will purchase 2,400 hours of prime time ice time under the agreement, 200 hours of non-prime time and 200 hours over the summer.
The annual cost will be subject to annual inflationary adjustments in accordance to the Consumer Price Index.
Under the agreement, the facility will be designated a municipal capital facility to exempt Buckingham from paying city development charges but will still be required to pay DCs to the region and the school boards.
The deal freezes the assessed value of the facility at its 2021 value for the next 20 years and requires Buckingham to only pay taxes on the assessed value of the existing facility subject to annual tax levy increases. The addition is exempt from taxation for the agreed period.
The city says it will also refund all building permit fees if the occupancy permit for the expansion is obtained on or before Sept. 1, 2023. Lost development charges and building fees amount to about $600,000.
The agreement also states the company will do its best to resell any unused city ice time and refund those revenues to the city. The city’s current agreement with Buckingham to provide 840 hours of prime ice time between Sept. 1 and April 15 remains in place.
Buckingham owns and operates six arenas, including Cambridge and four-pad facilities in Montreal and Toronto.
Before entering negotiations with Buckingham, city staff consulted with the cities of London, Mississauga and Vaughan to learn about their experiences with public/private partnership arrangements.
The company operates the Cambridge Sports Park on city-owned land through a long-term lease agreement.
