Hope and optimism have swelled in recent months, as it appeared that a deal had been reached that would see a new Varsity Stadium built. All this momentum was crushed on Thursday, though, as it was announced that the project had come to a screeching halt.
“I want to inform you personally that the administration has made the difficult decision not to proceed with the proposed Varsity Centre partnership,” said Interim President Frank Iacobucci in a written statement to the university community. “We are deeply disappointed by this outcome as we had hoped to go forward to Governing Council with an exciting proposal for a facility that could have served and met the needs of the university community, the broad external community, as well as our partners in this project [the Toronto Argos, the Canadian Soccer Association and the government].”
Jon Dellandrea, U of T vice-president and chief advancement officer, echoed these sentiments: “We made the decision on Wednesday morning that this deal was not financially viable. Issues arose that required changes to the design, and as a result the price tag went up.”
Dellandrea also expressed his personal aggravation, as he spent much of the last year working on the deal for a new facility.
“I have spent three hours a day working on this project,” commented the vice-president. “As you can tell I am frustrated right now.”
The administration claims that the project ballooned from the initial figure of $80 million to upwards of $100 million, thanks to a forced change in design that would have seen seats built on top of Varsity Arena, instead of over top of Devonshire Place. This change came after Trinity College and others complained that the original stadium design was going to force part of Devonshire to be closed off permanently and that it would render some Trinity facilities unusable.
A realization that the project would be over-budget had surfaced in recent days, as the design kept getting altered.
“Awareness was growing over the last couple of weeks that the cost was going to be a lot more than we initially expected,” said Bruce Kidd, Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Health. “We now have to consider our options. We know what our needs are and we have to go back to the drawing board. This is a disappointment, a setback, and very discouraging for teams wanting to use the stadium.”
It’s also the contention of faculty members that the university does not have the money to afford a more expensive stadium, like this one has become.
“There is a history in this city of sports facilities projects starting at $100 million and ending up at $200 million. For example, look at Skydome. We don’t have the money to build this stadium,” said Dellandrea. “If we did we would do it.”
Even though government support was offered for this initiative, both Kidd and Dellandrea are pessimistic that the provincial or federal government will give any future funding.
“Government will not play in this game any more,” added Dellandrea. “That is the harsh, unkind reality of the situation.”
U of T will not provide the funding and the government will not provide the funding. That leaves students and outside sources, such as alumni, to foot the bill for a new project. Money has traditionally been attained from these two groups through fund raising and levees.
Dellandrea clearly believes that these avenues, especially student contributions, are the only way that a stadium will be built in the foreseeable future: “The possible way this could drive forward is if a student initiative were started. If student leadership wanted to do this through some sort of student-imposed levy, we could make this happen.”
“If student leadership were willing to take this on,” he continued, “we could marshal U of T alumni and get some support from the university. Our alumni are disenchanted with the various project failures and they are so ticked off with the university that they don’t want to get involved. Until students start showing that they want to get this done, they won’t get involved.”
He went on to mention the last Varsity Stadium project, which would have greatly incorporated student funds: “We need to be reminded of history. There was a project a few years ago that was an excellent proposal. That one got killed because of student mood, and that levy failed.”
Senior students will recall that a referendum was held in 2002 on this proposed levy. That proposition was defeated by a large majority, as most students voted against it or did not vote at all.
Now it is back to square one. U of T must look for yet another way to rebuild a stadium at the corner of Bloor and Devonshire.
Bruce Kidd and Jon Dellandrea say they are still committed to looking for a solution to this seemingly cursed problem of constructing a new sports facility. “When you lose a race or a game, you prepare to go again,” stated Kidd. “When you fall off a balance beam you have to get back on it. We are going again and will make a new stadium a reality.”
“We remain totally committed to provided quality facilities for students,” added Dellandrea. “We are committed to doing something.”
As it stands now, the Toronto Argonauts and the Canadian Soccer associations will have to look for new Toronto homes, as they were also counting on being able to use the new structure by 2006. The Argos have considered York and the Canadian National Exhibition grounds as possible alternatives in the past, and will likely do so again.
