While the new Varsity Centre stands as a monument to the athletic department’s commitment to U of T students, student representatives have shirked their responsibility for keeping the facility. As a result, beginning on May 1 students may not be able to use it.
The Council on Student Services voted against supporting the maintenance costs of the Varsity Centre March 2. This “no” vote prevented an additional $10 per semester from being added to every student’s tuition. It also cost every student the ability to use the new facility.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” said George Polyzois, Chair of the Budget Committee Council for Athletics and Recreation. “If the vote stands, intramural, recreational and intercollegiate teams will not be able to use the Varsity Centre dome.”
In 2002, when submitting the original Varsity Centre proposal, the U of T administration asked the Students Administrative Council whether they would accept paying $21.7 million of the structure’s $61.7 million price tag, with the remaining $40 million to be covered by a capital campaign. When SAC declined, U of T decided to pay the $20 million, on the condition that students paid for the structure’s upkeep, meaning maintenance fees. Two years ago, SAC voted yes on the proposal. Two weeks ago, they voted against it, due to its high cost.
When the university’s fiscal year begins on May 1, students, who have been using the Varsity Centre in the intramural teams or recreationally, will be out of the centre from that date onward. For the length of the summer, only private groups will be able to use the Centre until Sept. 1. Then, Varsity teams and physical education classes will be able to use the facility-until the bubble goes up. When that happens, private firms renting out the facility will pay for the cost of maintaining the structure, and the building will remain in the possession of those groups until their contract runs out.
After the bubble goes up, no Varsity team, no physical education student, no U of T student will be able to use the 5,000 seat, free wireless network-enabled, state-of-the-art playing field.
Private groups that are interested in renting the facility include the CFL, the Toronto Argonauts, the Toronto FC Soccer team, and various other private soccer and social clubs.
The ramifications are dire for students and student athletes at this university.
After the bubble goes up next year, field hockey, football, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, and track and field will no longer be able to call the Centre home.
The Tri-Campus intramural program will be suspended indefinitely. Intramurals at the St. George campus, already bursting at the seams, will get no relief.
Intramural soccer is a popular sport, but the Athletic Centre, where the intramural programs are currently housed, has limited space. Only 30 teams can be in a league, leaving 30-50 teams on a waiting list. With the Varsity Centre, intramural teams would have increased to a 72-team league, significantly shortening the waiting list.
The same would hold true for numerous other intramural teams, affecting close to 10,000 U of T students.
The fees total $17.19 every semester, with an additional $7.19 added as an inflationary adjustment. That number cannot be argued or changed, but $10 a semester was all the sacrifice the students would have had to make. If the vote stands, the students will be sending a clear message about athletics at U of T: that $10 is too much. However, the Council of Student Services will be re-convening to discuss this issue one last time, some time in the next few weeks. Voice your opinion to your student representative.
