U of T’s Scarborough campus could host a $170-million sports facility, should Toronto win the bid for the 2015 Pan-American Games. The arena, slated for the strip along Military Trail currently used for parking lots, would be the core facility of the games. Amenities include two 50-metre competition pools, 10-metre diving tanks, a multi-sport field house, a gymnastic facility, and a training centre.
The building would cost UTSC $37.5 million. The federal and provincial governments would cover 56 per cent of the costs, with the school and the city of Toronto splitting the remainder. Franco Vaccarino, principal of UTSC, said the opportunity was “too good to ignore,” though the current financial situation was considered. “We are coming out of the gates on this one. A lot of the timing and details still need to be worked out.”
UTSC students will have automatic membership to the facility after the games.
Currently, UTSC students only have access to the facility at the Scarborough campus, and have to pay additional fees to use the downtown athletic centre. “The current facility is extremely sub-standard, and regardless of the Pan-American games there is a serious need for a facility,” said Vaccarino. After UTSC’s enrolment ballooned with the double cohort in 2003, he added, “the size of the current facilities are not aligned with the size of the student population […] We would likely be going forward with a similar number in terms of our particular needs, regardless of the games.”
The facility will likely require a student levy, and Vaccarino said the admin will coordinate with the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union and students. SCSU president Zuhair Syed said there will be a fixed levy for infrastructure and start-up costs. After completion, a user-based fee will be applied, likely through a rise in compulsory fees.
“[The student union] can’t officially endorse the project until they have solid numbers on what it will cost the students,” said Syed, though he did call UTSC’s gym “overpacked and way too small.” He cited a number of other shortages, such as inadequate study space, parking, and clubs funding. “We don’t hear too much about an athletics facility,” said Syed. “There’s a million and one issues. It’s not the number one priority right now.”
At St. George, students pay $18 a year to operate the new Varsity Centre bubble on Bloor Street. The university initially produced funds to construct the facility after students refused to pay for it. Last year, after the Faculty of Physical Education announced that the facility would only be available for student use if the students paid a levy for its upkeep, undergrads voted in favour of the levy in a hotly contested referendum.
The faculty is looking at a similar funding model for the planned Centre for High Performance Sport across the street from the Varsity Centre. Bruce Kidd, the Phys Ed dean, has said students will be expected to fund its operations, pending approval from the Council on Student Services.
The Pan Am Games bid decision is expected in October. Should Toronto win, the facilities at UTSC are to be completed for 2014.
