Work on $155 million sports complex in Ontario town on schedule

Work is progressing on schedule at the $155 million Whitby Sports Complex under construction in the north end of town.

Capital Project Manager Steve Walo said “much progress” has been made on the project to date, with many key construction milestones having now been completed, including “significant” underground work to support the outdoor park space and continued construction on the 160,000 square-foot complex.

Crews completed the concrete pour for one of two arenas last month – raking, levelling and finishing the nearly three school busloads of concrete needed to complete the slab – and work on the complex will continue over the coming months, with a ramped-up focus on building out the 13-acre outdoor park space “while the weather’s warm,” Walo added.

“We are working hard with our project partners to get work done as quickly as possible and look forward to welcoming the community to this state-of-the-art facility.”

Construction timelines for structural steel, the building ‘envelope’ and underground foundations, geothermal drilling, mechanical and electrical infrastructure and parking lots were met last June.

The $155 million Whitby Sports Complex is being built on Baldwin Street (just south of Highway 407 and the Brooklin community), with a vision to create a multi-purpose gathering space for inclusive sport and community programming – a place for residents of all ages and abilities to connect, play and get active.

The accessible, net-zero carbon facility will feature a twin-pad arena, an aquatics centre, double gymnasium, wellness studio, three-lane walking track, meeting rooms and arts and cultural spaces.

The complex will incorporate features to help visitors navigate with ease, including wheelchair ramps, slip-resistant floor finishes, widened automated doorways, ramp access in swimming pools and barrier-free signage. There will also be gender-neutral and universal washrooms and change rooms.

The 13-acre outdoor park neighbouring the facility is planned to include pickleball, tennis, and basketball courts; a multi-purpose sports field; and a playground, as well as a skatepark and pump track.

Whitby Mayor Elizabeth Roy called the facility a “significant milestone” for the town at the groundbreaking.

“We heard loud and clear that people want a flexible and connected design with lots of outdoor, aquatics, and gymnasium space. That’s exactly what this site will deliver, helping to ensure that we can meet the recreational needs of our growing community for years to come.”

The playground features a variety of play structures designed for children of all ages and abilities, including engineered wood fibre playground surfacing, accessible junior and senior play structures, inclusive swings, seating/picnic areas, shade structures, shade trees, and more.

The playground is also designed to complement the surrounding recreational amenities, which include lit pickleball, tennis and basketball courts; a lit multi-purpose artificial turf field, a skatepark and pump track and more.

The complex will also include an Indigenous art installation.

The cost for the facility rice had ballooned to $154.9 million by the time the town awarded the contract to Ledcor Construction in July of 2023, with funding boosted by a $25 million investment from the federal government.

“This state-of-the-art facility will meet the immediate and future recreation needs of our rapidly growing community as well as the town’s environmental and climate commitments,” enthused Roy last year, adding that it will one of the first multipurpose recreation facilities in Canada to be certified as a LEED Gold and Zero Carbon Building through the Canada Green Building Council.

The complex is expected to open in late 2025.

Photo Bob Hughes