Construction of the new Sports and Recreation Centre is underway. Demolition of the former arena and pool started in September 2023 and the new centre is set to open towards the end of 2025.
Recreation is being called upon to support objectives beyond physical fitness, such as community building, social inclusion, wellness and economic development. The new center will put to the forefront the value sports and recreation as an essential public service for growing a healthy, vibrant and connected community.
The new facilities will serve as a centralized hub for the entire community through a variety of different programs and activities. Sports and recreation will become a key factor in shaping quality of life in Montreal West.
The new Sports and Recreation Centre project consists of the demolition of the previous arena and pool and reconstruction of a new centre in the same location, at 220 Bedbrook Avenue.
The new facility will offer enhanced sports and recreation services, favour an eco-responsible and climate-resilient design and be universally accessible.
View the isometric plans and the floor plans.
About the construction
The new centre is set to open to the public by the end of 2025.
The Town will communicate with residents living in close proximity to the site when stages of the construction may directly impact them. We will communicate major milestones with all residents. Click here to sign up to the e-bulletin.
The town has spoken to the contractor to ensure that the trucks make full stops at stop signs, respect the speed limit in the Town and slow down when approaching speed bumps to avoid excessive noise and vibrations for the surrounding houses.
Air quality was monitored during the demolition process, and safety equipment was worn by the workers. The waste debris was sorted and brought to the disposal site for contaminated materials recognized by the Minister of the Environment.
About the project
Built in 1964, our facilities were 58 years old, far exceeding the 40-50 year expected life span for an arena and an outdoor swimming pool and serious structural, air quality and accessibility issues were at play.
The facilities were unable to support the modern-day expectations of users and limited the Town in its ability to maintain and improve the health, well-being and quality of life in the community.
In addition, recreation activities are currently spread out across several locations, including the Davies Chalet, Town Hall and Community Centre. This situation presents an ongoing challenge regarding service delivery, space, equipment and personnel management, security, etc. which will be solved by the construction of a new centre.
As it stands, the current plans for the new Sports and Recreation Center include a regulation sized-rink, an outdoor L-shaped swimming pool, a gymnasium, 2 multipurpose rooms, pro-shop, café-restaurant, offices and kitchen facilities.
View the floor plans for more details
Yes, the ceiling height of the gymnasium will be 5.4 meters and will allow for the practice of sports such as basketball, badminton, pickleball, etc.
The basketball court will remain where it is, untouched. However, it will be unavailable during the construction of the new centre as Hodgson Field will be used to store materials and equipment for the construction site.
During the construction phase, the priority will be the safety of the citizens.
The tennis courts will remain where they are. The city allocated $20,000 to the tennis club in 2022 to upgrade the clubhouse. However, the courts and clubhouse will eventually require more extensive upgrading, which will be considered at a later phase of the facility redevelopment.
Consult a table with all room sizes.
The mission of the PAFIRS program is to support sports and recreational infrastructures to encourage the practice of physical activities. Understanding this, Town Council adopted a resolution authorizing a second PAFIRS grant application (after the first was unsuccessful) at our Council meeting in December 2019 and detailed the modified project on our website as of February 2020. Though the MWPL is not part of the new project, we have worked extremely hard with its board to secure alternate permanent accessible locations to meet its members’ needs.
The construction of a new facility will not impact other Town services. Road infrastructure work carried out in Town has always depended on the availability of grants for which the Town has been approved. The government programs to finance this type of work are different from the one we received for the construction of a new facility.
It is essential for the Town to provide access to all citizens and users, regardless of age or ability. This stems from a desire to make Montreal West a town that is accessible to all, equitable and inclusive.
The new facility will be completely accessible (e.g. ramps, elevator, access ramp in the pool, accessible rink allowing for sledge hockey, 2 accessible hockey changing rooms, accessible washrooms)
The Town submitted three grant applications since 2017 with three different conceptual designs. Our 2020 application to the Financial Assistance Program for Recreational and Sports Infrastructures (PAFIRS) grant was approved in May 2021 for the reconstruction of a new Sports and Recreation Centre, including the demolition of the existing facilities. The Town received an amount totalling over $16 million as part of the PAFIRS grant.
Our project was chosen for the PAFIRS grant because it increased our sport and recreation services, ensured universal accessibility and favoured an energy-saving design, amongst other things.
Since the launch of the campaign in November 2022, over $2.2 million has been committed, $1.1 million of which has already been collected.
The target fundraising amount is $2.5 million.
This translates to a $ 436 annual increase on the average valued house ($1,033,882).
The impact is based on an expected increase in debt service for a $17,426,330 loan paid over 40 years at a 3%* borrowing rate.
* as approved on March 24, 2023 by the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation in our initial Loan by-law request.
The projected Recreation revenues for 2025 is based on the improved services that will be offered and the new facilities available at that time. New adult and youth programs are planned, the arena will be open year-round and the pool and day camp activities are part of the new programming schedule.
Projected revenue for 2025 over the 2023 budget increased by 880K or 159%. Compared to results for 2019 (last full year, pre-pandemic), estimated 2025 revenues are 71% higher.
54% of the total projected increase is due to increased arena revenues, 19% to recreation programs, 19% to Day Camp revenues, 5% to pool and 3% to miscellaneous revenue.
The breakdown of projected Recreation revenues is as follows:
Projected Recreation expenditures for 2025 have considered the additional operating costs of the new Sports and Recreation Center, based on the operating costs of other similar facilities and the significant increase in operating hours.
The total increase over the 2023 budget is 953K or 52%. These include employee salaries, building maintenance and utilities, tools, office supplies, materials, equipment etc.
76% of the total projected increase is due to increase on salaries and payroll levies and 24% due to other expenses.
The breakdown of the 2025 projected recreation expenditures is as follows:
The projected difference between the increase in revenues and the increase in expenditures in the 2025 recreation budget is 73K or 5.7%, over the Recreation deficit in the 2023 budget.
To limit the tax increase, the Town continues to seek additional funding from the government, is evaluating ways to increase its tax base and will double down its efforts on the fundraising campaign.
