Brampton cricket stadium price tag jumps to $49 million

Brampton’s proposed new cricket stadium could come with a tax hike now that the cost of the project has climbed from $35 million to $49 million.

Talks around a new stadium for cricket, soccer, and field hockey began last year with the city considering building the facility at the CAA Centre and Sports Park.

But the cost of building the multi-sport complex has now risen some 40 per cent and could keep climbing, according to a report going to council this week.

“Revised estimates anticipate the project cost for the Multipurpose Cricket Facility to be $49 million,” the report reads, adding the increase is “a result of facility relocation, increased scope and programming change, construction cost escalation and delay impacts.”

The report found that “volatility” in current market conditions put a “significant budget risk” on the project, and staff were unable to determine the future financial impact on the project due to factors like an “ongoing labour shortage, supply chain disruptions and rising inflation.”

RELATED: Almost 70% of residents say no to a new cricket stadium in Brampton

The report proposes the city could look at “alternative delivery models” to help fund the stadium, including a new city-funded capital project or a public-private partnership deal.

The partnership option could see the capital cost of the project paid for by the city with a public-sector sponsor responsible for design development and maintenance, while the capital project route could come with a tax hike in the city’s 2023-2024 budget to pay for some $41.5 million of the stadium’s $49 million price tag.

After years of boasting 0 per cent property tax increases in Brampton, city council approved a post-budget 1 per cent tax levy for the Peel Memorial Hospital in April.

And earlier this month, councillors said moving the University of Guelph-Humber campus to Brampton could come with 4 to 5 per cent tax hike.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has championed the stadium project, telling insauga.com publisher Khaled Iwamura that the investment is something residents of the city want and would benefit from.

But with a municipal election in October and Brown currently chasing the Conservative Party of Canada leadership, decisions on whether or not to go ahead with the project and how to fund it could fall on the next term of council.

Preliminary designs for the stadium included fixed-seating for 5,000 with the possibility to expand to for up to an additional 20,000 temporary seating.

Originally proposed to be located at the same site of Gore Meadows Community Centre, the CAA Centre was later chosen as the prefered location due to the fact it’s more readily able to handle crowds of spectators—something Gore Meadows, which is in a residential neighbourhood, would not.

Along with sporting events, the city said the proposed stadium could also house seasonal events like festivals, concerts, graduation ceremonies and movie screenings among others.

An online poll conducted by insauga.com in October found only 31% of respondents said they wanted the new stadium built, while 69% of people were against the proposal.