Cost jumps to $43M for new Victoria Park Arena and sports hall of fame in Brampton

Rebuilding the demolished Victoria Park Arena and bringing a new sports hall of fame to the city will cost more than $43 million as council is poised to commit even more money to the project.

A report going to a committee of council next week shows a request for an additional $14.65 million to construct the new Victoria Park Arena, which will replace the old facility which was demolished in 2021.

Fire tore through the old arena in 2016 leading to the closure of the facility that was once home to junior hockey and lacrosse teams in Brampton. Funding of $28.65 million had already been committed by the city but the report shows the price tag has jumped by more than 50 per cent to a total of $43.3 million.

The extra money could come from an already tapped reserve fund which has shrank from $200 million to $9.5 million in three years, with some costs offset by moving more than $2.2 million in surplus funds from the Bramalea Transit Terminal development project, the report reads.

“Increased construction costs are driven by skilled labour shortages, rising material costs, and fluctuating labour rates,” the report reads. “Higher prices for structural steel, concrete, and metal fabrications, coupled with high inflation rates for labour and materials, have contributed to the overall cost increase.”

An artist’s rendering of what the new Victoria Park Arena could look like in Brampton. (Photo: City of Brampton)

The city put out a request for bids from builders in June and received six proposals from interested parties, according to the report.

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Five of those submissions met the project’s technical evaluations but even the lowest eligible bid “exceeded the approved budget,” leading staff to a request budget amendment of $14,650,000 in additional funding “to award the construction contract.”

If the additional funds are approved, construction on the new Victoria Park Arena could start as early as next month. Once the work does get underway it is expected to take two years to complete.

The old 35,500 square-foot Victoria Park Arena at 20 Victoria Cres. in Brampton was built in 1967. It cost the city more than $17 million to tear down the building after years of the building sitting empty.

Once completed the new Victoria Park Arena will also be the home to a new 4,000 square-foot Brampton Sport Hall of Fame facility.

The report will go before a committee of council this week before going to Brampton City Council for approval.