Oversight for construction of the Canada Games Park is now the responsibility of Niagara Region.

During a special meeting on June 4—a large portion of which was held in-camera—regional councillors voted in favour of a motion to transfer responsibility of construction of the park from the Canada Games Host Society to the Regional Municipality of Niagara.

The proposal to transfer responsibility was initially presented by the host society in March as a way of allowing the group to focus on organizing and delivering other parts of the games. The group also stated that construction decisions going forward would require more input from consortium members that include the region, Brock University and the cities of Thorold and St. Catharine’s than from the host society itself.

“The host society can deliver this project, but the change we are discussing is a legal mechanism that gives the region the contractual and legal oversight that we feel is best for the project,” explained acting regional chief administrative officer Ron Tripp. “This change is being made not because the project is not performing well.”

The previous council voted to cover any capital or operational overruns for the games.

“The decision to do this is already made,” said Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati. “We have committed to this project. You can’t be partially committed like you can’t be partially pregnant.

“It’s the right decision for the region to backstop this because we have some control. Trust is good. Control is better. With the experience we have here on staff, I feel much better about this.”

Construction schedule uncertain

The $83-million park, which will serve as the showpiece for the games, is being built on the grounds of Brock University. The building will include a quad gym, two ice pads, a track-and-field facility, beach volleyball courts, a cycling pavilion and parking. A second, $5-million accessible rowing facility, is being built on Henley Island.

Aquicon was awarded the contract last fall, and will complete the work in three phases. The first aims to have the outdoor athletic facilities for the games completed by July 15, 2021. The second aims to have the interior amenities—such as wrestling and lacrosse facilities—completed before July 31, 2021, and the final phase calls for substantial completion by December 1, 2021. Construction is scheduled to be frozen between July 31 and August 31, 2021 for the games themselves.

A project update issued by the region ahead of the June 4 meeting suggests those schedules may be in flux. Prior to the government-mandated shut down of all non-essential construction on April 4, a report from UEM Consulting, the project management consultant, indicated phase one was on schedule, but the schedules for the other phases were at risk. The report at the time blamed the delays on a combination of weather events, unknown site conditions, permit delays, anticipated material and labour shortages and an already aggressive construction schedule with fixed deadlines.

On May 13, when construction was allowed to resume, Aquicon provided a revised construction schedule that indicated substantial completion would be delayed by six weeks. The cost of that delay remains undefined, however. Re-aligning the schedule, says the regional report, can be done by either reducing the scope of work, re-sequencing construction, or increasing project costs by permitting after-hours and shift work.

Completion of phase one of the work is now expected to be delayed to July 23, 2021, while the completion date for phase two is uncertain, and may not achieve games-ready status by July 31, 2021. The regional report says the host society is working with the general contractor to define what games-ready means to re-sequence work to achieve that target.

It is not yet certain whether the games will proceed on schedule, or if their format will be amended due to the pandemic.

“The host society and the federal and provincial governments are evaluating everything about the games on an ongoing basis and whether any alternatives are required because of COVID,” said Tripp. “Nothing has been decided.”

The host society also hasn’t asked for any extra funding at this point, he added.