North Bay city council to get an update on $63M twin-pad arena construction

North Bay city council will get an update Tuesday on plans to build a community and rec centre at the Steve Omischl Sports Complex.

North Bay city council will get an update Tuesday on plans to build a community and recreation centre at the Steve Omischl Sports Complex.

According to the staff report filed by special project manager David Jackowski, foundation work is underway at the site of the future twin-pad hockey arena.

Coun. Justine Mallah said the project is going as planned so far.

“We are on budget and on time and you don’t always hear that when it comes to construction,” Mallah said.

EllisDon Corp. is taking the lead on the construction, teamed with J.L. Richards & Associates and BBB Architects.

The $63 million project is supported by up to $25.778 million from the Government of Canada’s Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program.

Council voted to proceed with the construction in mid-November 2024. The latest report said all micropiles have been installed and the foundation work is moving forward.

To date, the project has incurred minimal extra costs due to site preparation ($8,200) with final measurements and invoicing for groundwork to be completed at the end of May.

The arena will include two ice pads, a community room, a walking track and 14 dressing rooms. The complex will have 408 parking spots.

While the trade war with the United States poses some risk to the project budget, the reports said no tariff-related costs have been incurred so far.

“We’ve planned ahead and have been stockpiling. We’ve also been getting materials from Canadian suppliers, which is very important,” Mallah noted.

“We’re working closely with EllisDon and there are a couple of pieces that could be potentially affected by tariffs.”

Tariff-related risks

The report said the project team has implemented take steps to mitigate tariff-related risks. These include assessing supply chain vulnerabilities to potential tariffs, sourcing materials from alternative suppliers less impacted by trade restrictions and securing critical materials in advance to lock in costs to avoid future price increases.

The design includes a 300-square-foot space for a food services vendor, delivered as a base shell with basic utilities stubbed to the space.

A request for proposals will be issued shortly to select a vendor to provide food and drinks tailored to the community centre’s sports and community activities.

The vendor will be responsible for costs such as ventilation and equipment, ensuring no additional impact on the project budget.

“It’s really a great opportunity to have a presentation from staff,” Mallah added.

“We know that this is a project that community members care about and members of city council care about.”

Construction is scheduled to end in August 2026.