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Windsor council narrowly approved millions more being spent for a downtown ice rink considered central to plans for a reimagined civic esplanade aimed at drawing more visitors to the city’s struggling core.
With the mayor breaking a 5-5 split vote on Monday, council supported spending $15,455,000 on an ice rink just north of city hall — roughly $6 million more than council previously approved for the project. And that figure was more than $11 million higher than what was originally projected just two years ago.
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“If we aspire to be a prominent city offering exciting amenities and activities, this is something we need to do,” said Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino, who represents the downtown.
“This project forms the core of our civic esplanade. It’s the base — and we can’t compromise on that. It’s designed to be a year-round facility, not just a skating rink.”
Joining Agostino in voting in favour of more funding for the rink were Ward 5 Coun. Ed Sleiman, Gary Kaschak (Ward 8), Kieran McKenzie (W9), Jim Morrison (W10), and Mayor Drew Dilkens.
Voting against were Fred Francis (W1), Fabio Costante (W2), Mark McKenzie (W4), Jo-Anne Gignac (W6), and Angelo Marignani (W7).
Are you out of your mind?
Gignac, like some of her council colleagues, said she couldn’t continue to back the project because of its escalating cost. Council unanimously supported the new rink roughly two years ago when its price tag was expected to be around $4 million.
“The feedback that I’ve been getting from the community is, ‘Are you out of your mind?’” said Gignac.
“When a project comes in at four times the cost … I have to say, it’s not something I can support.”
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In June 2022, council voted to decommission the rink at nearby Charles Clark Square. The then-26-year-old rink, which had brine leaks in its pipe system, would have needed a $1-million facelift to reopen.
At the same time, council approved paying a consultant to design a new rink just north of city hall — the first phase of Windsor’s civic square and esplanade project. That plan aims to transform land stretching north into a year-round public gathering and event space.
A new rink was expected to cost $4 million and include basic infrastructure: a small building to house ice resurfacing equipment, limited hardscaping, and limited lead walks for access.
Through subsequent public consultation, however, the city learned residents wanted a year-round events space with more features. Council heard that including those features, along with construction inflation, had since increased costs to more than $15 million.
To cover the added cost, the council approved the transfer of $2.3 million from the city’s corporate inflation mitigation project; pre-committed around $3.2 million in otherwise uncommitted funding from the 2025 Canada Community Building Fund, and pre-committed roughly $576,000 from the 2025 Tourism Infrastructure Development and Program Fund (the city’s hotel tax fund).
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“I get that the dollars are high, and had it not been funded in a sensible way, I wouldn’t have supported it either,” Dilkens told reporters after Monday’s meeting.
“But coming up with non-property tax revenue sources allows us to deliver on this project without having to go back to the property tax base and without having to cancel any other projects.”
The rink design includes a 26-by-60-metre oval-shaped rink with a long island positioned in its centre to create a skating loop. In warmer months, the island will have an active water feature and light display.
A 142-square-metre pavilion west of the ice rink will house the Zamboni, ice-making refrigeration system, water feature equipment, storage, an office, and two public washrooms. The pavilion will be surrounded by native trees and landscaping.
The project will also include electrical infrastructure to host future events in the space when it’s not being used as an ice rink.
Ward 2’s Costante said it was “difficult” for him to oppose an investment in the inner city, but the project’s cost was too high to support. He suggested residents could continue to enjoy free public skating at arenas while the city finds ways to “shave costs” from the downtown rink.
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“What the community didn’t ask for was an ice rink on steroids … with all of these added amenities,” Costante said.
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Free public skating was popular in the city during recent cold months, according to a staff report. From October to March, just over 10,000 people attended the 115 free indoor public skating sessions offered at four arenas across Windsor: the WFCU Centre, Capri Pizzeria Recreation Centre, Adie Knox Herman Recreation Centre, and Forest Glade Arena.
The free public skating sessions result in between $30,000 and $35,000 in estimated annual lost revenue to the city’s recreation department. That’s how much the city believes it would have made, had it charged those roughly 10,000 participants to skate during the 2023-24 season.
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