Could Queen’s Park one day hold a new multi-use, outdoor sports stadium in downtown Barrie?
Gerry Marshall, who’s running for mayor, has a vision for the Ross Street green space that includes baseball, soccer, football, and lacrosse fields.
“We need to create a downtown buzz, a place where people can mix, mingle and connect,” he said. “When our downtown thrives, so does the rest of our city.”
Tennis courts, a skateboard park, a children’s playground, a ball field and washrooms now occupy these 9.6 acres, and have for recent memory.
Marshall says the stadium would not work in isolation, but rather with a new performing arts centre and market square, including a farmers’ market, to drive the downtown’s economy.
His stadium idea isn’t new, but comes from a proposal by Jamie Massie during the last term of council (2014-18) to build an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium on Kempenfelt Bay’s south shore. The Barrie Baycats of the Intercounty Baseball League were also to have played there. That council did not pursue the project.
Chris Gariepy, chairman of the Baycats’ board of directors, said the team is looking to get into the city somewhere.
“There is a really strong need for a sports facility that could be used not only for our baseball team, but other sports as well,” he said.
“As well, there is an opportunity for a facility that could attract entertainment the city," Gariepy added. “Ultimately, we will support anything that works for us that’s within the city of Barrie, because the facility out in Springwater (the Barrie Community Sports Complex in Midhurst) is a great facility… but the location is difficult,” Gariepy added.
“We visualize a stadium where… people could walk to, people could bike to. I believe it would enhance the experience. Downtown Barrie is getting more populated. We believe we could offer real entertainment for downtown residents particularly, but all the residents of the city of Barrie,” he said.
Gariepy said the Baycats have also had discussions with other mayoralty candidates as well as ward 2 candidates, looking for their support for a facility somewhere in the city, ideally in downtown Barrie.
Marshall says his plan is not without challenges.
The tennis courts, used by Barrie Community Tennis Club (BCTC), would need to be relocated, as would the playground, and there are just more than 1,000 public parking spaces within a 10-minute walk of Queen’s Park.
Marshall said the goal would be to see the Baycats play at the stadium along with other outdoor sports teams. He said he has not spoken to the Baycats or BCTC about his proposal.
Mike McCann, who’s also running for mayor, says the idea is worth investigating and he has cautious optimism for the plan.
“The whole family and friends could make it a great family event at little cost,” he said. “The excitement and positive economic spillover into our downtown would be appreciated by many. Opposing teams would get to see what makes Barrie so amazing and boost future tourism. It would have a real impact on our city.
“The positives would be having our amazing Baycats playing at a diamond where you could walk, bike or bus to a game within our city limits,” McCann added. “I would definitely like to see the Baycats in our city limits.
“The questions I would have are simple,” he said. “What would the tennis community think about losing the most played courts in Barrie? What would the neighbours think? What perspective would the police and fire (departments) have? What effect would there be on traffic and parking?”
Barry Ward, also running for Barrie mayor, said it is a matter of fit, or lack thereof.
“Queen’s Park isn't big enough to hold a multi-use sports field, at least without eliminating the tennis courts and the remaining park space,” he said. “I would be interested in seeing whether the current baseball diamond could become a home for the Barrie Baycats without jeopardizing the other facilities in Queen’s Park. It would be great to see the Baycats play within the city limits, especially close to the city centre. The team has great corporate support and I think that could be called upon to pay much of the cost.
“Georgian College has a new multi-sports field with some seating,” Ward added. “That's probably where we should concentrate our efforts for football and soccer. It would make more sense to work with the college than spend money on a new facility.”
Weldon Hachey is also running for mayor and has some basic questions about the proposal.
“Who will pay for this and how much will it cost the city taxpayers? How long will it take to pay back?” he asked. “There is much more I need to know. Parking and zoning must be addressed.”
Alex Nuttall, also running for mayor, said he needs to know more as well.
“At this stage, I don’t have enough information to comment on this project in depth,” he said. “But, I will say that I am certainly open to new ideas that will improve recreation throughout the city.”
Andrew Gordon and Rob Haverson, also running for Barrie mayor, could not be reached for comment.
Marshall said he’s had success in his previous political roles — Penetanguishene mayor and Simcoe County warden — in getting funding from other government levels for similar projects.
“The key is to have well-prepared plans — white papers, business cases — in place well in advance of any funding announcements,” he said. “The closer you are to being ‘shovel-ready,’ the more successful the applications are and that is why I want to engage on items such as these sooner rather than later.
“This would be a multi-million-dollar undertaking with funding coming from private, federal and provincial partnerships, a revenue share model that would see funds returning back to the city to assist with offsetting municipal capital and operating costs," Marshall added.
If Queen’s Park was the location, Marshall said there’s a playground park on Donald Street, 400 metres to the west, that could be enhanced and a partnering opportunity with Hillcrest Public School 400 metres to the north for tennis courts.
Shirley Beattie, Barrie Community Tennis Club secretary, said many proposals are made during municipal elections.
“Nevertheless, note that in addition to the uproar from the tennis community, I would assume that the Queen's Park community in general would not support their quiet neighbourhood being turned into a ‘stadium’ setting,” she said. “We tried to create an indoor tennis space using a bubble 10 years ago and the city assessed this expansion as untenable for the neighbourhood.
“The clubhouse was built from a funding grant from Molson’s,” Beattie added. “Therefore, it's highly unlikely that such a proposal would be supported by the club, and other community tennis players who have used these city courts for years.”
The Baycats have a five-year, $50,000 deal with the city to use Vintage Throne Stadium, at the Barrie Community Sports Complex in Midhurst, until August 2026.
But a new outdoor sports stadium probably wouldn’t happen any sooner than that, Gariepy said.
