Strategic Planning for the Future of Recreation
Planning the future of recreation infrastructure continues to be a priority for the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD). With assistance from staff, the Comox Valley Recreation Commission completed strategic planning sessions in February 2023 and identified several facilities/recreational upgrade opportunities in the Comox Valley.
Want to stay updated on next steps? Visit our Engage Comox Valley page and learn more.
Engage Comox Valley – Recreation Planning
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The 2017 CVRD Indoor Recreation Facilities Masterplan was developed which made a number of recommendations for infrastructure upgrades and examination of additional facilities.
With the significant growth experienced by the Comox Valley since the last major investment in recreational infrastructure, the Commission recognized in 2019 the need for a comprehensive long-term plan to ensure the sustainable development and delivery of these vital services.
In 2023, the Recreation Strategic Plan developed and proposed a pathway to address the most desired needs for the future, which included a turf field, a potential new ice surface, an expansion to the Aquatic Centre, and investment in field amenities throughout the region (while also trying to address decarbonization and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)).
- February 21, 2023: the Comox Valley Recreation Commission completed a strategic planning session to establish the vision, goals and priorities for recreation services in the Comox Valley (outlined above).
- March 2, 2023: a capital development workshop was held to determine capital facility priorities and set a roadmap to achieve the objectives.
- March 21, 2023: the Recreation Commission was presented the financial forecast and capital plan options.
Since March 2023, staff have been working with the Commission to move forward on the roadmap and continue with feasibility studies and other findings to determine next steps.
Where We Are / Next Steps - August 2024
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In 2022, the CVRD undertook a two-phase engagement process with the public and current user groups to examine adult ice use and allocation. The results of the survey led to some changes/additions to public programs, including an expanded Comox Valley Hockey League. Although the intent of the engagement was to examine ice allocation in the Comox Valley, it became apparent that further examination of an additional ice surface was needed to accommodate the growth and demand for ice use.
In March 2023, the Comox Valley Recreation Commission approved the Recreation Strategic Plan and identified the investigation of:
- A new full-size arena;
- Consideration of 1,500 to 2,000 seats either as an expansion to Arena 1 or attached to a new arena; and
- Addition of six to eight dressing rooms.
Four arena concept designs are being presented for consideration, ranging in cost from approximately $37.6 million to $49.6 million for a community rink, and $70.3 million to $100.1 million for a spectator arena (while ensuring a net-zero standard on any new construction configurations).
In 2024, a business case analysis was conducted that examines the opportunities, benefits, and costs of constructing and operating:
- A spectator arena attached to the Sports Centre;
- A spectator arena adjacent to the Sports Centre that also provides additional storage and community use space; or
- A community rink attached to the Sports Centre (similar to Arena 2).
Borrowing options will be brought to the Commission in the fall of 2024 within the context of a 20-year long-term capital plan for Recreation.
For more information on Arena 3 and the elements presented to the Comox Valley Recreation Commission:
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Since 2008, a second artificial turf field has been identified as a priority in the Comox Valley. Through the approved Recreation Strategic Plan, staff have been working to identify borrowing options and review design opportunities for what a second field could look like. However, this project has been met with some funding challenges as short-term borrowing through bylaw approval amendments has not met the requirements to move forward.
As a result, staff will be bringing funding strategies forward for short and long term borrowing for the Comox Valley Recreation Commission to consider in September 2024.
- Staff Report (June 25, 2024) – Additional Artificial Turf Field Update
- Staff Report (February 13, 2024) – Artificial Turf Field Budget Options
- Staff Report (November 21, 2023) – Artificial Turf Field Design and Borrowing Options
In September 2024, the Comox Valley Recreation Commission passed a motion to proceed with the Artificial Turf Field project with $3,000,000 financed through long-term borrowing over 10 years so that a field may be constructed in 2025. Staff Report - September 24, 2024 Rec Commission
To approve the borrowing, this initiative will be outlined in an upcoming Alternative Approval Process (AAP) in January 2025. For more information and to follow along, visit www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/AAP.
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Under the new Recreation Strategic Plan, the development of a Decarbonization Strategy and Roadmap (DSR) was identified to meet the Comox Valley Regional District’s (CVRD) targets set out in the Corporate Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP). The CEEP set a target of a 50 per cent reduction over 2019 GHG emissions by 2030 across the portfolio, and net zero emissions by 2050, defined as a minimum of 90 per cent emissions reduction.
The DSR was presented in May 2024 and identified 19 key recommended measures, in addition to continuous optimization strategies, to achieve the 2030 and 2050 emissions targets for the recreation facilities. Results of the DSR showed the following:
- Replacing existing building systems according to current capital replacement schedules with like-for-like components will cost $6,954,872 between now and 2050 (not including escalation). The cost to upgrade these components to meet CEEP targets and reduce GHG emissions is an additional $7,676,964, bringing the total capital cost in today’s dollars to $14,633,836.
- When cost escalation estimates are included, like-for-like replacement costs according to current capital replacement schedules is estimated to be $8,744,307 and the incremental cost to decarbonize the facilities is estimated to be $10,257,303, for a combined total capital cost of $19,001,610.
Learn more: Staff Report (May 7, 2024) – Decarbonization Strategy and Roadmap
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On September 24, 2024 staff will be presenting to the Comox Valley Recreation Commission with options for a draft 20-year capital plan that includes:
- Annual capital maintenance;
- Borrowing scenarios and options for a new arena;
- Borrowing options for a second artificial turf field;
- Borrowing options for an expansion to the Aquatic Centre; and
- Integration of the Decarbonization Strategy and Roadmap into the long-term capital plan.
As noted in the Recreation Strategic Plan, staff will be working on the development of a pool expansion feasibility study for the Aquatic Centre in 2025.
- Annual capital maintenance;
Strategic Plan Elements
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The Sports Fields Study commenced in June 2022 and included research and engagement with 11 user groups and 486 responses through a public field use survey. A condition assessment on the state of the fields was completed through the summer and fall. The Study includes recommendations for:
- Potential locations of a second artificial turf field.
- Investment in improvements to sports fields around the region such as:
- Added lighting
- Improved washrooms
- Upgrades to field access
- Development of a region-wide field allocation policy and booking system.
Staff Report (February 6, 2023) – 2023 Sports Fields Study
Technical Appendix – 2023 Sports Fields Study -
In January 2023, the first draft of the Comox Valley Aquatic Strategy was presented to the Recreation Commission and City of Courtenay for review. It was developed in response to earlier Facility Condition Assessments which concluded that both the CVRD Sports Centre Pool and the City of Courtenay and District Memorial Outdoor Pool are nearing the end of their expected lifespans. The study included:
- Review of planning documents including pertinent Official Community Plans (OCPs), Master Plans, and facility assessment reports.
- Evaluating our services based on analysis of aquatic services in other jurisdictions.
- Trends and leading practices for aquatics services delivery and programming.
- Supply and demand assessment of aquatics.
- Community engagement.
The Strategy includes options for analysis that are intended to inform the Recreation Commission in their consideration of capital infrastructure for community recreation services, and to ensure that long-term facility plans align with community expectations for aquatic services.
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The 2017 CVRD Indoor Recreation Facilities Masterplan was developed which made a number of recommendations for infrastructure upgrades and examination of additional facilities such as an additional sheet of ice. Through engagement with adult ice users in 2022, it became apparent that there is a growing demand for programming, but the two facilities cannot meet the growing demand.
To address these challenges, the Recreation Commission has supported the development of a feasibility study to examine the options for a third arena. The feasibility study was completed in July 2024 and now the CVRD is moving forward with a business case analysis to examine which option(s) may be most suitable for the community.
Ice: What We Know
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- In 2022, the CVRD undertook stakeholder engagement to learn more about ice use. Nearly 1,200 people completed the survey, with 69.4 per cent identifying as current ice surface users. Of those, 28.6 per cent said they would like to participate in more activities.
- The most used activity of participants was the Everyone Welcome Drop-in Skates.
- Non-users identified drop-in skating as the activity they were most interested in.
- Key challenges for non-users included feeling unclear about how to get involved and that scheduling didn’t work for them.
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- As the arenas and equipment age, maintaining the current facilities to keep up with popularity is a critical task for the CVRD.
- Maintenance of Arena 1 ice slab was completed during the 2023 off-season and included an analysis of its condition.
- Along with the ice surface maintenance, other priorities include improvements to the mezzanine, parking and external entry, and improved spectator seating and safety in Arena 1.
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- Planning for the future of our ice facilities – including a possible expansion – have been on the CVRD’s radar for 15+ years.
- A leisure ice pad was originally envisioned as part of the 1998 construction of Arena 2, however budget constraints made it not possible.
- In 2017, the Indoor Recreation Facilities Masterplan included the proposed addition of a leisure ice pad and a new full-size ice arena for consideration.
- In 2019, the Comox Valley Recreation Commission made the long-term planning for all recreation facilities to be a strategic priority – bringing together plans to create a direction forward.
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