Location, location, location: Protesters hold second rally opposite sports field

This protest literally has legs.

Several hundred people swelled the courtyard of Barrie City Hall Wednesday night in opposition to the planned synthetic turf, multi-purpose youth sports field and parade grounds by the waterfront.

It’s the second rally against the location of the land, which is slated for city property east of Military Heritage Park along Lakeshore Drive.

That location appears to be the rallying cry for protesters and the Friends of Allandale Station Park, who organized the rallies.

“I’m not saying it’s all negative, but just because you can put it there doesn’t mean you do,” said Rick Irvin, who lives near the north shore of Kempenfelt Bay. “Put it where it doesn’t harm that treasure (Barrie’s waterfront).”

Irvin said there was no notice, no public input on the city council’s decision.

“I expect better from the city (council) people,” he said. “It’s inappropriate and a bad use of land.”

Susan Christensen, who lives in the Tollendale area of ​​Barrie, said she has an underlying reason for being at the rally.

“Because (the sports field) doesn’t need to be there,” she said. “There are other places he can go.”

Christensen said the Sea Cadets and Navy League could hold their march at Queen’s Park near the Barrie Armory, for example.

“This is a whole park they could use,” she said.

Marg Avery, who lives in the Minet’s Point area, said it’s just a location for her.

“The place bothers me,” she said. “I’m not against the pitch. It took years and years to make (the waterfront) so beautiful and now they’re going to destroy it.”

Ed Prins, who lives on Drury Lane, has a logistical problem with the sports field being there.

“The parking would be crazy,” he said. “You don’t want any more congestion down there. If you have a few hundred cars down there too…”

Terry Leigh said it’s all about protecting what’s already there.

“We have a sanctuary that we’re blessed with, a sanctuary for people and nature,” he said of the sports field, “and it should be preserved.”

The goal of the rally was to get the city council to revisit the issue and come up with a different outcome.

A simple majority of the board is required to review a motion within six months of its approval or defeat, according to Barrie’s procedural rules. The sports field motion passed 9-2. cone Amy Courser and Coun. Jim Harris, who represents this part of Barrie, voted against the sports field being built there.

Last month, the council essentially approved the land and an addition to the new home of the Southshore Center for the Sea Cadets. A permit from the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority is required as its regulated area crosses the upper part of the sports field. An archaeological assessment is also required.

The field would be for football, rugby, soccer and lacrosse and marching, and there could be facilities such as lighting, benches and field furniture. The featured field would be 100 by 154 meters in size, while the Southshore addition would be 600 square meters, for a total construction cost of $9.15 million.

Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall said plans are underway for a smaller sports field area, although its exact dimensions are still being determined by city staff.

Over the past week, opponents of the sports fields have also launched a campaign where there is now a “crew chief” in every ward in Barrie, leading teams of volunteers who knock on doors to make more citizens aware of the proposal from the water’s edge.

Barrie residents are asked to read and sign a paper petition, scan the QR code or even sign the online petition asking council to consider a different location for the multi-purpose sports field. They were signing the petition at Wednesday night’s rally.

Organizers encouraged Barrie residents who disagree with the multi-purpose sports field being located near Barrie’s waterfront to come together for the peaceful rally.

This property is zoned and designated open space (OS), which allows for the development of a multi-purpose sports field. Permitted accessory uses in OS zoning include grandstands, a clubhouse, concession stand, refreshment pavilion, or booth. Parking is also allowed in the OS area. An asphalt parking lot with 35 cabins is proposed for the sports field.

The project includes premium synthetic turf, a multi-purpose sports field concept and is estimated to cost $4.6 million. Funding will come from three city reserves — development fees, tax capital and park-in-lieu cash.

The cost to replace a synthetic turf field is projected, over a 10-year cycle, to be nearly $1.34 million for the turf itself, the bump pad and the line markings.

Not included in the project is a permanent restroom/change, estimated to cost between $650,000 and $1 million.

A city staff report says next is the project’s bid preparation, requests for proposals (RFPs), from June to July, RFP bid evaluation and awarding, August to September, its design from September to December, and construction from October 2024 until July next year.

The Sea Cadets, long-time nearby Spirit Catcher, would move to a 600 sq.m. in addition to what is now the John Hayter Southshore General Community Center, a northward extension of the basement of the existing building. It comes with a price tag of $4.55 million.

At this time, $300,000 has been allocated for the plan and design of the addition. City staff will report back to aldermen for future construction funding approval once costs are refined through the design process. The city has not identified any funding sources for the addition of the Sea Cadets in Southshore.

An online petition started on May 7, 2024, “Say No to the Development of a Multipurpose Sports Field and Parade Ground at SouthShore/Allandale Park” had 6,127 signatures as of Wednesday evening. It can be found by clicking here.

There is also another online petition, started on June 7, 2023, that “Navy League Barrie petitions City of Barrie for multi-use facility on Kempenfelt Bay” with 2,106 signatures, again as of Wednesday evening. It can be found at by clicking here.

Barrie Today, an affiliate of Innisfil Today and Bradford Today, It also ran a web survey last week asking readers for their opinion on the location of the sports ground. Designed solely as a sampling of public opinion, 3,260 respondents participated in the survey. The results can be viewed by clicking here.