May 19, 2014 (Milton, ON) – The Mattamy Velodrome in Milton is now expected to open on September 30 confirms Greg Mathieu CEO of Cycling Canada. We previously reported how construction was about eight weeks behind schedule, but things have now been accelerated and the delay has been cut in half for the facility.

Originally, the opening was scheduled for late August before delays turned that into late October. Mathieu cautions, however, that his organization does not own the facility, and thus “qualifies” his answers. The world-class velodrome facility will be used for track events during the Toronto 2015 Pan Am & Parapan American Games from July 10 – August 15, 2015.

“The velodrome is expected to be substantially completed on September 30,” said Mathieu. “There is a lot of work to be done to commission (testing of electrical, mechanical and safety systems) the building to allow for public occupancy in advance of the scheduled events after the September 30th completion so there won’t be a public opening on September 30th.  That will be done [later] as part of or after the test event.”

Very shortly after the facility opens, the bikes will be rolling: “The Milton International Challenge will be held October 17-19 and the Canadian Track Championships October 22-25. Together, they are a major Toronto 2015 test event.”

Mathieu also noted that Graham McArthur has been hired as the Velodrome General Manager. McArthur, an Australian, was previously Manager for Adelaide SuperDrome., the home of Australian Institute of Sport High Performance Cycling Programs.

A recent report in Our Windsor quotes Toronto 2015 CEO Saad Rafi as also saying he is confident the Milton velodrome will be finished on time for a Games test event in October and says that the facility will be “a tremendous legacy” for Milton. The same article suggests that the price tag on the facility will now be over $60 million instead of $56 million as previously announced. But Mathieu expressed skepticism about this purported price increase:

“Given the Infrastructure Ontario Design, Build, Finance proponent bid process I don’t believe the cost can change. There are specific costs for the building shared by Milton and Toronto 2015 (Government of Canada capital funding to Games) and site servicing costs that are the responsibility of Milton. I have not received anything telling me that any of the costs have changed.”

We understands that some $1.2 million of private fundraising is still being sought to complete the project. More info at: <http://make-it-happen.ca>http://make-it-happen.ca

As reported previously, the 154,000-square-foot Mattamy Velodrome will include: a 250-m indoor track; a fitness centre; a studio (for yoga, Pilates, group classes); a 300-metre walking/jogging track, multipurpose rooms; legacy offices (for 3rd party lease); a concession; a bike shop (for 3rd party lease); three gymnasium courts suitable for basketball, volleyball, badminton, group events, trade shows; and rental bikes.

Pedal also contacted the Town of Milton about the completion date and revised cost (if any), but did not receive a response by press time.

Our previous report of an 8-week construction delay here.
Our Windsor article here.