Paddlers' paradise: water sports facility to boost tourism in Sudbury.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: DESIGN-BUILD

Ramsey Lake has attracted activity to Sudbury's core for decades. Now, with the construction of the Northern Water Sports Centre, the city is poised to boost its sports tourism industry even further.

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The $4.6-million project, which has been in the planning for a decade, will improve access to programming for local athletes, but also open up opportunities to host national and international water sports events.

Funding was gleaned from a number of sources: the city provided $500,000, along with the land at Bell Grove; the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. provided $1 million; FedNor provided $1 million; $1 million was provided by Xstrata Nickel (now Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations, a Glencore company); and the remaining $500,000 is being raised via a community fundraising campaign.

The centre is being designed by Sudbury firm Yallowega Belanger Architects.

Located just down from Science North, the centre comprises two buildings: the larger, 14,000-square-foot building will have locker rooms, changerooms, washrooms and canoe club storage on the lower level. The upper level will include a year-round training facility with a kitchen, meeting rooms and a large terrace.

The second, 5,000-square-foot building will be used as cold storage for the dragon boat equipment. When complete, the building and land will remain city-owned entities. The goal is for the facility to become self-sufficient so that it can be run as a year-round training facility.

The facility is being built, in part, to support programming in the community, for which there is a growing demand.

"Many people aren't really aware of the breadth and depth of the community programs that are offered," said project manager Sheila Mendes. "I think there's been a perception that these clubs are somewhat elite and the numbers are small and the organization and facility are serving a small number of people, but the numbers are big, really big."

Support for local programming translates into more tourism opportunities, and the centre's international racecourse, along with its year-round training facilities and viewing area, make the venue ideal for events.

"In terms of a racecourse venue with a viewing area that runs parallel to the racecourse so that people can stand along the boardwalk and watch these events, that's unparalleled in the country," Mendes said. "So that's one of the things that out-of-town competitors and their families who come to Sudbury for an...