Sunderland Arena Project | Township of Brock

The Township of Brock is paving the way with the expansion and renovation of the Sunderland Arena located at 20 Park Street, Sunderland.

The Sunderland Arena project is aimed at meeting the needs for the residents of Brock - for today and tomorrow. This project page is intended to provide information on this up-and-coming project. Details will be added as the project progresses.

Project Plans

Project Features

Arena

This project will significantly renovate the Sunderland Memorial Arena and create a modern facility that includes:

Accessible ice surface 78 x190
6 Dressing rooms, 2 fully accessible
2 New referee dressing rooms
Assessable viewing area in upstairs community centre
Updated Ice Plant
Revitalized reception area / lobby
Brand new boards, glass and netting
And much more

Accessibility

The renovated Sunderland Memorial Arena will be significantly more accessible: the design includes a widened ice surface (78 × 190 ft) with barrier-free access, six new dressing rooms (at least two of which are fully accessible) and upgraded lobby and community-centre spaces with automatic and wide doors. These improvements align with the Township of Brock’s broader accessibility goals under its multi-year accessibility plan, ensuring amenities such as universal washrooms, barrier-free washrooms, accessible viewing areas, and accessible change-room showers. Importantly, the renovations are explicitly designed to accommodate sledge hockey by creating fully accessible dressing rooms and ice access for athletes with mobility impairments. Sledge hockey (also known as para-hockey) is a version of the sport played by athletes seated on sledges, and having an arena specifically designed to support these requirements will make the facility more inclusive and help promote adaptive sport participation in the community.

Construction Updates

Ground Breaking Cermony

The Township of Brock held the official Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Sunderland Arena Project on September 4, 2025. This milestone event marks the official start of construction on a project that will bring long-lasting benefits to our community. Township staff were joined by MP Jacob Mantle, MPP Laurie Scott, Mayor Michael Jubb, Council, and members of the Sunderland Lions Club, who were instrumental in this project from the beginning.

September 2025 Construction Photos

Ice pad construction — West side of ice pad - Board and glass removal

Lobby construction — North facing - Lobby and change room construction

October 2025 Construction Update

Lobby construction view into ice pad — Lobby view looking onto ice pad

view from the ice pad into the lobby — Inside the ice pad facing the lobby and upstairs community centre

East side of arena construction — East side of arena

November 2025 Construction

Ice pad view from upstairs community centre - Removal of floor

Lobby and upstairs community centre renovation

View from upstairs community centre onto ice pad

Project Scope

The Sunderland Arena Project scope is approximately 60% of the building will be renovated and 40% remaining as is.

2024 Amendment to the Project Scope ICIP Grant

Provision for a range of four (4) to six (6) dressing rooms, with a minimum of two being fully accessible;
Inclusion of a community use room and an ice surfacer room;
Expand the building to include a storage room, if it can be achieved within budget;
Expand the ice surface of the arena to a minimum of 75 x 175 feet and maximum of 80 x 200 feet;
Replace the concrete pad in the arena;
Update the refrigeration system;
Reconfigure seating around the rink;
Renovate the existing lobby, dressing rooms and second floor auditorium.

These are the minimum requirements of the project in order to receive the $5.5 million ICIP grant.

2021 Approved Project Scope ICIP Grant

6 new dressing rooms (requested scope change/flexibility- range of 4-6 and keeping 2 as fully accessible)
Community use room (required- size not determined and dependant on budget)
Storage (required- size not determined and dependant on budget)
Ice resurfacer room (required as part of the grant)
Replacement of concrete pad (required as part of the grant)
Expansion of ice surface to regulation size (requested scope change/flexibility- increase but size to be determined)
Updated refrigeration system (required as part of the grant)
Reconfigured seating around the ice surface (will be determined by changes to the ice surface size)
Renovation of the lobby and current dressing rooms to create a larger lobby (required)
New food booth (required as part of grant)
Second floor viewing (required)
Accessibility (required)

Budget

2025 Updated Budget for project

Total Budget	$10,200,000
Less: ICIP Grant	-$5,485,084
Sub-total	$4,714,916
Less: Development Charges	-$3,064,695
Sub-total	$1,650,221
Less: Foster Hewitt Donation	-$25,000
Less: Sunderland Lions Club Donation	-$1,000,000
Sub-total	$625,221
Draw from Sunderland Arena Reserve	-$625,221
Unfunded	$Nil

The Sunderland Lions Club has indicated that they would be interested in contributing to this project, based upon a number of expectations for the project.

Development Charges (DCs) are one time fees collected from developers at the time a building permit is issued. These fees help pay for infrastructure required to provide municipal services to a new development. The use of DCs is to ensure pressures of increased development doesn’t fall completely on the existing tax base and ensures services keep up with where growth is occurring. The funds are contributed, however, become Township revenue to be used to support development. The Township, in accordance with the Development Charges Background Study, determines how the Development Charge contributions will be allocated.

The Sunderland project was placed into the 2019 DC study in the event that the grant was not successful.

Even though the grant was approved the Township will be able to use a portion of DCs to assist with this project. Significant time was spent to determine how much of this project was DC eligible. The DC portion is 65% of the net cost after the grant is deducted from the total cost. The amount that can be used must be substantiated by growth. The Township has a long list of underfunded projects and Development Charges are one source of revenue that helps support growth related projects. By using development charges where possible it lessons the tax burden that would result from acquiring new debt for the project. Borrowing costs escalate with inflation. Borrowing from committed reserves results in debt payments even when we borrow from our own reserves. We are working to ensure that we keep borrowing to a minimum on this project.

Development Charges are received with each new development (residential, non-residential, etc.) within the Township. If the Township has low development, the prospects for future Development Charge collections to support growth will be limited. The Township needs to ensure a balance in their DC projects and focus on projects driven by growth.

In 2024, the Township updated its Development Charge By-Law and the budget for the Sunderland Arena Renovation and Expansion Project was increased.
The Lions Club has indicated that they will contribute up to $1,000,000 for this project, however, the confirmed funding level is dependent upon final approved project scope.

Staff Reports