Group asks for city help to fund $6.5-million Dartmouth's Lake Banook Paddle All Centre expansion

Ken Bagnell, CEO of Canadian Sport Institute Atlantic, is asking the Halifax Regional Municipality for $900,000 to help fund a $6.5-million expansion of the Lake Banook Paddle All Centre. 

Bagnell said his group is asking for funds from federal, provincial and municipal governments to transform the building into a world-class facility given it’s a national training centre. It is also the only national training centre in Atlantic Canada. 

“Now, all the national teams — that’s four programs, men’s and women’s canoe and kayak — train daily at the centre in Lake Banook. The needs of a world-class facility and training environment is not what that building was constructed for,” Bagnell told The Chronicle Herald in an interview. 

“It was good for 2009 but looking forward to events we’re going to host over the next five years, we have to upgrade to make ourselves the only choice in Canada to host such events.” 

So, what is being proposed? 

Bagnell and representatives from Canoe Kayak Canada presented their ask to HRM’s community planning and economic development standing committee Thursday. The proposal is to make the centre into a better space for the athletes who use it but also for hosting events and with better community access. 

If they receive the desired funding, the clubhouse’s square footage would be increased to include kitchen space, specialized training equipment like paddle tanks, extra washrooms, meeting rooms and better accessibility. 

In addition to a $900,000 ask of HRM, there are also $2.6-million asks of both the federal and provincial governments. About $400,000 from the community has been received, according to the presentation.

Bagnell said the updated centre would also be a publicly bookable community space. 

“This will be a world-class home to ensure athletes that are from here and other parts of Canada can live and train and be the best in the world here, as opposed to having to move somewhere else,” said Bagnell. “That’s our big goal.” 

Committee asks for staff report 

Coun. Janet Steele (Clayton Park), who chairs the standing committee, put forward a motion asking for a staff report to analyze HRM’s potential contribution, long-term benefits, what public access could look like and several other elements of the proposal. Her motion was unanimously approved. 

Speaking to The Chronicle Herald on Friday, she said an updated centre makes sense given the city’s rich history in paddle sports. 

“I brought forward the motion because I know how important the sport of canoe-kayak is in HRM. We have more than 5,000 paddlers across 11 clubs. As they reminded us yesterday, there’s paddlers from within every district of HRM,” said Steele. 

“The reason this funding is needed is we need to continue to invest in Lake Banook to meet the international and national standards so we can continue to host events.” 

One important element of the proposal is that HRM’s $900,000 contribution could be broken up across three years, with Bagnell acknowledging the city’s fiscal realities. 

But it’s that flexibility that makes a financial contribution potentially possible. 

“The fact that the request is over three years certainly makes it more palatable,” said Steele. “We have severe budget constraints.”