Port lands sports complex looks to break the ice

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The site is chosen, the federal funding confirmed. Now all Toronto needs to break ground on a new arena and sports complex in the port lands is an extra $10-million to $15-million from a private investor.

To find that partner, the city has turned to its fledgling partnerships office, which was established in mid-2007 to reel in private money for public projects.

The partnerships office has faced the tough task of persuading businesses and non-profit corporations to give, during a recession, to a city whose mayor and council majority are reluctant to plaster corporate logos on public property.

Agreements worth $29.2-million for public-private projects in 2008 were entered by various divisions of the Toronto city government. The partnerships office's involvement was small in most cases.

Finding private money for the proposed port lands sports complex could be the office's biggest test so far; time is of the essence because federal funds for construction expire in March, 2011.

City officials expect to issue a formal request for proposals by the end of this month, having tested the waters with several possible partners.

"We feel confident going back into the marketplace to lay out the specific requirements and entertain some responses [from potential private investors]" says Phyllis Berck, director of the partnerships office.

So far, the public sector has put up $34-million for the proposed sports complex, including $22-million first pledged more than five years ago by the federal Liberal government and confirmed by the current Conservative government.

With an additional $10-million to $15-million from potential private investors, construction of the long-promised facility (for ice pads and possibly other sports such as soccer and lacrosse) could begin later this year.

After some debate on the location, the proposed 3.2-hectare site is on Commissioners Street and the Don Roadway in the port lands.

"It's been a homeless rink for quite a long time," said local councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 30 Toronto-Danforth), "and now it has a place."

Despite the partnership offices early successes, critics say the city has been too slow to capitalize on deals with the private sector.

"We've been under-achieving," said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34, Don Valley East), a proponent of attracting private investors to build new rinks in the city. "It's a great opportunity to leverage community investment."

Naming rights have proved a stumbling block.

Except for select cases such as BMO Field, Toronto has been reluctant to sell naming rights to public assets.

With good reason, Ms. Fletcher said. "We should be very careful," she added, arguing that for-profit interests must not overwhelm city interests.

Marrying public and private dollars is not new. Mr. Berck's office will not release data on deals made in 2009 for several more weeks, but she said the city added several projects last year, despite the downturn.

One was an unsolicited donation of $100,000 (U.S.) by gardening tool maker Fiskars for a public flower and vegetable garden makeover in an under-served Scarborough neighbourhood. The project, a first for the company in Canada, is part of the Finnish's company's initiative to gain more visibility in North America.

The recession changed how some businesses worked with the city. Increasingly, corporate marketing departments - not community relations departments - put up funds, with an eye to the bottom line.

"They wanted more visibility and recognition for their contribution," Ms. Berck said. "They [marketing officials]are much more numbers driven, which forced us to think in a more sophisticated manner about what the city gives in exchange for the partnerships."

A big reason for corporate sponsors to work with the city, she said, is "that we are a highly credible corporation."

In 2007, responding to a call by the mayor for corporate support for crime-prevention, Microsoft Canada invested in a project, with several other groups, to provide computer and software access to youth in Rexdale. "It's been a huge success," said Gavin Thompson, director of corporate citizenship for Microsoft, with more than 1,100 students signed up and 9,700 repeat visitors a year to the Pro Tech Media storefront office.

Since then, Microsoft has extended the project to two sites in Scarborough with plans for another in Mount Dennis, near Eglinton and Jane, another poor neighbourhood. In total, Microsoft has invested $800,000 to support the city's crime-prevention effort.

"They put a stake in the ground to say they would tackle issues in these priority neighbourhoods with this well-thought out safety plan," says Mr. Thompson.

"We saw them step forward as a leader."

Editor's Note: The original newspaper version of this article and an earlier online version of this article incorrectly stated that the partnerships office alone secured 182 deals worth a total of $29.2-million in 2008. This online version has been corrected.