Town prepares to finalize Aurora Sports Dome purchase

Municipality adds to its stable of facilities with year-round, 60,000-square-foot resource

Yorkregion.com
March 5, 2021
John Cudmore

The Town of Aurora has purchased the Aurora Sports Dome.

Final details are still to be completed, but Mayor Tom Mrakas confirmed March 3 the municipality bought the 60,000-square-foot air-supported facility located on Industrial Parkway from Terry and Trevor Redvers.

Negotiations for the acquisition of the year-round facility began last fall, when an original 15-year lease agreement expired. The original agreement also included two five-year options.

The facility opened in 2005.

"It’s awesome," said Mrakas, who vowed during the 2018 mayoral campaign to purchase the facility. "I think it is going to bring a lot of value to our residents and sports organizations and provide a high level of service to the town.

"I believe that under the town’s ownership, we can all work together to make this a true community-led facility. I think ultimately, we’ll be able to offer our high standard of service to our residents."

The Redvers family owns and/or operates five other dome facilities, including the Marilyn Redvers Tennis Centre in Aurora. Others are located in Newmarket, Richmond Hill and Thornhill.

The municipality will assume bookings and field allocations, along with maintenance, for the Aurora facility starting April 1.

Financial terms of the agreement will be released when the transaction is complete.

The bubble is less than three years old, as it was replaced after being destroyed during a windstorm in May of 2018.

"They got a good deal," Terry Redvers said. "Right now, I can’t say a whole lot about it.

"Whenever you have sales, the seller thinks he should have got more and the buyer thinks he should have paid less.

"Trevor and I can focus all of our energies in further development of our tennis operations. I am proud of what we have done at ASD in providing all the various sports groups a great facility."

The facility has been used sparingly for most of the past 12 months due to COVID-19 and health restrictions. Teams in several sports, including soccer, baseball, football and lacrosse, have used the facility for training and games.

"There is a lot of value for all of our organizations under the town’s ownership, and that’s no offence intended to the previous service," Mrakas said. "I think the town got a great deal and value. In essence, it is a new bubble."

The town currently owns and leases the property on which the dome stands to the Redvers.