Burnaby's velodrome could see new operator and different uses | Daily Hive

Indoor velodrome at Harry Jerome Sports Centre in Burnaby. (Burnaby Velodrome Club)

Due to the major reinvestments needed to keep the facility in good condition, the City of Burnaby is conducting a bidding process to seek a new operator for the Harry Jerome Sports Centre.

The City-owned facility is contained within an air-supported roof, not entirely dissimilar to the previous inflatable roof of BC Place Stadium. It is located at the northwestern base of Burnaby Mountain, accessible by Barnet Highway and next to Barnet Marine Park.

It was originally completed in 1997, initially a project spearheaded by the local cycling community to replace the China Creek Velodrome built for the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, which was demolished in 1980 and replaced by Vancouver Community College’s Broadway campus.

The stalled, partially built construction project was later taken over by Volleyball BC, which completed the facility and has operated it ever since under various lease terms with the municipal government.

You might also like:

The 53,000 sq. ft. facility features a 200-metre-long velodrome track, with the enclosed centre area configured for six volleyball courts. Volleyball BC operates and maintains the overall facility and the courts, while the cycling track is sub-leased to the Burnaby Velodrome Club.

Harry Jerome Sports Centre volleyball bc

Indoor velodrome at Harry Jerome Sports Centre in Burnaby. (Google Maps)

Despite Harry Jerome Sports Centre’s relatively remote location, the highly specialized features under the dome are well used, reaching 80 per cent occupancy during peak seasons. It sees over 100,000 visitors per year, primarily for volleyball programming and external rentals, as well as pickleball. Cycling activities on the velodrome account for up to an additional 7,500 visitors per year.

This is a regional facility. About 28 per cent of the volleyball users and 25 per cent of cycling users live in Burnaby, with the remainder coming from elsewhere in Metro Vancouver. Furthermore, this indoor cycling track is just one of only four across Canada and the only one in the Pacific Northwest, but its length and overall design fall short of Olympic standards. However, it has served the purpose as a training ground for some of Canada’s Olympians competing in track cycling.

The only other velodrome facility in British Columbia is WestShore Velodrome in Victoria, which is an outdoor cycling track originally built for the 1994 Commonwealth Games.

Harry Jerome Sports Centre velodrome burnaby

Layout of the indoor velodrome and sports courts at Harry Jerome Sports Centre in Burnaby. (City of Burnaby)

Indoor velodrome at Harry Jerome Sports Centre in Burnaby. (Volleyball BC)

Indoor velodrome at Harry Jerome Sports Centre in Burnaby. (Burnaby Velodrome Club)

However, the City of Burnaby has noted that Volleyball BC is facing significant financial struggles with operating the facility, even with its highly nominal $1.00 per year lease agreement and municipal tax exemptions. In addition to operating costs, the facility is also facing rising capital expenses needed to reinvest in its aging infrastructure and upgrade standards.

A private consultant for the City determined that the facility needs $19 million of maintenance and upgrades over the next 20 years, while a different consultant for Volleyball BC suggested the need for $5 million of work over the next 20 years, with the vast majority undertaken over the coming decade. However, Volleyball BC has indicated that they would still need municipal funding support to complete their lower projected capital costs for extending the facility’s lifespan.

This would build on the capital upgrades completed over the past decade, including replacing half of the flooring at a cost of $317,000 in 2017, air unit replacement of $129,000 in 2018, and a roof replacement of $1.8 million in 2023.

Indoor velodrome at Harry Jerome Sports Centre in Burnaby. (Volleyball BC)

Indoor velodrome at Harry Jerome Sports Centre in Burnaby. (Burnaby Velodrome Club)

There have been challenges with maintaining the roof throughout the facility’s history, including the collapse of the roof twice in 2000 due to its poor condition, requiring a replacement in 2002 funded by Volleyball BC. The roof collapsed in winter 2008/2009 due to heavy snow and power failure, and again in winter 2022/2023, which forced the most recent roof replacement project, with the federal government contributing $750,000 and the municipal government with $500,000.

The City’s consultant suggested three scenarios for the facility’s future, including retaining the existing uses of sports courts and indoor cycling and performing critical facility upgrades at a cost of $19 million, removing the velodrome track for an expansion and reconfiguration of the sports court uses and performing critical upgrades for $16.5 million, and demolishing the facility for $800,000, not including the added costs for potentially converting the site into expanded park space.

As for other changes in the immediate area, the municipal government announced last month it signed a co-management agreement for Barnet Marine Park with the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation. It also recently implemented new parking management strategies for the waterfront park’s parking lots, which see heavy use during the peak season, including new seasonal parking time limits and a new online tool that provides real-time information on the number of available parking stalls.

Indoor velodrome at Harry Jerome Sports Centre in Burnaby. (Burnaby Velodrome Club)

You might also like: