University says Francophonie Games group sought infrastructure 'wish list'

Organizers of the 2021 Francophonie Games asked the University of Moncton for an infrastructure "wish list," projects later included in the event's $130-million business plan.

Up to $36 million in infrastructure spending and upgrades of existing venues is part of the soaring cost of hosting the games, despite previous statements the event wouldn't need additional infrastructure.

The games are supposed to start in July 2021 at the Moncton Stadium at the University of Moncton and run 10 days.

The event is expected to draw more than 3,000 top athletes and artists from around the world. It is open to all New Brunswickers and other Canadians, not just those who speak French.

Some of the spending has been questioned by an independent assessment of the $130-million plan carried out for the federal government by MNP LLP.

The review report states infrastructure plans were developed in consultation with the municipalities and the university.

Marc Angers, the university's director of communications, said employees of the games organizing committee asked the institution in early 2017 about possible upgrades.

"They asked us to provide a wish list of what should be the improvements that could potentially be made," Angers said.

He said the university saw the wish-list items in the committee's business plan when it was released publicly last week. He said the university had no role in developing the business plan.

Angers wasn't able to offer specifics on which projects were on the list because employees were out of the office.

The business plan given to the province and federal government as part of a request for taxpayer funding calls hosting the event an "opportunity" to develop and upgrade sports and cultural infrastructure. 

The original $17.5-million bid — and officials in 2016 — boasted that the use of existing infrastructure would keep hosting costs low.

The business plan calls for spending to upgrade the stadium competition track, track and field warm-up areas, and throwing and jumping areas. It also seeks to add an elevator from the ground floor to the third floor and to lower the sidewalk at the entrance to the stadium.

The review report calls the purpose of some of the work unclear and said other work is more about improvements to community assets than requirements to host the competitions.

The report calls the reasoning for refurbishing the launch area unclear as the facility has been used for that purpose before.

It makes similar comments about a new runway and infield, stating it seems "motivated by the idea of ​​leaving infrastructure to the community rather than the essential needs of the games."

Spending $13.1 million on soccer facilities represents the largest single component of infrastructure spending. It includes two artificial fields at the community college campus in Dieppe and an artificial field at Moncton's CN Sportsplex.

"The Games, along with funding from the provincial and federal governments, are certainly playing a major catalyst for these capital projects, the outcome of which would constitute a lasting legacy for the community," the MNP report says  about the fields.

The report says the consultant wasn't aware of any efforts to obtain grants or funding outside the framework of the Games.

No comment from organizers

Tracey Suley, a spokesperson for the organizing committee, declined to comment last week for this story.

"We are still in our discussions with our funding partners and have nothing new to add at this point," Suley said in an email.

The Dieppe soccer facility would include locker rooms and administration space. One field would be circled by an athletics track. A major component of the Dieppe project is a $3.5 million pavilion the report concludes "is not necessary" for the Francophonie Games.

'Political discord' could follow event relocation

The report suggests holding preliminary soccer games outside the host cities but warns that could prompt "political discord."

The report says the host cities agreed to provide one-third of the funding for the soccer facilities, with the rest coming from other levels of government.

Isabelle LeBlanc, Moncton's director of communications, said the conversion of a Sportsplex field to synthetic turf was something the city began considering years before the games bid.

She said organizers of the games requested the city provide a list of potential venues for the event, as well as a list of any upcoming infrastructure spending.

"They happen to align very nicely with the requirements of what the games needed," LeBlanc said of the spending.

The report also questions some of the $2.2 million in spending for tennis at Centennial Park, which includes refurbishment of the foundation and playing surface and refurbishment of training facilities in Sackville.

It says the plan deemed $138,000 for parking, $73,000 for a scorecard and $131,000 for fences as essential for tennis facilities at Centennial Park. They are expenses, the report states, that would be "difficult to justify" at existing facilities.

"As a result, expenditures of over $400,000 for rehabilitation of training facilities from Sackville seem questionable," the report states.

To avoid the spending, the report suggests tennis events could be held in other communities.

The review report concludes a $1.2 million cultural village at Dieppe's planned intergenerational complex could also be cut to control costs as it isn't a requirement to host the games.

However, the report says the space that would serve as a promotional area for sponsors would make sense as a place to inform visitors and involve families.

The business plan calls for sports warm-up facilities, which the federal review report says would add $1.9 million to the total budget and concludes aren't needed for the games.