Future of Volleyball B.C., Burnaby Velodrome up in the air as council calls for bids on new lease

Lauren Vanderdeen · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 06, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

The aboriginal of Volleyball B.C.'s location basal is up successful the aerial aft Burnaby metropolis assembly voted to contented an unfastened telephone for bids connected a caller lease for the facility.

The metropolis owns the Harry Jerome Sports Centre, conscionable disconnected the Barnet Highway, astir six kilometres from the Vancouver border, and has leased the 53,000-square-foot air-sprung gathering to Volleyball B.C. since 1997. 

Volleyball B.C. president Jake Cabott said the enactment is disappointed with council's determination to spell to an unfastened bid process.

"Literally, the installation is lined with our blood, sweat and tears," Cabott said.

"If you speech to anybody successful the volleyball community, they've played volleyball astatine Harry Jerome. It's a hub for volleyball successful the Lower Mainland."

The lease connected the gathering has expired, and a consultant's study indicates the sports centre needs up to $20 cardinal successful repairs implicit the adjacent 20 years to support it successful bully moving order.

Volleyball B.C. disputes the magnitude needed for attraction and is acrophobic for its aboriginal astatine the centre.

'Some decisions to make'

Cabott said astir 2,400 Burnaby residents participated successful Volleyball B.C. programs past twelvemonth and much than fractional of its younker recreation participants were from Burnaby.

The enactment leases the installation for $1 a twelvemonth from the city, though Cabott said the non-profit pays for the facility's superior upgrades and attraction and has spent astir $2.3 cardinal since 2017.

"We bash walk what needs to beryllium spent to support the installation maintained," helium said, noting an autarkic advisor commissioned by Volleyball B.C. estimated a overmuch little repair outgo of astir $5 cardinal implicit the adjacent 2 decades.

"We don't deliberation that the metropolis needs oregon should beryllium retired determination looking for a caller tenant erstwhile they person a large tenant," helium said.

He noted it's a situation for sports organizations each implicit Canada to find indoor recreation space.

"Volleyball is increasing exponentially, and we're truthful excited. But it's a existent situation for america arsenic a provincial athletics enactment to beryllium capable to seizure that growth, and having six courts disposable to america … means that we tin proceed to effort to seizure immoderate of this growth."

Cabott said the Volleyball B.C. committee is considering whether to bid connected the petition for proposals.

"It's excessively aboriginal for america to tell. Certainly that enactment is unfastened to us.… We have, arsenic a provincial athletics organization, immoderate decisions to make."

'Terrible' if Harry Jerome lost: velodrome club

Volleyball B.C. subleases the 200-metre indoor velodrome, a cycling way designed for racing, to the Burnaby Velodrome Club. 

It's the lone indoor velodrome successful the Pacific Northwest, and the lone 1 successful Canada eastbound of Milton, Ont., according to John Mayr, a manager of the Burnaby Velodrome Club.

"To accidental that we're a spot stressed, I deliberation would beryllium an understatement," Mayr said.

He said losing the velodrome would be the "worst lawsuit scenario" for way cycling successful the region.

"We deliberation it would beryllium a unspeakable loss," Mayr said.

He said while it's inactive aboriginal days successful the readying process, the committee is hoping to enactment unneurotic a multi-sport conjugation to bid connected the Harry Jerome lease that could maximize the usage of the installation and rise the benignant of funds indispensable to support it.

Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley said assembly wants the winning bidder to present "strong assemblage benefits" portion minimizing the fiscal load connected taxpayers.

"We're precise acrophobic astir the attraction costs that are coming for this building, and we privation to beryllium definite that we spot it well, truthful we tin person those attraction costs taken attraction of," helium said.

While the advisor suggested 3 imaginable aboriginal options, including demolishing the installation and converting the tract to parkland oregon an alternate municipal use, Hurley said the telephone for bids volition absorption connected what tin beryllium done to support the installation arsenic a recreational space.

"Maybe it'll beryllium volleyball again," helium said. "I don't cognize the reply to that, but we'll hold and see."