FAQs

St. James Civic Centre is expanding to better meet community recreation needs.

The expanded St. James Civic Centre will include:

• New multi-purpose room and meeting rooms
• A new kitchen
• Improved viewing area for the swimming pool
• Administrative space and shared program space for the St. James Assiniboia 55+ Centre
• Improvements to the auditorium, associated washrooms, and to the main building entry
• Improvements to the parking lot

The St. James Civic Centre was closed from April 2020 until September 2022 for critical building code, mechanical, electrical, structural, and accessibility upgrades. These upgrades displaced much-needed program space within the facility.

The upgrades displaced much-needed program space. Funding for the expansion project was not secured until after construction had begun.

To complete the work as efficiently as possible, the facility will be closed from approximately June 15, 2025 until fall 2026.

The Ab McDonald Arena portion of the facility will remain open during its regular ice seasons. The remainder of the facility, including the pool, weight room, auditorium, etc., will all be fully closed.

It was determined that a full closure would: 

• Ensure public safety in and around the facility
• Be the most effective way to use the contractor’s time and limit the length of disruption to services
• Minimize potential delays and cost impacts due to tariffs and supply chain disruptions
• Allow for staging and storage of building materials, limiting the impact of potential supply chain issues

We recognize the feedback we received about the need for a universal change room for the pool. As an interim measure, the recent work done to the facility’s lobby included a universal toilet room and accessible washrooms. All visitors are welcome to use these to change in should they need additional privacy or space. The current expansion will include several additional individual/accessible washrooms. We will aim to include changeroom improvements in a later phase, subject to available funding.

In July 2021, the Government of Canada, Province of Manitoba, and City of Winnipeg announced $14 million in funding to expand the St. James Civic Centre. City Council approved an additional $3 million in October 2023. The total approved budget is $17 million.

The community recycling depot at St. James Civic Centre will be closed to make way for construction. Residents can bring their items to their nearest 4R Winnipeg Depot or community recycling depot.