What we learned - Public Engagement Summary
Aligned with Council direction to seek input on the stadium proposal to be located at the Memorial Centre site, staff designed a public engagement approach that considered opportunities for event organizers, sports user groups, community associations, and the wider community to offer input online and in-person. Engagement took place at Inform and Consult on the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) Spectrum of Public Participation. At these levels of the Spectrum, staff are committed to keeping people informed, listening to concerns and providing feedback on how public input influenced decisions.
Public engagement ran from Jan. 17 to Feb. 28, and used a variety of methods (tactics) to reach interested and affected participants. When compared to other projects open to feedback during this time frame, the stadium proposal received approximately 150% more engagement.
The following table identifies how staff engaged with specific participant groups and the outcome of each method.
|
Participants Engaged |
Method |
IAP2 Level |
Reach or Result |
|---|---|---|---|
Event organizers, sports user groups, community associations |
Focused conversations |
Consult |
12 groups |
All interested and affected participants |
Survey |
Consult |
1,170 surveys |
All interested and affected participants |
Get Involved Kingston page and newsletter updates |
Inform |
9,459 site visitors 1,295 newsletter subscribers |
All interested and affected participants |
Question & Answer |
Inform |
286 questions from 180 participants (some participants asked multiple questions) |
All interested and affected participants |
Social media and media coverage |
Inform |
21 social posts |
Dog park users |
On-site posters |
Inform |
306 survey responses |
Near neighbhours |
In-person drop-in information sessions |
Inform and consult |
12 hours over 4 sessions |
The Ask A Question engagement tactic was launched on Get Involved Kingston on Jan. 17, where participants were invited to ask as many questions as they wished. This approach had the unintended consequence of creating a high volume of questions in several duplicate themes that staff were not able to address in a timely manner. In follow-up project updates, staff shared with engagement participants that there would be delays in providing detailed technical responses to some questions. All questions were responded to by March 4, 2025.
Expanded engagement began on Jan. 24 with a survey and announcement of in-person engagement opportunities and scheduling focused interviews with site users and community associations. To inform interested and affected participants, email newsletters, posters, social media and outreach to partner agencies and user groups were used. Local and regional media coverage amplified City messaging, resulting in 66 online, TV, print and radio mentions.
Figure 1: Photo from In-person Engagement Session
Feedback received through Get Involved Kingston represented intensive participation by near neighbours in Williamsville, Kings Town and Kingscourt districts, with the highest number of participants (338) living in a neighbourhood with a postal code beginning with K7K.
Engagement Analysis and Themes
The engagement survey and focused interview questions were developed using themes identified in the questions submitted to staff by online participants in early consultation efforts. In alignment with Council direction to investigate the feasibility of a stadium on the Memorial Centre site, staff did not directly expressly ask participants if they supported the proposal. The purpose of the survey and focused interviews were to understand how participants use the site, in consideration of impacts to the site through the stadium proposal, and sentiment towards the proposal.
Survey participants use the Memorial Centre site in a variety of ways, with most respondents attending events and using the track, field or greenspace. A large number of participants use the site in ways not listed, and responses included swimming, leisure time, active transportation and attending the Farmer’s Market.
Figure 2: Question 1 from Get Involved Kingston
Through engagement, staff also wanted to learn how changes to the site would affect survey respondents. Removal of the barns, indoor shopping and loss of the paved area were the changes that ranked highest among the changes that would affect survey respondents negatively.
Figure 3: Question 2 from Get Involved Kingston
Staff also wanted to understand sentiment towards the proposed stadium and put forward themes for survey respondents to agree or disagree with. Themes were developed from questions submitted to Get Involved Kingston. Most respondents shared the following:
They are concerned about access to greenspace in Williamsville
Vehicle traffic, noise and light would be disruptive
They would not go to their favourite events if they were moved from the Memorial Centre to another part of Kingston
Access to local food at the Farmer’s Market should not change
They do not feel a stadium would have a positive economic impact on sports tourism and businesses.
Figure 4: Question 3 from Get Involved Kingston
Figure 6: Theme feedback from February 19 pop-up engagement session
Five overarching themes emerged in the qualitative feedback.
Loss of Green Space: The potential loss of green space at the Memorial Centre site is a significant concern and mentioned most often in the feedback. Participants value the open space at the Memorial Centre site for recreational activities and community events. Included in the concerns about loss of green space was the perception that the City would be selling and privatizing public property should a stadium be built on the site. Participants feel that this could limit community access and benefit primarily the proponent rather than the public.
Impact on Existing Amenities and Events: Concerns were raised about the negative impact on existing facilities such as the dog park and sports fields (specifically cricket), and events like the Farmers Market and the Kingston Fall Fair. Participants feared that these community resources activities would be disrupted or diminished.
Traffic and Parking: Many participants expressed concerns that the stadium would lead to significant traffic congestion in the surrounding residential areas. They worried about the influx of vehicles during events and make it difficult for residents to navigate their neighborhoods. There were numerous mentions of the lack of sufficient parking spaces to accommodate the expected number of visitors. Participants feared that the existing parking facilities would be overwhelmed, leading to illegal parking and further congestion on residential streets. Participants noted that similar traffic and parking challenges were experienced during intensive use of the site (for example, the Kingston Fall Fair) and highlighted the need to improve public transit options to mitigate traffic and parking concerns.
Noise and Light Pollution: Participants worried about the noise and light pollution that could result from the stadium. In relation to noise, participants identified cheering, music and announcements as intrusive affecting their quality of life, stating they hope relevant bylaws would mitigate excessive noise. Similar concerns regarding light pollution were raised. Staff note that participants also expressed concerns with noise generated by existing events during intensive use of the site, with the Kingston Fall Fair, however these participants acknowledged the short duration of the Fair mitigated some of the impact of light and noise.
Financial Impact on Taxpayers and Perception of the Proponent: Participants were concerned about the financial implications for taxpayers, including the potential costs associated with infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, along with questions and concerns about the cost of rental fees to community use groups and affordability of tickets to attend games. Included in this feedback were questions regarding the financial background of the proponent and urges for staff to conduct due diligence on the proponent.
Focused Conversations with Current Memorial Centre Site Users
To understand how the proposed stadium would affect user groups and event organizers, staff scheduled focused conversations with 12 organizations which use the Memorial Centre site. Focused conversations are an established IAP2 engagement method to guide participants through phases of reflection enabling them to process their thoughts in an orderly manner. All participants were provided the list of staff-developed questions in advance of the focused conversation so they could consult with their organization members to share feedback on behalf of their membership. Organizations were encouraged to invite up to four people to take part in the conversation. The organizations were identified by staff based on historical bookings of the site. Staff invited the Williamsville Community Association following feedback from participants at in-person sessions.
Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market
Kingston Baseball Association
Kingston & District Agricultural Society (Kingston Fall Fair)
KTown Kids Triathlon
Limestone City Car Classic
Kingston Rib Fest & Craft Beer Show
Lug Sports
Kingston Sport & Social Club
Kingston Cricket Club
Queen’s University Athletics & Recreation
Williamsville Community Association
Yellow Bike Action
Feedback collected during the focused conversations aligns with the themes identified by participants in the wider public consultation.
Sports user groups and event organizers
Overall, there was general interest among sports-focused user groups and some event organizers in exploring how the stadium proposal could align with existing community event uses and enhance the long-term recreational value of the Memorial Centre site. Key opportunities identified by sports-focused user groups and some event organizers included:
Expanded Access to Amenities: these groups highlighted the potential benefits of improved and expanded amenities of the indoor turf fields, which could support increased programming and community access to high-quality recreational space. Kingston Baseball Association and Kingston Sport and Social Club specifically noted the challenges with accessing indoor space to practice during winter months, when they either drive outside of the municipality to access indoor turf fields or cancel winter programming.
Collaborative Partnerships: There was interest in exploring potential partnerships with the stadium proponent to enhance programming, create joint-use opportunities for events and entertainment, and support local sports development. Examples brought forward by these participants included screening games at events, ticket sale collaboration, and sports team outings on game day, similar to what happens for Kingston Frontenacs games at Slush Puppie Place.
Non-Taxpayer Investment: These user groups noted the potential for new investment in the Memorial Centre site through non-taxpayer revenue sources associated with the stadium project, which they feel could contribute to infrastructure improvements and enhanced facilities for all users. Ideas generated during this part of the discussion included improvements to the Memorial Centre facility and enhancement to the sports fields, like improved turf maintenance, cricket pitch, skating trail and field lighting.
Agricultural Event Organizers and Community Associations
City staff engaged with event organizers who regularly host programming and events at the site. While some event organizers who organize smaller scale events did not have major concerns with the stadium proposal, key event organizers, specifically the Memorial Centre Farmers Market and the Kingston & District Agricultural Society (Kingston Fall Fair) expressed a number of concerns about the potential impacts of a stadium on their ability to successfully deliver their events. Event organizers expressed concern that the introduction of a stadium would dramatically alter the character and functionality of the Memorial Centre site, creating challenges for maintaining its current role as a hub for community events, particularly those with a focus on food, agriculture, and heritage programming.
Key concerns identified by these participants included:
Loss of Key Infrastructure: These participants cited the potential loss of the barns and other site infrastructure, and space used to support agricultural events as a major concern. For these participants, these amenities are considered essential to the delivery of events such as the Kingston Fall Fair, weekly farmers market, and storage of equipment for the market and fair, and their removal would significantly impact event feasibility.
Incompatibility with Existing Uses: There was strong concern that a stadium would be fundamentally incompatible with the agricultural and rural educational programming that is central to the Kingston Fall Fair and Memorial Centre farmers’ market. These participants highlighted the unique character of the site, including its open green space, agricultural focus and cultural heritage would be compromised by the presence of a stadium.
Operational Disruptions: These participants noted noise from stadium events would interfere with the atmosphere and operations of community events, particularly those with a focus on food, agriculture, and family-friendly programming.
If you would like to receive the verbatim survey responses or other engagement materials, please contact us(External link).
Consultation has concluded. Thank you for your participation and input in this project.
