Ontario airport commission weighs leasing hangar for indoor soccer use

The commission running Niagara Central Dorothy Rungeling Airport in Ontario is considering a proposal to lease its roughly 14,000-square-foot Hangar 1 to a soccer organization for use as an indoor sports facility. According to reporting cited by the airport commission chair, the hangar has sat empty for nearly 20 months.

The lease could bring in more than $100,000 a year for the airport. The soccer group has offered to cover the cost of upgrading the building. Four Ontario municipalities jointly own the airport: Pelham, Welland, Port Colborne and Wainfleet.

Commission chair John MacLellan said no decision will be made until Transport Canada rules on whether this kind of recreational use is permitted under the legislation governing the airport. He has asked the federal regulator for guidance.

Not everyone on the commission agrees. A proposed moratorium on non-aviation leases was rejected last month by a 4-3 vote, but several members have since questioned whether leasing hangar space for soccer fits within the airport's mandate. One councillor argued the facility exists to serve as an airport, not host outside ventures.

A longtime pilot based at the field for more than three decades, who also leads the local chapter of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, has publicly objected to the plan. In letters published locally, he argued the hangar should instead remain available for flight training and aircraft maintenance work, and he questioned whether the building is even suited to housing an indoor sports facility.

The pilot has also asked officials to delay any vote on the lease until after municipal elections this fall. No timeline has been given for a Transport Canada ruling or a final decision by the commission.