The facility was funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, the municipal government of Toronto and the University of Toronto. In 2009, students at the University of Toronto Scarborough voted in favour of a 25-year levy which will contribute about $30 million to the facility. In 2011, the city of Toronto learned it had to contribute an extra $23 million for soil remediation on the former landfill. The whole facility cost about $205 million Canadian dollars which makes it the largest amount spent on amateur sport in Canada. The official ground breaking for the facility was on 27 September 2012 and was attended by dignitaries such as Mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford. The facility was announced then as the largest venue being built for the 2015 Pan American Games and represents the largest federal investment in amateur sport in Canadian history. In addition to the 2015 Pan Am Games, the facility has hosted several other events for the North American Indigenous Games and the Invictus Games in 2017.
Design
The architect of the facility is David Clusiau. PCL Construction and NORR Ltd., signed a contract to design, build and finance the facility. The facility was designed by Counsilman-Hunsaker, the company that designed the 1996 Summer Olympics aquatic centre. The facility has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold label.
Aquatics centre
The Centre has 3 pools - The dive pool, the competition pool and the training pool. The competition pool has 3,500 seats. The facility doubles the number of Olympic Standard Pools in Toronto. The dive pool has three diving platform heights and a dry diving training centre. The centre is the only aquatics facility in the area that meets international competition standards and the first facility with a warm-up pool. The competition pool is regarded as one of the fastest pools in the world.
Field house
The field house is adjacent to the aquatics centre and seats 2,000 people. The field house hosted fencing and modern pentathlon events during the 2015 Games. The field house consists of three gymnasiums, a 200-metre indoor running facility, racquet sports courts and a centre for fitness which the entire school community can use. Moreover, the facility contains weightlifting equipment and a training area. It is also the home of the Canadian Sports Institute Ontario.
Other facilities
The Centre also has a climbing wall, a fitness centre, retail store, food and beverage, and 200m walking track.
