Barrie Sports Dome opened it’s doors for business in Barrie on Nov 4th, 2000. This Dome previously operated for a few years as a 270 foot long facility on what is now the The Farley Group’s Dome manufacturing site in Guelph, Ontario. It was lengthened to 350 ft, one of the longest Domes in Canada, and moved to Barrie. The entrance was changed from the end to part way down one side of the Dome, to allow entry to a common area between two activity areas. This gives Barrie Sports Dome the unique ability to run 2 events simultaneously on it’s artificial turf fields. With 2 sets of range mats, it allows golfers to golf on the shorter Target range or play Trajectory Golf while soccer leagues are using the main playing field/driving range.
The Dome or “bubble” is an air supported structure – much like a large tent which is tucked in around the bottom and then filled with air. A 4 million BTU furnace drives hot air into the Dome. A back up gas fed fan supports the Dome in the event of a power failure. Domes are extremely safe structures, since they will not burn down and take approx 20-30 minutes to deflate in the event of a very rare failure.
Barrie Sports Dome is a joint venture with the City of Barrie. It was approximately five years in the planning stages and was originally proposed as a 2 Dome venture in Eastview Park before the current East Bayfield site was chosen. The Dome was erected before any houses were present in the area north of Livingstone St between St. Vincent and Bayfield. The City of Barrie occupies the Dome between May and September 30th. Barrie Sports Dome operates the facility from Oct 1st through April 30th. The field would be an unoccupied snow covered field without the Dome presence.