Orillia Legion Minor Baseball (OLMB) has been locked out of its indoor training facility, The Fieldhouse, which is located at 53 Jamieson Dr. in Oro-Medonte.
In July, OLMB renewed their sub-lease agreement for two years after operating in The Fieldhouse for the previous two years. It was signed off by the building’s owner, Michael Weinberg, who is a plastic surgeon in Toronto.
“There was a small increase in fees because the price of land had gone up. We agreed to it, and kept operating the field house; it was seamless,” explained OLMB President Wes Winkel.
In early October, landlord Robert Devries began asking for some work to be done to the building in order for OLMB to maintain its operations within the building.
“Stuff like fire extinguishers and exit signs are things he wanted to be updated. He also wanted our liability increased from $2 million to 10 million, which was extremely expensive and our lease, on paper, only required $2 million, but we agreed to do it and we thought that was going to make us OK,” Winkel explained.
Devries came back with more things Weinberg wanted to be done, including a 'life safety study' which is completed by surveyors and architects.
“They would want to know what it’s being used for, the structural integrity of the building, and things like that. But it would cost $40,000 or more for this to be done and we can’t afford to pay that. We are a volunteer organization coming out of a pandemic,” Winkel said.
According to Winkel, Devries asked OLMB to cease operations in The Fieldhouse if they were unwilling to complete the study. When OLMB refused to adhere, they were locked out.
“Now we are locked out and our kids have no place to train. And now this Dr. Weinberg, who signed off on our lease initially without any of this stuff needing to be done, is intentionally making it so difficult for us to stay in the lease that we can’t afford to,” Winkel said.
Devries says that the building does not meet Township of Oro-Medonte requirements for the use that OLMB wants to use it for. He would not disclose details about what requirements are not being met. Weinberg did not respond to a request to comment on this story.
"I understand their use and I support them fully, but they simply don't meet the criteria," he said.
"We understood that we had the cooperation of the township to make things work, and that's the way we were proceeding because OLMB is a not-for-profit organization. The strategy they wanted to implement was to talk it out so that the requirements wouldn't be burdensome but still making sure requirements were being met," said Devries.
However, Winkel says there was no way to 'talk it out.'
"We had a couple of conversations with the township and initially they said they have no interest in shutting us down, but then when we went back to them they said they were prohibited by the landowner from speaking to us further on the issue," he said.
"The township told us that there was no urgent need to make changes, but of course the building owner advertised that there are things that need to be upgraded on his building."
OLMB is requesting Weinberg and Devries to allow them back into the facility, but if they continue to refuse, Winkel says the organization has no choice but to remove their equipment and start looking for a new place to build a Fieldhouse. He said they would likely sue for damages.
“Our legal opinion says we are in a very strong position to gain damages, but that’s not our goal. We want a place for the kids to train and we are very frustrated,” Winkel said.
“The Fieldhouse was rocking and rolling. It was fully booked, we had Orillia Soccer in there, lacrosse, Innisfil baseball, Muskoka baseball, all of our teams ... it was doing really well.”
Devries says he is hopeful the issue can be resolved, but he isn't sure if that is still a possibility.
"Time is valuable and it's quickly passing. I think it would require people sitting down and talking reasonably on demands and then moving forward," he said.
Devries is also hopeful the issue is resolved without any legal proceedings from OLMB.
"I'm not standing in their way, and I'm also not the one with the ultimatum. I'm caught in the middle," he said.
"I certainly share the objective of OLMB to support the community and provide these activities to our youth. There is currently no similar facility and there is a demand for it. I will do everything in my ability to help them pursue those interests," Devries told OrilliaMatters.
Winkel says it would be very difficult to find a new building with the size requirements needed for The Fieldhouse. OLMB is also unsure if they would be able to afford another location as rent prices have gone up dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We’re not sure that minor baseball would be able to afford to enter into a new lease. We did our budget based on the lease payments that we are already paying,” he said.
“This is a very sad day. It’s harming ... these kids.”
Winkel asks that anyone who knows of an available space that is at least 100 feet long by 60 feet wide of clear-span space contact OLMB.
