New life is being breathed into the former Navistar property in Chatham, creating more indoor recreation options.
Private developer Philip Ong has teamed up with the Tatro Group to build a new 37,000 square foot indoor sports facility called CK FlexPlex.
Ong has been running the Chatham-Kent Rec League for the past two years, but says finding rental space at local schools is has proven to be a challenge with limited availability.
Ong is leasing one of the existing buildings at the Navistar property to create space for numerous indoor activities, with plans for further expansion as time goes on.
“Here we will have indoor turf soccer, we have volleyball, we have half-court basketball, we have table tennis,” Ong explains. “We can put cricket on the turf as well, badminton, any sport you can think of, we will have here.”
Ong says he’s already heard from a few local organizations that are interested in making use of the facility. He hopes the venture will keep more people in Chatham-Kent and attract newcomers to the community.
“This is a very rare chance for me to do something that would be good for the whole community,” Ong says.
Future plans for the property include outdoor soccer fields with seating and lights, beach volleyball courts, a cafe and bar area, and, in the longer term, hopes for an indoor full-sized FIFA soccer field.
Mayor Darren Canniff says the project, which comes at no cost to taxpayers, will accentuate the sports facilities being created at the St Clair College Community Park on Bear Line Road.
“We’ve identified for years that we need this,” Canniff says. “The demand is growing for this (type of) facility. With the Tatro Group stepping up and saying we can make this happen here now, in January we can have this while the bigger facility is being developed, it’s super exciting for Chatham-Kent.”
The CK FlexPlex is expected to open in January, 2026.
