On Saturday, October 3, about 1,700 people came in off the new Green Road parking lot to see the inside of the Bowmanville Community Complex dome for the first time. Kids played on the turf. Older visitors walked laps around it. The local soccer, baseball and football clubs set up booths to show how they plan to use the field. It was Clarington's first new recreation centre in nearly 20 years, opening less than a year and a half after the May 2025 groundbreaking.
Most of the complex is still to come. The building is opening in stages, and for the next few months the Bowmanville Community Complex is mainly two things: a 100,000-square-foot turf dome and the three-lane walking track that circles it. The courts, the skating trail, the pool and the splash pad open later, each on a different timeline. If you know the order, you can plan this winter around what's actually open.
The Track Is the Part Anyone Can Use Today
The Municipality of Clarington's facility page says the complex is "operating in a phased opening while construction of the main building continues." Access is "primarily based on scheduled drop-in activities, registered programs, and approved rentals." There are no fixed operating hours yet. Clarington lists only the dome, the walking track and a temporary customer service desk as open.
Of those, the track has the most predictable schedule. Each lap is 370 metres, so three laps is just over a kilometre. Walking is drop-in, with no registration needed. The fall drop-in listings run from mid-October into mid-December 2026, and start and end dates vary by day. The Friday morning block, for example, runs from October 16 to December 18. These are the posted times:
| Day | Morning block | Evening block |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 4:30 to 9 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 4:30 to 9 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 4:30 to 9 p.m. |
| Thursday | None posted | 4:30 to 9 p.m. |
| Friday | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | 4:30 to 9 p.m. |
| Saturday | 8 a.m. to noon | None posted |
| Sunday | 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. | Same block |
Hours can change while the building is in phased operation, so check the live drop-in schedule before you drive over, especially for the long Sunday block.
The track has a few rules. Shoes must be dry and clean, and spikes, sandals and open-toed shoes aren't allowed. Walking poles and other walking aids are permitted, and so are strollers once the wheels are clean. You can bring water only in a non-breakable container. Because strollers and poles are allowed, the track works for parents with infants and for older walkers who want a flat, heated loop between November and March.
Paying for Laps in a Cash-Free Building
The complex doesn't take cash. Bring a card or buy a pass ahead of time. Clarington's membership portal lists these before-tax prices for track access:
- 10-visit Swim/Skate/Walk pass: $40.60, ages 4 and up, individual
- Annual Swim/Skate/Walk membership, adult: $223.87
- Annual Swim/Skate/Walk membership, youth or senior: $111.94, per the municipality's Fitness and Memberships page
The track listing also says indoor walking comes with Fitness Memberships. Clarington says its multi-visit passes save 10 per cent and can be transferred, so one pass can be shared within a household. They also cover select fitness classes and kids' activities.
The name "Swim/Skate/Walk" lists three activities, and only walking is available at this building right now. That matters when you choose between the 10-visit pass and the annual membership. Swimming and skating at the complex arrive later, as the next sections explain.
The Dome Runs on a Program Calendar
The turf is mostly booked through registered programs, so you can't simply walk in and use it. Regular programs and rentals started October 13. Clarington says more than 1,400 residents gave feedback that shaped the lineup. It includes Mini Kicks and Sports Explorers for ages 2 to 4, Dodgeball and Flag Games for school-age kids, Turf and Track Bootcamp and Walk and Weights for ages 13 and up, and Walking Soccer and Pole Walking Plus for ages 55 and up. Adults can also join the first season of the Clarington Sports Leagues co-ed indoor soccer league, either on their own or as a team.
The closest thing to open play is the Saturday Family Sports Drop-In, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. It's free play for kids ages 3 to 12, and a parent or guardian takes part too. Spots must be reserved. Resident reservations for the October 31 session begin October 19. Adult soccer, flag football and ultimate frisbee run as registered sessions at set times.
If you have kids in local sports, the playing surface matters. The turf doesn't use crumb rubber infill, so the small black pellets common on older fields won't come home in shoes and bags. Clarington says the surface supports soccer, football, rugby, lacrosse, baseball, softball, cricket, ultimate frisbee and dryland training. Darlington Soccer Club, the Clarington Baseball Association and the Clarington Knights Football Association all attended the open house. The dome is about four times the size of the former Bowmanville Indoor Soccer Centre, which gives local teams more room to host tournaments at home.
What Opens Next, in Order
Clarington publishes the rest of the build in stages. These are its current targets, not fixed dates:
- Fall 2026: two FIBA-sized, fully accessible courts for basketball, pickleball, tennis and volleyball. This stage also includes the multi-purpose rooms, a quiet room for sensory breaks, prayer or meditation, an open-concept change area and washrooms. Clarington has said the courts are twice the size of the gym at Diane Hamre Recreation Complex. No court drop-in sessions are on the fall schedule yet, so pickleball players will have to wait for the gym to open.
- Winter 2026/27: the outdoor refrigerated skating trail.
- 2027: the Aquatics Centre, with a six-lane, 25-metre lap pool and a warm-water pool. This stage also brings the outdoor splash pad and playground, more multi-purpose rooms and the reopened lacrosse bowl. Clarington says the warm-water pool will be the municipality's first warm-water therapeutic pool. The lacrosse bowl is Clarington's only outdoor one and is used for box lacrosse and ball hockey.
Clarington's list of what's still to come also includes a fitness and dance studio of nearly 2,000 square feet, with a sprung wood floor and a ballet barre, plus a gazebo and seating areas. When it's finished, the complex will cover more than 172,000 square feet next to Clarington Fields. According to the municipality's project budget explanation, Council approved a total budget of $121.8 million in September 2025. The Province of Ontario contributed a $10 million grant through the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund. Durham Radio News reported the same staged plan in September, and INsauga covered the opening in October as the first stage of several.
The Skating Trail Is the Next Big Opening
Of everything still to come, the skating trail will likely change a Bowmanville winter the most. Clarington designed it as a modified figure eight, 170 metres long and covering more than 850 square metres. The municipality says it will be Durham Region's first outdoor refrigerated skating trail. It also says the trail is longer than Toronto's Barbara Ann Scott Trail and covers more ground than the Bentway Skating Trail. Because the trail is refrigerated, the ice won't depend on a cold snap the way a natural pond or backyard rink does.
The trail is meant to be used year-round. In warmer months, Clarington plans to use it for community events and public markets. Clarington lists the opening as "winter 2026/27" and hasn't announced a first skating date. Until then, a 10-visit pass gets you ten trips on the track. When the ice opens, the same Swim/Skate/Walk pass is set up to cover skating too.
At McDougall Team, we track the projects that change daily life in Durham, and a facility being built in stages through 2027 is one we'll keep following. If you live near Green Road and want to know how the complex fits into what your home is worth, get your free home valuation and we'll go through the numbers with you.
