Members of the Chinook's Edge School Division went to Olds council on January 17 to ask for council's support for a $225,000 contribution toward a field house at Normie Kwong Park.
Kurt Sacher, superintendent of schools for CESD and Tom Christensen, principal of Olds High School, told councillors that although the provincial and federal governments were approached for funds, those bodies rejected the request. A total of $172,000 has been raised thus far toward the project from various sources, while the estimated cost of the field house ranges from $203,000 to $421,000.
ìThe way it's designed is . . . it can support a number of community (groups),î Sacher said.
Christensen said the idea is to make the field house a main part of the sports facility, drawing in teams from elsewhere who may rent the field and field house for games.
ìWe do hope to make it a real outside draw,î Christensen said, adding that revenue generated from the facility would go toward maintenance and upkeep.
While the Community Learning Campus would operate and maintain the field house, neither the CESD nor the college would get any outside funds to support the operation of the facility. Because football equipment is currently stored off-site, Christensen said the field house should be built sooner rather than later.
ìThe field house is a fairly urgent need for us,î he said.
While Christensen said Neil Skaluba has talked to numerous groups about helping out with the building of fields at the CLC, money from the land sale of the former high school site will go to supporting the CLC generally, not the development of sports fields or a field house.
Coun. Wade Bearchell thought that other avenues might be pursued before asking the municipality for funds.
ìIt does trouble me that I don't see that (business support) in here,î he said.
Skaluba, who chairs the building committee for the Olds Amateur Football Association, said there is currently no permanent home for football equipment. Rather, it's being stored in several different locations, including a couple of Sea-Cans and the old football shack.
He also said building the field house would allow for outside teams to come and use the field. Two years ago, Olds hosted an Alberta Football League game between Edmonton and Calgary clubs, as McMahon Stadium was unavailable at the time.
ìThere's a huge demand for football fields in the area and we would have the opportunity to rent it out on a regular basis,î he said.
Many councillors wanted to know if plans for fields at the CLC have been finalized. Currently, there is one soccer pitch, one football field and one ball diamond at the site, with plans for two more ball diamonds, two more soccer pitches and other facilities. It's estimated to cost $300,000 to develop one ball diamond and about $150,000 to $200,000 to develop a soccer pitch.
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"The field house is a fairly urgent need for us."Tom Christensen, principal, Olds High School
