THUNDER BAY -- Thirteen-year-old Renato Brigo holds back a bit for his own safety when he's playing soccer at the Chapples Park fields.
"It's a safety hazard, especially for goalies, which I am, with the sprinklers poking up in the box," Brigo said.
"When you go out to get (the ball), if you dive the wrong way you can land on top of one."
Other players his age recounted pulling ligaments when rolling ankles in "potholes" on the Chapples soccer pitches. One girl said a teammate broke her arm when she fell on the field.
The soccer community was front-and-centre on Wednesday evening when consultants announced three draft plans for a Chapples Park Master Plan, all of which included improving the state of its soccer fields.
Soccer Northwest acting president Rosemarie North made a deputation before city council in 2014 over the declining state of the city's soccer fields, most of which are at Chapples Park.
"The fields have been going downhill severely for the past five years. They've been in poor condition for the past 10 years but we've been trying to make due," North said.
"Based on our weather patterns and increased usage, we're really dealing with severely damaged fields now."
All three of the consultants' designs excited North for the sake of the sport's future but she was divided on the recommendation for the city to cover as many of the fields with artificial turf as is financially feasible.
"As a purist, I have to say my preference is grass. Based on our climate, I think turf is the best idea, going forward. Turf, unfortunately, carries a higher injury rate with it. It's just not grass."
The decision between grass and turf could have deep implications for the future of semi-professional soccer in the city as well. Thunder Bay Chill president and director of soccer operations
Tony Colistro reiterated his desire to move the team back to Chapples from Fort William Stadium on the condition a grass field be adequately maintained.
Colistro has seen Thunder Bay's soccer community has come through financially to support Chapples in the past and he's confident it would do so again.
"It's' something we've done in the past when we initiated the Chapples Park project 10 years ago when we, as a club, invested a lot of money into Chapples," he said.
"It's not a template that hasn't been done before. It will definitely work."
