THUNDER BAY -- Proponents of a new city-owned indoor facility to house soccer and other turf-based sports in Thunder Bay are preparing for a deputation to city council.
In conjunction with the presentation–scheduled for Jan. 15–Soccer Northwest has commissioned a video outlining the demand for an indoor sports centre. The video will be shown to councilors when Soccer Northwest representative Michael Veneziale makes his pitch for the city's financial support for the venture.
The estimated cost of the facility is $25 million. The most likely site is the Chapples Recreation Complex.
In an interview on Tuesday, Veneziale suggested the city's share potentially would be one-third, with the Ontario and federal governments contributing the remainder.
However, he said funding may also be available from other sources, including the Canadian Soccer Association.
Veneziale said the theme of the video is "let us play."
He said he hopes it leads people who view it to agree that the question at hand is not whether the project is necessary, but rather "why didn't we do this sooner?"
Indoor soccer suffered a setback after the Sports Dome collapsed in the fall of 2016, and an effort to find a temporary new home in an industrial building on Maureen Street failed last fall.
Veneziale said play will be severely curtailed next year as well, as the earliest date for completing a new facility would likely be the fall of 2019.
He emphasized that it would serve numerous turf sports besides soccer.
"It would be a full-size outdoor soccer field held inside that you could split up into four different fields. There would be meshing in between, so as one soccer game is going on, for example, you could have cricket on another field, and ultimate frisbee on another field."
The facility could also host baseball, football and lacrosse, as well as a walking track along the perimeter.
There's also the potential to accommodate trade shows, Veneziale said.
He'll present council Monday night with the completed business plan for the project. Council last year approved up to $106,000 to cover the cost of the study.
The city's designation of the project as a municipal priority is required in order for the two senior governments to consider supporting it.
