THUNDER BAY -- It appears the Thunder Bay Chill will be calling Fort William Stadium home in 2015.
And it’s not clear just how long the arrangement might last.
Chill director of soccer operations Tony Colistro said the Premier Development club is in final negotiations with the city to move the club from Chapples Field, where poor drainage has often led to unplayable conditions over the past several seasons.
The Chill split 2013 and 2014 between Chapples and Fort William Stadium and Colistro said it’s important to have one home base.
“From a player perspective it was difficult because training on grass and then going to play your games on turf is not easy for the players,” Colistro said on Thursday.
“If you’re training on turf and just changing venues and playing on turf, that’s a whole different ballgame … I think it’s important for the players to know this is where we train, this is where we play and this will be the home for the time being.”
The Chill also missed revenue opportunities playing at the stadium, through lost alcohol and concession sales, not to mention upsetting sponsors, whose banners did not make the trip to Fort William Stadium.
Colistro said ideally he’d like to play all seven Chill home games, plus playoffs, at Chapples, but the uncertainty of field conditions make that too much of a gamble.
He’s going to try to make the best of the situation.
“Chapples is something we helped build, it is part of our home,” Colistro said.
“Obviously we have some history there. We’ve had a lot of success there too. But we’re going to do the stadium thing and who knows, we could be here in August and it’s something that works for us as well.”
Paul Fayrick, the city’s parks manager, said moving the Chill to the stadium is probably the best solution at this time.
“We’ve had some pretty rainy seasons and it caused the Chill to have some problems and have to move temporarily over to Fort William Stadium,” Fayrick said.
“I think in the short term, until we come up with a solution for Chapples, it’s probably the best fit for them.”
Last May the Chill, in partnership with Soccer Northwest, presented a major upgrade proposal to city council.
The ambitious plan includes five all-weather fields and a 120,000 square foot facility to house a standard indoor field. Thunder Bay Community Tennis Centre said at the time it would also like an indoor facility, which would help it attract major competitions.
Neither proposal came with a price tag.
Fayrick said the city is considering the proposal and hope to have a master plan ready to present to council next month.
Fayrick said the city spent more $300,000 of its own money to develop Chapples Field and then after five years or so had to spend another $30,000 to upgrade the irrigation. The province chipped in more than $240,000 in 2005 through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.
He added the field, as it stands, will still be used by youth soccer programs for competitive games and summer camps.
