Upstart Cornwall
4 Ice Pads? I propose the Cornwall Sports Complex
Cornwall is currently looking to build a 3 or 4 ice pad arena to replace the aging Si Miller and Bob Turner. There was a bit of controversy around where the arenas should go, and how many rinks should be located within the facility. It was a touchy subject at Dr. Foote’s speech about Cornwall’s demographics - and certainly will be debated around the Council Table some more. At a cost of an estimated $33 million dollars and more - the facility should ensure every necessary group has ice time and that Cornwall residents have access to top-notch facilities to host tournaments.
I am as big a sports fan as anyone in town and I enjoy playing soccer, hockey, basketball, running and on occasion some softball. I also really think that good facilities help the local economy and should help keep our youth interested in these sports. I agree that tournaments help the local economy tremendously and that the more kids we can have with access to sport the better.
That said - I am very curious as to why we aren’t considering other sports in this multi-million dollar complex. If we build 4 ice pads - the City would have 5 total. The Civic Complex isn’t going anywhere - in fact, the City just approved adding seating to the Complex. Does a City the size of Cornwall need 5 rinks? I don’t think so.
Here’s what I propose:
Build a community sports complex. Add several more sports to the tally and build a hub of sport in Cornwall for roughly the same price as a 4 pad arena would cost. For the cost of 2 ice pads - you could build the following items and have money left over.
- A Rubberized Track & Field Venue
- A synthetic outdoor field for Football and Soccer.
- Several other playing fields (For soccer, football, rugby and Lacrosse).
- Office space for ALL of Cornwall’s minor sports.
- Seating capacity at the outdoor venue for 1,000 + people.
- A BMX / Mountain Bike bike course
- A gymnasium
- An Indoor Soccer Field / Lacrosse facility
I won’t get into the financial details in this post. That’s not my job. And if building these items costs more then the 4 pad arena - then at least it was considered. This is meant to get people talking about what else could be included for roughly the same price of 4 rinks.
The benefits of making a central hub for all sporting activity in town are enormous. Let’s break them down one by one.
A Rubberized Track & Field Venue
Cornwall does not currently have a good track for Track and Field. St. Lawrence High School usually acts as the main hub of athletics in SD&G but it’s track is old and not ideal for training and hosting events. St. Joe’s and GV have a similar situation. CCVS and La Citadelle have gravel tracks with grass in them. L’Heritage and Holy Trinity - don’t have one. Adding a rubberized track for High School competitions would allow our local athletes to train better and get better. Here’s proof. It would also allow the area to host EOSSAA track events, Regional Track Events and possibly encourage St. Lawrence College to take up Track and Field as well. As a former Cornwall Cougar (The local Track club) I can say that training and events in the summer are almost always done out of town because we had no where to host any events. Adding this track to the ice pad complex would cost very little (relatively speaking) and would see almost as much of an economic spin-off as a third hockey arena. It would also allow for many more people to have access to quality training and competition.
A synthetic outdoor field for Football and Soccer.
This type of outdoor field is becoming more and more commonplace. Although the cost is more up front to build a field that is synthetic grass - the costs of maintenance are far lower. By creating this space inside of the track venue, the complex would be able to host ALL outdoor High School championships, tournaments and summer leagues. Lacrosse, Soccer, Rugby and Football could all benefit form this field. It would also never turn into mud, never need water or mowing and would look great. With the seating capacity - the City could host several events on this field each summer.
Several other playing fields (For soccer, football, rugby and Lacrosse).
The facility should be built where there is room for tournaments to be played - and where teams can practice. Adding a couple of soccer fields, football fields or rugby fields would go a long way in being able to host tournaments and for local teams to find practice time. This would of course be dependent on the size of the land used - but a worthy investment nonetheless in my opinion.
Office space for ALL of Cornwall’s minor sports.
There are several sports organizations in this town. Most (read all) are run by volunteers. Most have files, equipment, papers, computers, uniforms etc to store. Why not give an office for each of the major sporting associations in town to use as a central hub. Kinsmen Minor Soccer, Cornwall Wildcats Football, SD&G Blazers, Cornwall Cougars, Minor Hockey etc all work out of a network of homes and turnover for the volunteers always involves tracking down resources year after year. Some of these organizations have some kind of office space - but by putting them all together we would reduce their operating costs and hep put that money back into the sports themselves. Adding conference rooms, training gyms and such would increase the frequency of use of the facility as well.
Seating capacity at the outdoor venue for 1,000 + people.
I touched on this with the synthetic field and the rubberized track. By adding a small stadium with seating for 1,000 or so spectators, the City could attract larger sporting events and competitions. The cost of adding this is far less then adding 800 seats to a never sold out Civic complex, and would help the economy much more. Think the High School final between CCVS and TISS could get 1,000 people in the stands? Think EOSSAA doesn’t have over 1,000 people in attendance? Think the chances of hosting the Canada Summer Games or Ontario Summer Games wouldn’t increase 100 fold? Think again.
A BMX bike course
This is just an idea based on the local market. I saw a similar sporting complex (minus the hockey rinks) in Kingston. One of the busiest aspect was a small BMX / Mountain Bike dirt course outside the main building. This is a safe environment for people to enjoy the sport and encourages youth who don’t like mainstream sports to be active. Operating costs are pretty cheap and setup is very easy to accomplish. I’m sure the insurance on such an item isn’t cheap - but worthwhile to look at in my opinion.
A gymnasium
When the YMCA closed a few years back - the only public gymnasium in town went with it. Adding such a facility would not come cheap - but would create space that the City is allowed to use for the many basketball, badminton, volleyball and other sports tournaments hosted here on a yearly basis. It would also give people access to a gymnasium for organized sports leagues without depending on school board approval. At the moment we are reliant on the high schools and the college for gymnasium use. Even at a high cost I see this as a better investment then a 3rd rink.
An Indoor Soccer Field / Lacrosse facility
We’re lucky in Cornwall that we already have a good indoor facility. I was there when this facility was built and saw the rapid rise of quality of soccer played. I still enjoy its use every week. But our indoor soccer facility is located on the outskirts of town and is run by the Soccer Club. Adding this facility (moving it) would be very cheap and would give people access to all these other activities in one location and cut down on operating expenses and hydro costs.
In short - I think its very important for people in Cornwall to start questioning the creation of 4 more ice pads. Are they really necessary? Perhaps. But are they more necessary then these items I have included? Not in my opinion.
If its an economic benefit the City is looking for - what could be better then a centralized sporting facility where ALL local sports (save baseball and swimming who already have great facilities) could use to attract events and tournaments.
If its a budgetary concern - why not look at the operating costs of each of these facilities on their own versus together. Sharing the costs between leagues, groups and the city would be much more budget-friendly then simply building new arenas.
If its to help keep youth in Cornwall - what better way then to show them we care about all sports - not just hockey. What better way to encourage a young track star, or football player to use top-notch facilities and have access to train and compete.
Overall I think the City is being very short-sighted in looking only at hockey pads. I have heard some talk of adding the soccer facility - but I don’t think talk is enough. Residents of Cornwall should be asking for a multi-sport complex and they should be asking for it right now. The economic, social and cost saving benefit would be huge.
And don’t think that the old Courtaulds or Domtar lots aren’t the perfect place to house this sports centre either.
3 Responses to “4 Ice Pads? I propose the Cornwall Sports Complex”
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November 26th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
what a beutiful city we would have if the money was spent on improving or are we so blind that we cannot see room for improvement,,,
December 17th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
For the record - Brockville just got a rubberized track at Thousand Islands Secondary School. (They raised the money through fundraisers and corporate sponsorship) There is a lot of talk of the “economic” impact this facility will have for the area.
Read the article here
Cornwall Council has decided not to pursue a 4 pad arena (Which I think is a good thing) - but I still have yet to hear about the addition of the indoor soccer facility and the track / field / stands idea.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:29 am
New article in the freeholder about the Mayor wanting to add a soccer facility:
Read it here