A new football field, speed skating track and more is starting to take shape at Great Chief Park.
While the City League high school football finals happens on Saturday in Lacombe, their new field is almost ready a little closer to home.
The Great Chief Park Enhancement Project, which started in 2016, includes a new synthetic sports field — primarily for football and soccer — and a 400-metre speed skating oval.
The oval will be part of the 2019 Canada Winter Games.
Other elements of the project include constructing a new field house/pavilion, which will include a concession, public washrooms, change rooms, a meeting space and a timekeeping and media area; a new maintenance building, upgraded electrical services and re-configuring the parking area. A total of 470 parking stalls will be available at the redesigned parks.
The synthetic sports field, Astroturf, was installed in September along with trail paving around the site. Significant progress was made at the pavilion/fieldhouse where electrical and mechanical rough-ins were completed, the roof was installed as were windows, siding and drywall. The house/pavilion, which is starting to take shape, is three storey’s tall.
Recycled tires will be used to provide rubber flooring in the pavilion area. A $26,845 grant from Alberta Recycling financed the deal.
“Building environmentally friendly amenities at Great Chief Park is one of our top priorities,” said project superintendent Curtis Martinek. “This grant from Alberta Recycling allows us to do that literally from the ground up.”
Construction on the site will continue until the winter of 2018.
mcrawford@reddeeradvocate.com
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