Preparation for the 2019 Canada Winter Games is leading to big changes in Red Deer’s Great Chief Park.
Construction is beginning this fall to upgrade sports facilities in the park abutting Bower Ponds.
Since Great Chief Park will be the venue for long-track speed skating when Red Deer hosts the Canada Winter Games, city work crews are constructing a new synthetic sports field and a world-class 400-metre speed skating oval.
Over the next few years, they will also be building a new fieldhouse/pavilion to include a concession, public washrooms, change rooms, meeting space, and areas for the time keeper and media.
A new maintenance building will be constructed. The parking area will be reconfigured and electrical services will be upgraded.
Not only are these projects needed for the Canada Winter Games, since Great Chief Park will be one of many local venues, but Red Deer residents will also get “a four-season park for decades to come,” said Curtis Martinek, project supervisor.
Work crews are starting to move earth for the new sports field before winter shutdown. Trees and bushes are also being removed at the west and north parking lots to improve sight lines for safety and access.
Starting today, underground utility construction will begin and continue for about a week. This will require intermittent lane closures on the road leading into Great Chief Park.
For more information, please visit www.reddeer.ca./gcp.