Blackfalds hopes to open a $15-million field house and outdoor pool complex in 2014 and is looking for a little help from Lacombe County to meet that target.
Town representatives and others connected with the project made a presentation to the county on Thursday and asked for a contribution of $3 million. Council deferred a decision to give county staff time to prepare a report and recommendation.
The project, already three years in the making, would see a fieldhouse built on a scenic site near Iron Ridge Campus on the west side of town. The facility would include space for a wide variety of indoor sports from floor hockey and basketball to soccer, lacrosse and tennis. A fitness centre would also be built and a third-floor jogging track would circle the interior of the building. An indoor playground and administrative and community spaces will also be built.
An outside recreational pool is also planned. And in a unique touch, a small section of the TransCanada Trail will run through the interior of the building.
The total value of the project is $18 million including $3 million in land costs and site work already covered by the town.
Carol Simpson, a town councillor and president of the Blackfalds Field House Society, said fundraising is well underway with a number of big donations already lined up including $125,000 from Cottonwood Meadows and $100,000 from the Kinsmen Club of Red Deer. Work continues to line up corporate donors and government grants.
It is expected that design work will be finished by mid-2012 and it is hoped construction can start later next year with a spring 2014 completion date.
To complete the project, the society wants the county to contribute 20 per cent of the $15 million building price. That could be met by giving the county a 20 per cent ownership stake in the building, through an outright contribution, or by funding a specific component, with naming rights.
Town chief administrative officer Corinne Newman said the municipality expects to borrow $6 million for the project and will contribute the $900,000 it gets each year in Municipal Sustainability Initiative funding. The town is already building into its budget the capacity to cover the estimated $300,000 in annual operating deficits.
Councillor Keith Stephenson questioned whether the town could make such a large financial commitment when it has many other communities within its borders that need funding help.
A recommendation is expected to come back to council in a few weeks.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com