Field of dreams in Dominion.
Proposed Dominion dream field project will be fully accessible
DOMINION — The pandemic that's keeping people off playing fields around Cape Breton might end up putting construction crews on one of them sooner than expected.
There are no events planned for Hawks Field in Dominion in the near future, so that could mean the September construction start date for the Hawks Dream Field Project might be moved up by a couple of weeks.
Of course, that depends on the availability of funding from three levels of government, one of which was obtained in May when the Cape Breton Regional Municipality agreed to front one-third of the $1-million cost of Phase 1 of the project.
That CBRM support is conditional on the provincial and federal governments also pitching in one-third of the cost each but organizers are confident that everyone will be on board.
“They are incredibly supportive and they are behind the project 100 per cent,” said Lisa McNeil-Campbell, chair of the Hawks Dream Field Society.
“It's just a matter of waiting on the proper timing for the money to be available.”
The Hawks Dream Field Society plans to transform Hawks Field into a fully accessible recreation area for baseball, soccer and other sports. The project also includes a walking track, splash pad and bocce ball court.
A building constructed at the field will also have fully accessible washrooms and canteen spaces as well as storage space for equipment.
While organizers await final word on federal and provincial funding, they've been having some fundraising success of their own.
A recent gift card draw netted the society more than $1,000 and a twice-postponed corporate fundraising dinner has also sold-out. McNeil-Campbell said no one has asked for their money back, in spite of the dinner postponements.
T-shirts, ball caps and other Hawks fundraising paraphernalia is also selling well. Many have also expressed interest in a donor wall that will be part of the facility's final construction.
In addition, the New Waterford Rotary has committed $15,000 to the project over three years, while Plaza Ford and the Dominion Hawks Club have made $5,000 donations each.
When the field is completed, the home dugout will be named for McNeilCampbell's father Walter, who was well known and well respected in the local sporting community as a coach and mentor. The visiting dugout will be named for Donald (Duck) Ellsworth, the tireless groundskeeper for the Hawks Field over the past number of decades.
“The project is going incredibly well,” said McNeilCampbell.
“We are very anxious to get that provincial and federal funding but of course it never comes as fast as you want it to come.
It's coming. We couldn't ask for more support than we've been getting from the government.”
Further updates can be found on the project's Facebook page. The website for the field — www.hawksdreamfield.ca — also has updated plans for the field and a growing account of local sports history.