Recreation facility groups seek funds from council

Pitches made for children’s museum, soccer stadium, track and field site

City council heard from seven groups pitching new and expanded recreation and culture facilities, including a request from the Children’s Discovery Museum for $2 million more.

Council’s governance and priorities committee held a special meeting on Wednesday to hear from groups seeking to build new or upgrade existing facilities with varying degrees of taxpayer support.

The list of facilities was intriguing, including a $20-million stadium for a professional soccer team, an indoor lacrosse facility and a new track and field facility at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.

Amanda McReynolds Doran, executive director of the children’s museum, said the facility would include a playground structure unlike any other in Canada. She said the museum wants $2 million more from the city over three years.

“We were assured that you would not come back and ask for more money,” Coun. Bev Dubois said.

Doran said costs have risen in part because of the delay in taking possession of the former Mendel Art Gallery building, which was postponed due to the Remai Modern art gallery’s missed completion deadline.

“Circumstances have changed and they were beyond anyone’s control,” Doran said. The museum aims to raise $15 million to renovate the Mendel building, which it will lease from the city.

The Friends of the Bowl Foundation outlined plans to upgrade facilities at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex, including a new track facility, as the track at Griffiths Stadium is slated to close. The track would be built at the same location as the Clarence Downey Speedskating Oval.

Through innovative engineering techniques, the oval would be built on top of the track in a way that would not ruin the track, council heard.

The foundation wants $5 million over seven years from the city. Council heard the foundation just received an anonymous $15-million donation last week.

The group behind a $20-million soccer stadium is only seeking land from the city in an early push for an indoor lacrosse facility with three fields.

A permanent $3-million indoor facility at the Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan site is not expected to need city financing, and neither is a $5-million water park planned for the weir.

A report prepared by a consultant contracted by the city estimates the value of the city’s current recreation facilities at $264 million.

The city spends about $3.2 million a year on maintaining recreation facilities, but should be spending $6.7 million a year, the report says.

The total cost of building and renovating facilities to meet Saskatoon’s recreation needs for the next 11 years is pegged at $92.2 million.

Mike Roma of consultant RC Strategies + PERC applauded the city’s approach to funding infrastructure, but said Saskatoon lags behind other Canadian cities when it comes to partnering with other municipalities on recreation.

Circumstances have changed and they were beyond anyone’s control.