RECREATION PROJECTS
$154-million infusion
Calgary is putting $154 million toward building and upgrading sports and recreation facilities in Calgary.
The plan is to build two new field houses in Skyview Ranch and Belmont plus two new athletic parks in Saddle Ridge and Rocky Ridge. The Stu Peppard arena at Glenmore Athletic Park will be redeveloped to have two ice sheets, and the artificial turf field at the Calgary Soccer Centre will also be covered with a dome so it can be used year-round.
City council unanimously approved the money for the facilities at a meeting late Monday night, and Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Coun. George Chahal and Coun. Gian-carlo Carra officially announced the plans Friday.
The city's community and protective services general manager, Katie Black, said the work is meant to address aging infrastructure and to more equitably distribute athletic space in Calgary.
Construction will be ongoing over the next several years, and all the projects are expected to be done in 2027.
Money for the new builds comes partly from off-site levies: fees that developers must pay to help support new infrastructure, including recreation centres, when they're constructing new neighbourhoods. Funds are also coming from a city reserve fund that has been used in the past for projects like the new Central Library.
The arena redevelopment at Glenmore Athletic Park comes with the biggest price tag at $45 million.
The new field houses will cost $32 million each, while $25 million will go toward the athletic park at Saddle Ridge, and $14 million for the one in Rocky Ridge.
The city is currently planning a $45 million upgrade of the Repsol Centre to add amenities for families and children, helping to offset the loss of the Beltline pool and the Eau Claire YMCA in the core. And work also continues on the Foothills Athletic Park redevelopment, which includes a large new field house.
Councillors praised the latest plans earlier this week as a “generational” investment in recreation infrastructure, and Mayor Naheed Nenshi said he's hopeful it will help people living in some of Calgary's more far-flung neighbourhoods access sports and community spaces close to home.
“I think it's fair to say for a long time, we were underinvesting in certain parts of the city, particularly east of the Deerfoot,” he said.
“I'm really happy with the equity that we're seeing in these investments.”
Coun. George Chahal added there's the potential to build a permanent cricket pitch at the Saddle Ridge athletic park amid an “explosion” of interest in the sport.
“Every baseball diamond you see in northeast Calgary, cricket is being played on it,” he said.
“So I think this is the changing face of our city, that we need to have facilities to accommodate the new sports we have in our city as well.”
I think it's fair to say for a long time, we were underinvesting in certain parts of the city, particularly east of the Deerfoot ... I'm really happy with the equity that we're seeing in these investments.