C.B.S. unveils plans for new domed recreation facility
Town hopes building will be open next year
The Newfoundland and Labrador government and Town of Conception Bay South unveiled plans for a new cost-shared recreation facility Tuesday, and the town's deputy mayor hopes its non-traditional design can lead to its opening next year.
The $16 million, 100,000 square-foot facility will house a turf surface for sports like soccer, football and ultimate Frisbee, multi-purpose courts, a walking track and a community room under a large fabric dome for year-round use
Andrea Gosse, deputy mayor of Conception Bay South, said Tuesday that the building is a dream realized over three years in the making — a centrepiece in the town's recreation master plan.
It fills a drastic need in Newfoundland and Labrador's second-largest municipality, Gosse said.
"This announcement today is huge for our community," Gosse told reporters. "This facility is going to be for everyone. And we will make sure that that's exactly what it is."
The facility will be built on town-owned land in the Gateway Commercial Park. The town has lofty aspirations for opening the dome in short order, and Gosse believes its doable — citing a lower overall cost and something that can be built quicker compared to a brick and mortar building.
Gosse said some financial borrowing may be required, but that it wouldn't result in a tax increase for residents.
Premier Andrew Furey called the $8 million investment from the province an investment in the future. The province has plans to become the healthiest in Canada by 2031.
"When people want to develop healthy lifestyles and don't have access, then that's a problem. So this is allowing people to get healthy. It's an investment not just in the community — although it is that — it's an investment in people's health and wellbeing, which will pay dividends in the long run," Furey said.
Furey told reporters he believes the dome facility could work in other locations across Newfoundland and Labrador as a cost efficient building method that can stand up to the weather.
"It's a really efficient way to do it, because you don't get into the infrastructure of walls and roof as much as the maintenance of the dome itself," he said.
"Basically, you're taking an outside turf, which exists down in Topsail now, and putting a dome around it."
Furey also encouraged other towns to come forward to talk recreation. He said there are facilities across the province that need to be modernized.
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With files from Terry Roberts
