Sportsplex reno could end Findlay Centre, councillor warns

A Dartmouth councillor fears the expansion of the Sportsplex will result in the closure of the popular Findlay Community Centre.

Gloria McCluskey says the centre provides services that the larger Sportsplex can't.

"It's the community centre, well used, and everything should stay there," she said.

A new report from Halifax Regional Municipality staff recommends closing the Findlay Community Centre, a move they say would make the Sportsplex busier — and thus more financially viable.

But McCluskey and area residents say the value of the Findlay Community Centre, just a few kilometres from the Sportsplex, goes beyond bricks and mortar.

"From preschoolers to the seniors club and everybody in between... single guys come down the street with their gym bags," said Nancy Roberts, who lives on Elliott Street, across from the community centre.

Other unique features of the facility include an outdoor horseshoe club and community garden.

The Sportsplex expansion price tag is $22 million. City staff are wary of duplication and believe the Sportsplex could break even, faster, if the Findlay Community Centre closed.

They're hoping users of the centre will move to the Sportsplex and are floating the possibility that program fees might go down with larger classes.

Roberts, however, said the bigger Sportsplex would never replace everything at the Findlay Community Centre.

"There are other things like the pottery studio that I can't imagine that they could duplicate," she said.

The staff report will be discussed at a city committee meeting Thursday afternoon.