Private operator makes pitch for Sudbury soccer dome
‘Why would we want to get in the way of this?’ says Deb McIntosh
Sudbury could finally have a domed soccer field by the end of the year.
City councillors heard last night that a private operator is prepared to build one and just needs land from the city.
In November, the city was in talks with the Rainbow School Board about building a dome on the property of Lasalle Secondary School. That was before trustee Tyler Campbell — who was then also the city's director of leisure services — resigned from the school board amid conflict of interest allegations.
City staff presented the news last night as part of a request for $20,000 to hire a consultant to determine if there's enough demand for a covered field.
That surprised several city councillors, including Deb McIntosh.
"This one seems to me to be 'duh,'" McIntosh said. " I guess that's the technical term for it. Unless someone can tell me why we would want to get in the way of this?"
In the end, councillors went ahead with the consultant, but ordered that the study instead focus on the process for leasing city land to a soccer dome company.