Work will soon be getting underway on a regulation cricket ground and two new FIFA sized soccer fields at the Omischl Sports Complex.
At this week’s meeting, Council approved a change order with EllisDon for nearly $5.9 million.
It also includes repairs to artificial turf soccer Field C at the complex.
Councillor Justine Mallah, Chair of Community Services, says there will be benefits to the project.
“Adding two FIFA sized soccer fields and a regulation cricket field equips North Bay to host more tournaments, draw visitors, filling hotel rooms and boosting local businesses,” she says. “Plus, we’ll be fixing Field C for this much.”
Councillor Tanya Vrebosch supported the motion, but also says she’s concerned about deferring funds from other projects.
“We haven’t been told the domino effect of what else will be deferred,” she says. “When you defer projects from one year something else has to be deferred the next year and the next year. These are all things that we’re leaving for the next council to deal with. I have concerns that we didn’t include lighting, which again means we’re leaving an incomplete project for future councils.”
The province is providing nearly $1.7 million from the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund for the cricket ground.
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A staff report says construction on the multifield will get underway immediately after being awarded with a target completion date of this November.
To minimize disruption to summer programming at the complex, Field C repairs would begin on Sept. 1, with a target completion date of April 2027.
