ACTUAL I TÉ • NEWS
Kin Club lobbies for sports dome support
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
fundraising and construction of the sports dome and then turn over ownership of the finished facility to the township.The project plan estimates construction costs at between $2million to $2.5million and taking between two to three years to complete, including both the fundraising period and the actual construction. The Russell Kin Club decided on the Sports Dome after researching possibili- ties for a major community project it could sponsor. Cindy Anthony, project adminis- trator, told council and the committee that a sports dome, similar to the ones in Alexan- dria and Orléans, could meet many of the local recreation needs listed in a review of the township’s parks and recreationmaster plan, including the growing demand for playing fields for local youth and adult recreational soccer teams. “There aremore than 1400 soccer players
Proponents for a Sports Dome for Russell Township argue that it will be big financial asset for the municipality. “Domes make money,” said Doug An- thony, project manager for the Russell Kins- men Club Sports Dome proposal. He and the three Kin Club members serving as project chairs for financing, design and construc- tion, and administration, met with township council and its recreation complex commit- tee during a special joint session, Dec. 3. That argument, along with a preliminary business plan outline and examples of suc- cessful sports domes operations in Alexan- dria and other nearby communities, helped sway the committee to vote support for the Kin Club Sports Dome project. The proposal is for the Kin Club to handle
Doug Anthony, project manager for the Russell Kin Club Sports dome project, makes a passionate plea for support to township council and its parks and recreation advisory committee during a special joint meeting of the two, Dec. 3. Waiting their turn at the microphone to answer questions are Cindy Anthony (left), project administrator, Len Tremblay, project finance chairman, and SteveThorne, project design and construction chairman.
in Russell village alone,” she said, adding that a sports dome would be cheaper and quicker to design and construct than a rigid structure like an arena or other building. Doug Anthony also noted that a sports dome is a multi-purpose structure, able to accommodate trade shows, concerts, theatre projects, galas, and a variety of other events depending on its interior layout design. He also emphasized that a sports dome could be a profitable revenue generator for the com- munity through out-of-town bookings from other sports clubs and groups who need a place to host tournaments or special events. Len Tremblay, project finance chair- man, noted that the Kin Club plans to have a public consultation process, including an online survey once a website is in place, to gather suggestions from residents on what kind of sports and events a sports dome could accommodate. He added that an indoor soccer turf is a definite item on the list of dome amenities. “It (soccer) is a huge sport in this area,” Tremblay said, adding that the final design plan for the entire project will depend in part on both suggestions during the pu- blic consultation period and also on the amount of support for particular sugges- tions. He cited the Alexandria sports dome as an example, which has an indoor tennis court area that converts for use as a lawn bowling green because there was sufficient local demand for those two sports among stakeholders. The club has made a preliminary start on its fundraising plan with $6000 in pro- ceeds from the past summer’s RocKIN the Night Away dinner-and-dance event and a $1200 donation received from organizers of the annual Poutmasters Fishing Derby banked in a reserve fund for the project. Donation boxes for loose change are on display at various stores throughout themu- nicipality. Anthony told council and com- mittee members that the club will launch its main fundraising campaign once it has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with the township. The MOU out- lines the responsibilities for the club and the township regarding the sports dome. The club will finance and build the facility, and the township will then take possession of the dome and run it. “This will not be just a Kin Club of Russell project,” Doug Anthony said. “This will be a community project. ”
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