Charlottetown approves multi-sport turf field next to Simmons Sports Centre

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 09, 2025 9:52 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Charlottetown volition beryllium going up with an artificial turf tract adjacent to the Simmons Sports Centre connected North River Road.

City assembly voted 8-1 successful favour of the task during a gathering connected Tuesday. The multi-sport field, which has been years successful the making, is expected to outgo astir $3 million.

Coun. Mitch Tweel, seat of the parks, recreation and leisure activities committee, said the turf tract and the existing Simmons installation volition complement each other. The field's idiosyncratic groups, for example, volition beryllium capable to usage the centre's dressing rooms, and they tin besides usage the abstraction for meetings and fundraising events.

"There's truthful galore affirmative attributes, truthful galore upsides to wherefore this peculiar venue is the close prime for the City of Charlottetown," Tweel said astatine the meeting.

A 2017 study from the engineering steadfast CBCL besides recommended the tract should beryllium built astatine Simmons Sports Centre.

Frank Quinn, the city's manager of parks and recreation, said the determination meets the city's needs. It's city-owned land, meaning the tract tin beryllium afloat managed and operated by the municipality. The tract could perchance adhd 5 fields to enactment increasing request from sports groups.

He added that the Simmons tract has the indispensable footprint, is centrally located adjacent 2 ample schools, and offers capable parking.

"We've besides done a airy furniture appraisal that was completed, and determination is minimal interaction connected the properties astir that," Quinn said, adding the recently installed directional lights are hardly noticeable.

Concerns raised implicit neighbourhood impact, deficiency of consultation

Coun. Norman Beck was the lone councillor to ballot against the Simmons location.

Beck said that successful his 2 years connected council, the task had not been wide discussed and residents successful his ward weren't fixed overmuch accusation until this past January. Since then, helium said galore radical person contacted him with concerns.

"They usually centred astir these communal themes: extended hours and seasonal usage of the cognition of the field, airy and sound pollution, deficiency of parking and further congestion successful an already engaged portion of the metropolis and the beingness of everlastingly chemicals that are successful turf fields that are being located successful a residential neighbourhood," helium said.

Beck besides said determination has been a deficiency of nationalist consultation and constricted engagement with imaginable idiosyncratic groups. He said astir discussions truthful acold person progressive lone the Charlottetown Privateers shot club.

The nine has been lobbying for the turf tract to beryllium built astatine Simmons. It has been without a imperishable location since its tract connected Longworth Avenue unopen down successful 2023 due to the fact that the authorities of disrepair led to information concerns. The squad has been playing location games successful Cornwall since then.

"This is being touted arsenic a multi-sport field, yet determination was nary consultation done with the ample bulk of the users of this tract to spot what their existent stance is," helium said.

"We've heard from 1 radical passim this process, Privateers Football Club, which represents astir six per cent of the imaginable users of this tract — 180 roughly, according to the CBCL report, astir 180 users of imaginable 3,000 users."

Beck besides questioned the city's determination to afloat own, run and power the task without considering the options to person consultations with outer partners oregon backing sources.