Sooke council approved $408,000 in funding Monday which will allow SEAPARC and the Capital Regional District to build a multi-sport court box on district lands at SunRiver Estates.
The funds represent the balance of the district’s playing field reserve account and is linked to an application for funding from the federal Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
If approved and constructed, the facility would be operated by the CRD and SEAPARC and would accommodate a variety of sports, including box lacrosse.
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But local athletes shouldn’t get their hopes up that the project will be completed any time soon.
A review of the government of Canada website that details the ICIP process fails to lay out specific timelines for grant approvals and says only that applications must be received by Jan. 23 and that the final projects must be completed by 2027.
Even so, there was some opposition to the choice of the site at the council meeting with some offering the viewpoint that the SunRiver location was less than ideal and perpetuated what they believed to be a concentration of services and facilities in that part of the town.
“That just isn’t the case,” said Mayor Maja Tait.
“The truth is that it’s the best location for a facility of this kind. It’s where we have the land available and Sooke is still small enough for anyone in the community to be able to access this facility without any undue hardship. I’m hopeful we get the funding and can move forward with the project sooner than later.”
The court box will be located at 2430 Phillips Rd.
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