Ground was broken at Robron Park to start the construction process on the new Field House next to the soccer field on Friday.
The Field House has been years in the making, and this was a major step forward for the project. Initially part of the park’s redesign in 2010, the project was put on hold when the city decided on installing an artificial turf field instead. The Campbell River Youth Soccer Association took over on the field house portion of the project.
CRYSA had set aside some funds for the turf field, and was able to reallocate those funds to this project.
Funding has come from the City of Campbell River to the tune of over $1.2 million, and other sizeable donations from businesses and community members. A large fundraising drive was organized by the CRYSA to get the project off the ground. Donors who contributed over $20,000 to the project got some mud on their boots as they dug the ceremonial first shovel-full during the groundbreaking portion of the event.
The project has a total cost of almost $1.9 million.
Campbell River Mayor Andy Adams said during the event that “this has been a long and arduous journey, but it’s through perseverance and collaboration that we got here today.”
“It’ll just be a tremendous amenity for not only the Robron complex, but recreation in Campbell River in general,” he added.
Designs are for a two-storey facility of over 4,500 square feet. It will include change rooms, washrooms, storage and an office for the Campbell River Youth Soccer Association. The construction contract was awarded to Ketza Pacific. The facility will be owned and operated by the city, and will be available for booking through the Recreation Department.
“I know that the CRYSA has been working diligently for years with the city trying to get this rotary community field house to come to fruition. It has been years of talking about what the building will look like, what’s it going to contain, how will it operate, who’s going to pay for it and how we’re going to construct it,” said city facilities and supply manager Dave Morris, who emceed the event. “A lot of staff and association creativity has gone into this. It’s a fairly unorthodox relationship that we have with the association, but its a productive one. It’s taken a while for us to get there.”
The building will be officially unveiled later in the year, potentially by this fall.
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