It isn't complete, but the end is in sight for the Battlefords Tribal Council Field House in the CUPlex.
Wednesday, city employees held a user meeting and were overwhelmed by the support from local recreation and leisure groups represented. All groups were interested in how construction of the field house is proceeding, and they had their first opportunities to request nights for league and rental opportunities.
"We thought we would have this gathering to see what people's needs are for the new facility," explained Siobhan Gormley, recreation and event co-ordinator for North Battleford, who will be operating the field house and is one of the people in charge of booking and scheduling for the new facility.
On the construction front, the floors will be poured next week. One side will take just days to finish and the indoor turf can be laid over top. The other side takes 60 days to set, then the pulastic floor can be in by the end of November. Director of Parks and Recreation Keith Anderson explains once the pulastic floor is completed, December will be used as training time. After Christmas holidays the first event scheduled for the field house is the City of North Battleford Centennial New Year's celebration. Programming and rental time is expected to begin in January.
After the party scheduled events get started for the field house. Representatives from soccer, track and field, volleyball, floor hockey, basketball, tennis and other indoor sports organizations at the meeting showed keen interest in using the facility.
The main floor is split into two components. The gym side with its pulastic floor can feature one basketball court length wise or three courts width wise and can accommodate as many as nine badminton courts on the surface.
The turf side can feature soccer, flag football and ultimate Frisbee opportunities, as the field is a futsal floor area. The playing surface on both the turf and pulastic gym floor is 25m x 43m. In comparison, the Don Ross gymnasium is about 23m x 30m. Also, the turf can be removed and the cement floor is likely to be rented out during the summer months when all the field sports are moved outside.
The main floor will also feature offices, a concession, a retail outlet, change rooms, referee rooms, storage rooms and bathrooms.
The greatest feature of the new facility compared to other recreational options in the Battlefords is that the setup and take down will all be completed by staff. It is state of the art and new option for recreational sports.
The second floor features 400 bleachers, 200 facing each court and a pedway to the curling centre, which has a restaurant.
The third floor will be a three-lane track with the outside lane stretching 230m for walking, jogging, running and strollers. Exercise equipment is also going to be placed along the track and between the columns with benches. Track fees drop in fees $2 for youth (six to 17) and $3 for adults. Punch cards of 10, 20 and 40 are also going to be available.
Along with the walking track, there is a combo to also use the swimming pool facility. It would be $7 for adults, $5 four students and seniors, $4 for six-to 12-year-olds and $3 for three-to five-year-olds. Punch card options are also available for the combo option.
Rental options for the field house are as low as $30 per gym floor per hour for youth or adult groups during non-prime time hours, (Monday to Friday 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.). The price of adult group rentals per hour during prime time is $90 per hour. Day rental prices and evening banquet prices are set at $670.
Not all the aspects are worked out, and with the help of those at the meeting, some needs and wants were made more clear. The hours of operation for the filed house will be Monday to Friday 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Holiday hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Those interested in scheduling gym time are encouraged to contact either Gormley at 445-1755 or recreation services manager Robin Langille at 445-1753.
