In a reversal of fortunes, the boosters working to get a new artificial turf sports pitch built at the Spectrum Community School have found the necessary funding.
“We’ve had some significant donations come in and it puts us into the finalization stage of the project, which is very exciting for everyone involved,” said Dominic Butcher, Spectrum’s athletic director and head of the committee formed to push the turf project.
So far, $2.9 million in donations and in-kind contributions have been raised, with another $300,000 tentatively committed by the District of Saanich.
The largest portion comes in a single $2 million private donation. Butcher was not at liberty to reveal the donor at this stage.
Another $200,000 is from a group of donors and $700,000 is coming in the form of in-kind contributions.
Saanich council also committed to tentatively providing another $300,000 for the project at a special council meeting on April 16, though that money comes with conditions.
Several councillors had expressed concern with potential environmental impacts associated with artificial turf, such as micro plastics getting into the surrounding environment, as well as what they see as gaps in planning.
“I do acknowledge that there are concerns as there is not a final business plan in place yet, and I do acknowledge that there are concerns about environmental impact,” Coun. Colin Plant said at the meeting.
But he added: “I would expect that the applicant would act in good will to resolve issues that have been identified to them.”
Butcher has been working for six years to bring this project to fruition, involving several local user groups who would have access to the new artificial turf field, including Victoria Spartans Football, the Westcastle International Academy soccer team, and the Victoria Sport & Social Club.
Currently, the field becomes a muddy mess at certain times of year and can become unusable.
There are drainage strips to try to combat this, but Butcher said they are “like concrete” and have been known to have caused injuries back when football was played on the fields.
This is why one of the major proponents of the new turf is the Victoria Spartan’s Football club, which has about 100 youth athletes in its programs and doesn’t currently have a permanent home.
“This field will be our year-round home and it is desperately needed, basically for the survival of our club” Spartan’s president Allen Lavoie told Saanich councillors on April 16.
When the issue last came up before council in early February, the group had only raised about $1 million and were seeking about $2.7 million. Since then, cost estimates have gone up, but with the new money plus the tentative commitment from Saanich, it should be covered.
The design of the proposed pitch has morphed over the years from a two-pitch version to the current model, which will include one artificial field plus a clubhouse building.
Butcher reckons at this point it will be a two-phase project, with the field being put in first and the clubhouse going up at a later date.
The group stills needs to get a detailed design done, which will then need to go through an approvals process with the SD 61 school board before the project can move ahead.
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