Soccer hopes near goal - Winnipeg Free Press

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Keith Ferbers hopes the city will approve his soccer federation's $11.5-million proposal for an indoor/outdoor complex on this site off Wilkes Avenue.


Soccer hopes near goal
Federation expects city hall to approve proposal for a new indoor-outdoor complex this summer

Sun Apr 9 2006

By Chris Cariou






THE soccer community's long, frustrating wait for a new indoor playing facility appears to be coming to an end.
Keith Ferbers, president of the thousands-strong Winnipeg Soccer Federation, says he expects a final proposal will go to city council's executive policy committee by next month and that council will approve it before summer ends.

He's only hoping it will be the $11.5-million complex his group has been pushing for about two-and-a-half years.

"We're glad things are moving forward," Ferbers said in an interview, referring to the city issuing requests for expressions of interest from the construction industry, architectural firms and private groups indicating how they would build the complex the soccer community is proposing, or a different one, and at what cost.

Responses are due April 18.

'Process'

"We're hoping that once we go through this process, the city will be satisfied that our proposal is the right one," Ferbers said.

"I'm happy that one way or the other, this seems to be coming to a head and we're hoping this is going to go to EPC (executive policy committee) in late May once they've had a chance to discuss things with us.

"I'm led to believe that once EPC approves it, we're looking pretty good at council, that this will definitely be done before the summer recess."

Ferbers said the impending closing of the Soccer Spectrum, one of Winnipeg's oldest and most enduring indoor playing facilities, accelerates the need for the city and Mayor Sam Katz to follow through with a commitment to build a new indoor/outdoor complex.

The federation includes the Winnipeg Youth Soccer Association, the Manitoba Major Soccer League (men) and the Winnipeg women's league. With the support of the provincially-run Manitoba Soccer Association, their proposal is to build a complex with four indoor fields and two outdoor fields.

Most of the funding would come from a $6-million federal-provincial-city infrastructure grant already committed. Discussions are focusing on a 20-acre site near the Golf Dome between Sterling Lyon Parkway and Wilkes Avenue.

A key component of the federation's plan is that the soccer community would run the facility and use revenues to maintain it and develop the game. WYSA, the largest group with 18,000 registered players, has already committed $250,000 to the WSF proposal and the women's league has pledged another $10,000.

"So the community's trying to say, 'Look, we're behind this. What's the holdup? Let's do it,' " said Hector Vergara, chief administrative officer of the MSA. "We know that the facilities are needed for our game to continue to grow. That's our intent -- to grow the game, but we can't grow it if we have nowhere to play it." The sale of the Soccer Spectrum means that 102 teams in the men's senior indoor league will have to find somewhere else to play next winter, along with about 150 mini-soccer players ages 5 to 9. Tony Nocita, majority owner of the Spectrum, a former player with the Winnipeg Fury and part of Manshield Construction Co., confirmed the 13-year-old venue has been sold.

It will become the regional head office for the Enterprise car rental company by early next month.

Nocita said his group will respond to the city's request for expressions of interest with a plan for a privately run, for-profit complex that would meet the needs of the soccer community.

He said that while rumours swirl about an announcement being imminent, he believes that's just conjecture surrounding the April 18 deadline.

He said he expects that after the deadline, the city will short-list the candidates and then a formal request for proposals will be issued.

"That's what we've been working towards," he said. "I would think there'll be two or three or four proposals. The city wants to see how the market responds.

"We've been there since Day 1," Nocita said. "We're part of the soccer community here too, and we can help."

Other groups, including an Ottawa-based private company that runs a bubble complex in the capital and in other cities, have also expressed interest.

The Spectrum is the latest indoor soccer venue to disappear from the local scene. Last year, the CoverAll in Headingley closed, and the Winnipeg Winter Club's beleaguered dome collapsed under snow.

The Skylight in East St. Paul opened this season, but it had a leaky roof and other problems.

Ferbers said he's concerned that Katz and the city still appear to be considering options other than the one the WSF is proposing, even though city departments have already vetted the WSF plan and support it. But he didn't entirely rule out another proposal.

"We've said to the city that if someone puts in a response that meets our needs and they can do it cheaper than what we've proposed, we're happy to look at that.

"We really want to do a marquee indoor facility that's going to be standing for 40 to 50 years at least, and that really becomes the destination for indoor soccer."


chris.cariou@freepress.mb.ca


The plan

The Winnipeg Soccer Federation's proposal for a new indoor/outdoor complex:

The Facility
* Four indoor fields on new-generation turf and with boards
* Restaurant/lounge with glassed viewing areas
* Bricks-and-mortar structure, not a domed bubble
* Washrooms, change rooms, meeting rooms, physiotherapy other amenities
* Two outdoor fields -- one natural grass, one with new artificial turf
* Proposed site is 20 acres near the Golf Dome between Sterling Lyon Parkway and Wilkes Avenue.

The Cost
* Total estimated cost is $11.5 million (delays have likely increased construction and materials costs)

Breakdown:
* Indoor facility: $9.5 million
* Outdoor fields, parking lot, etc.: $2 million

Paying the Bill
* $6 million committed from $43-million federal/provincial infrastructure program
* $1 million from another government infrastructure program (pending)
* $4-million to $4.5-million mortgage to be assumed by WSF
* Fundraising initiatives and pledges from within soccer community

The Beneficiaries
* 20,423 players (11,159 males, 9,264 females) are registered with the Manitoba Soccer Association, most in Winnipeg
* Another 7,000 (estimated) mini-soccer players ages 5 to 8, plus another estimated 2,000 outside Winnipeg
* 2,500 coaches and officials are involved, plus parents, grandparents and other fans.

The Timeline
* City has set April 18 as the deadline for interested parties to submit suggestions on how they would build the WSF's proposed facility or another multi-field complex, and at what cost. WSF expects the issue to go before executive policy committee by May and hopes for council approval by summer.

Sources: MSA, Winnipeg Soccer Federation