Gateway to be site of new CBS community centre

By Mark Squibb/July 15, 2022

Conception Bay South Mayor Darrin Bent announced during this week’s council meeting that the Gateway, a commercial park sitting atop Legion Road in Kelligrews, is council’s preferred site location for a new, proposed $50 million regional community centre.

“We belive this will be the perfect site, because it’s centrally located within the town, and it’s already the location of recreation and tourism facilities like the CBS Arena, Sgt. Ned Nugent’s Outdoor Complex, the integrated trail network, and nearby Robert French Memorial Stadium,” said Bent.

He said a regional community will help bolster desired retail at the Gateway, and noted the Town already owns the land, which will help cut project costs.

“Year after year, Conception Bay South continues to see impressive growth, and with that growth comes the need for more community lifestyle infrastructure here in our town,” said the mayor.

In 2021, the town began developing a Culture and Recreation Master Plan.

“Through this detailed process, one fact was made very clear: residents want, and need, a community centre,” said Bent. “The necessity was further exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic when many facilities outside the Town’s control were closed and cut off to our residents and our groups in the community.”

Given Conception Bay South’s size and location, a “new community centre in CBS would naturally be regional in nature, and thereby benefiting many residents and family’s right here in Conception Bay South and outside our boards as well,” he added.

Council hopes to have a more advanced concept plan, including potential amenities and cost estimates, by the end of the year.

“We understand that we will need funding, we will need support, from our provincial and federal counterparts to make this centre a reality,” said Bent. “And that’s something that we’re working on as we speak. Conversations about funding applications are well underway.”