Under the dome
Furey promises to go halves on turf and health centre for CBS
By Mark Squibb
It’s not exactly the community centre the Town was planning, or that some residents may have been expecting, but Conception Bay South will get a $16 million ‘Health and wellness facility’ thanks to what may be an election-eve promise by the provincial government to cover half the cost.
Premier Andrew Furey and members of his cabinet visited the Town Hall last Tuesday to make the announcement.
Unlike the estimated $50 million facility the Town had been planning, which included a theatre and a host of multi-purpose rooms, the facility announced by Furey will contain a number of multi-use courts, community spaces, and a large turf field covered by a large inflatable dome. The premier likened the facility to dropping a dome on Topsail soccer field. Included in the 100,000 square foot centre will be a 5,000 square foot building which will house office spaces, washrooms, change rooms, and a community room.
“When people want to develop healthy lifestyles and don’t have access (to facilities), that’s a problem,” said Furey. “This is allowing people to get healthy. It’s an investment not just in the community – although it is that— it’s an investment in people’s health and well being.”
Furey said discussions with the Town had been ongoing for some time, and both parties agreed CBS lacked an indoor turf field. Furey said the town presented a proposal to government last year that was “perfect not just for the town, but for the region.”
Asked if the promised recreation facility is the same as the proposed community centre, Furey said that was his understanding, but allowed it would be best to ask a council representative.
Deputy Mayor Andrea Gosse said the promised recreation centre is indeed the community centre for which the Town had been seeking funding.
“When we were elected in October 2021, we sat around the table, and one of the top things on council’s list was a community centre facility,” said Gosse. “We knew that this is what people wanted, this is what we lacked, and we’ve been working on it since day one.”
Council initially pinned the cost of the community centre at around $50 million when applying for cost shared funding from both federal and provincial governments in June of 2022, less a $6.5 million HST rebate.
Members of council have touted the need for indoor community space for community groups since the days of the pandemic, when COVID shuttered the doors of churches and schools, spaces where community groups often met.
Council hired Tract Consulting to complete a recreation and cultural master plan in 2021. That plan was finalized in December of 2022 and recommended a building that could accommodate both recreation and cultural activities, including a performance space, and spaces for youth groups and seniors.
Gosse said council’s original vision had not changed and noted the social aspects of sports such as cornhole. She pointed out the Town’s recent acquisition of the Manuels River Interpretation Centre means it has more space available for community groups and activities.
“There are a lot of groups that will be able to use that building, once we go through a transition plan and develop an operations plan moving forward,” said Gosse. “So, we have the Manuel’s River Interpretation Centre that will service a lot of groups and organizations and will have this community lifestyle centre. The two of them will go together.”
Gosse said that the new facility could open as soon as 2026, and the Town’s research supports the construction of such a facility
“These kinds of structures can be completed pretty quickly,” said Gosse. “If it was a standard building it would take longer. But this type of structure makes this doable for 2026”
Some small borrowing, said Gosse, may be required on the Town’s end, to cover its portion of the project.
The Community Lifestyle Centre, as it has been dubbed, will be built in the Gateway area atop Legion Road in Kelligrews.
Furey quipped that while the building may resemble a greenhouse, there will be no pickles – although he allowed there may be pickleball – and this type structure will cut down on costs.
“The actual dome is really robust,” said Furey. “It’s robust enough to handle the elements of Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Furey said similar inflatable structures exist in PEI and Nova Scotia. He added his government “absolutely” would like to use the dome design in future projects and reminded reporters that government had already committed to construction of a $13 million sports and well being dome at Kenmount Crossing.
The Provincial Government and the Town of CBS have agreed to split the cost of a $16 million recreation facility. On hand for the announcement at the Town Hall were, from left, cabinet minister Fred Hutton, Premier Andrew Furey, Deputy Mayor Andrea Gosse and Avalon MP Ken McDonald. Mark Squibb photo