Recreation group places high hopes in South River council

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A North River based recreation group is hoping the Town of South River will partner with it in building an indoor sports facility to serve the region.

Aspire Recreation, formerly known as North River Recreation, is a not-for-profit group that provides recreation activities and events. Earlier this month, its founder and chairman, Ryan Gates, gave a presentation at South River’s town council meeting.

Gates said Aspire aims to build a facility for recreational activities, especially indoor sports, but it needs a partner. Gates said he decided to first offer the partnership to the Town of South River.

Gates said Aspire has between 500 and 700 children register for its programming every year, and with over 250 adults registered as well, it has outgrown what would be considered a program for a municipal organization.

“Which we weren’t anyway,” he added. “We were just based in North River.”

While the organization was called North River Recreation, Gates said, it was not affiliated with the town council. Gates said he has been encouraged the last several years by cabinet ministers, other town councils, and others to adopt a regional approach to recreation.

Aspire Recreation keeps its social media busy, Gates said, with its Facebook page receiving over 250,000 visits every three months. They have also been financially successful, able to donate over $5,000 to All Hallows Elementary in the last two years, he said.

“Revenue is everything from fundraising to your basic selling hamburgers at an event,” said Gates. “Our major source would be registration for sports.”

Registration fees cover the group’s base costs, said Gates, for uniforms, rental fees, etcetera, while trying to average a profit of between $20 and $50 per player to go back into the program to keep it running.
“What we’re looking to do as a regional organization is make a splash on the provincial level somewhere in this region,” said Gates.

He said a number of people encouraged him to approach South River council as the town is in a good spot geographically and financially and has supported Aspire in the past.

“There’s no real recreational facility in any of the towns in our area,” Gates said. “Not a proper rec centre.”
The closest such place with a recreation centre is Upper Island Cove, he said.

“It’s a really nice facility,” Gates said. “In my mind, it’s the minimum of what any small town should have.”
Gates said the first thing his group needs is land for a new building and he is aware South River has some land at its disposal. “We want to put up a facility that’s something in the vicinity of a 200 by 300-foot building,” he said.

The facility would include a three-tiered sporting arena, with an indoor soccer pitch with turf, a basketball court, and three regulation pickleball courts.

“What we need to be able to do this is a 50/50 partnership on land and assets,” said Gates. “So, the idea being with that, if there’s land that needs to be developed, in order for us to develop it to get the money, we can’t unless we’re at least part ownership of the company. Now, from a not-for-profit organization, none of us can do anything with that, anyway. If we ever dissolve as an organization, it will automatically default back to the town, anyway.”

Gates said such a facility would put the community on the map in a big way and benefit the local economy.
Councillor David Petten asked whether Aspire has any investors yet.

Gates said it has potential investors, but it is difficult to secure them since it does not yet have land.
Petten asked Gates if he had spoken to the provincial or federal governments about the project. Gates confirmed that he had, but it was prior to the changeovers of the 2025 elections.

“I love the idea, but the money is astronomical,” said Petten.

Deputy Mayor Melissa Hierlihy agreed that, without additional funding, it would not be possible for Aspire to proceed.

“But why can’t this area rally for something like that?” asked Hierlihy, adding that while other towns have managed to establish recreation facilities, there is nothing like that in South River. Petten noted there are areas on the outskirts of town where the recreation centre could plausibly be built and suggested Aspire could buy land from private owners.

“I appreciate you guys all coming in and talking to us tonight, and I appreciate what you’re doing because it is all volunteer,” said Hierlihy. “And I love all of your ideas, and kudos to you for what you’ve accomplished in a short period of time.”

Hierlihy said there are things that would have to be considered before council could make a decision.
“I don’t think there’s a doubt in anybody’s mind here that this is a good thing that you’re doing,” agreed Petten. “It’s great. But it’s a massive financial undertaking. You need to look at your revenue generation to sustain it.”

Gates accepted that in stride.

“Maybe the project that we’re talking about today is not the project that we start tomorrow,” said Gates. “Maybe the project we start tomorrow is a much scaled-down version of this one, with the ability to do stages two, three, four, and five in a 20-year span. I don’t know. But without a partner and a strategic plan to do so, we’re just going to spin our tires for another couple of years.”

Gates said he looked forward to seeing how council would like to be involved in the project, whether it’s through land, a full partnership, or another way.

“We’ll definitely be in touch,” said Hierlihy. “I’m really excited about what you’re trying to do.”