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Grandstand project ahead of schedule

The City of Cold Lake is forging ahead with the artificial turf field. Surprisingly enough for council, they're ahead of schedule and on budget for the grandstand artificial turf field.
Coun. Kirk Soroka looks over the materials being used for the grandstand.
Coun. Kirk Soroka looks over the materials being used for the grandstand.

The City of Cold Lake is forging ahead with the artificial turf field.

Surprisingly enough for council, they're ahead of schedule and on budget for the grandstand artificial turf field.

The concrete foundations have been poured, now contractors are waiting for the spring thaw to start the legwork of the project: getting started on the structure.

On Tuesday, Feb. 20, during their corporate priorities meeting, council took a look at the materials being used for the grandstand. They discussed some hiccups their neighbours down the road in Bonnyville, who used the same artificial turf field, had seen during the construction process.

Coun. Chris Vining said he had heard from teachers at Bonnyville schools there were some issues with laying the turf down.

According to Vining, when constructing Walsh Field, they hired a contractor outside of Field Turf to lay the base. The company who did the work claimed it was up to Field Turf's standards and should be ready to go.

However, Field Turf took one look at it and started checking things off of their list that still needed work.

“It might be worth a conversation in a sense of where they ran into snags. There was a definite snag between what the company, who did the base for them, said ‘yes, this is ready to go, this is to Field Turf's specs,' and then when Field Turf showed up and went, ‘nope,'” Vining expressed.

CAO Kevin Nagoya said in this case, they may have hired a separate contracting company to cut back on costs.

The company hired to complete the grandstand project is based out of Bonnyville.

Mayor Craig Copeland said they have experience with the company through the upgrades to Kinosoo Beach.

“There are a lot of local workers on this project, and we're really excited about that,” he added.

But what Copeland is most excited about, is being able to offer local athletes the best turf out there.

“It's going to be a showcase facility for soccer, rugby, and football. I think it's going to be exciting for all of the athletes that will be utilizing it. If we can squeak out and get it ready for this coming fall, that would be amazing.”

Along the way, the $11-million project faced some issues.

“The location itself represented challenges because of the bog conditions. A lot of soil had to be removed. That impacted the overall cost of the field, and we realize that. But, that strategic location of what that field will do for soccer and other tournaments because of the fields just above it, it's going to pay having that field so close to the others,” explained Copeland.

The budget includes more than just the field and stands. The cost is all encompassing.

Copeland broke it down and said the project includes the parking, field, grandstand, and the “big berm we're going to be building around the field so people can sit on the grass and watch the games.”

“It sounds like a lot of money, but plain-Jane (hockey) arenas are $14-million now a days,” he added.

Nagoya is hoping once the snow melts, contractors will move in and get started on the structure, which would bump up their completion date to this fall.

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