Charlottetown council approves multi-sport turf field next to Simmons Sports Centre

Charlottetown will be going ahead with a plan to put an artificial turf field next to the Simmons Sports Centre on North River Road, though one councillor who voted against the location said many people in his ward had contacted him with concerns.

City council voted 8-1 in favour of the project during a meeting on Tuesday. The multi-sport field, which has been years in the making, is expected to cost nearly $3 million.

Coun. Mitch Tweel, chair of the parks, recreation and leisure activities committee, said the turf field and the existing Simmons facility will complement each other. The field's user groups will be able to use the centre's dressing rooms, and they can also use the space for meetings and fundraising events, he said.

"There's so many positive attributes, so many upsides to why this particular venue is the right choice for the City of Charlottetown," Tweel said at the meeting.

A 2017 report from the engineering firm CBCL also recommended the field should be built at Simmons Sports Centre.

Frank Quinn, the city's manager of parks and recreation, said the location meets the city's needs. It's city-owned land, meaning the field can be fully managed and operated by the municipality. This artificial turf field could potentially add five fields to meet the growing demand from sports groups.

Quinn added that the Simmons site has the necessary footprint, is centrally located near two large schools, and offers enough parking.

"We've also done a light layer assessment that was completed, and there is minimal impact on the properties around that," he said, adding that beams from the newly installed directional lights are hardly noticeable outside the proposed site.

We've been bounced around a lot for a long time... To have a space to call home and practise from? No words.— David Henderson

It's a big win for the Charlottetown Privateers football club, which hasn't had a permanent home for two years after their home field was shut down due to safety concerns.

"We've been bounced around a lot for a long time. We've even practised in Cornwall last year for our tackle season while our competitor was on the adjoining field," said club president David Henderson.

"To have a space to call home and practise from? No words."

Concerns raised over impact, lack of consultation

Coun. Norman Beck was the only councillor to vote against the Simmons location.

Beck said that in his two years on council, the project had not been widely discussed and residents in his ward weren't given much information until this past January. Since then, he said many people have contacted him with concerns about the Simmons site.

"They usually centred around these common themes: extended hours and seasonal use of the operation of the field, light and noise pollution, lack of parking and further congestion in an already busy part of the city, and the presence of forever chemicals that are in turf fields that are being located in a residential neighbourhood," he said.

Beck also said there has been a lack of public consultation and limited engagement with potential user groups. He said most discussions so far have involved only the Charlottetown Privateers football club.

The club has been lobbying for the turf field to be built at Simmons. It has been without a permanent home since its field on Longworth Avenue shut down in 2023 because the state of disrepair led to safety concerns. The team has been playing home games in Cornwall since then.

"This is being touted as a multi-sport field, yet there was no consultation done with the large majority of the users of this field to see what their current stance is," Beck said.

"We've heard from one group throughout this process, Privateers Football Club, which represents about six per cent of the potential users of this field — 180 roughly, according to the CBCL report, roughly 180 users of potential 3,000 users."

Beck also questioned the city's decision to fully own, operate and control the project without considering the options to have consultations with external partners or funding sources.

Holland College weighs in

Both the University of Prince Edward Island and Holland College have been suggested as alternative sites for the turf field. 

On Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for Holland College sent a statement on the situation after a request for comment from CBC News.  

"Holland College is committed to working with the City of Charlottetown and other stakeholders to expand recreational facilities in the Eastern Gateway of the city, with a focus on advocating for improvements to the area adjacent to Joe Ghiz Park," it said in part.

"We see significant potential in adding a turf field to the area, which would not only enhance the entrance to the city but also improve residents' access to Joe Ghiz Park. This initiative aims to promote healthy, active living while supporting leisure and recreation opportunities for the entire community."

The city said in a statement there is no timeline for construction, but a request for proposals for the design is expected in the coming weeks.