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View Full Version : Toronto's newest soccer fields - REAL GRASS for BMO imminent?



Technorgasm
08-27-2008, 09:20 AM
Well. . the Cherry beach fields are not being used. . and they have a beautiful surface, ONE of the fields could be designated as a training facility for TFC. . while the rest for public use. maybe they would re-coup some of their (tax payers) losses.

MAKE IT HAPPEN DAVID MILLER! MLSE!

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http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2008/08/27/6583961-sun.html


Toronto's newest soccer fields -- locked up and unused since last year -- will cost $8.5 million if they finally open next month.

For those keeping score, that's not just a year late, but also about $3 million over budget.

Waterfront Toronto -- funded by taxpayers' dollars from all three levels of government -- is on the hook for the extra cost, but stressed the fields, built on one of the most contaminated sections of the Portlands, will be worth it.

The city is urging sports groups to pay $36 an hour for the "premiere" pitches, dubbed the Cherry Beach Sports Fields, starting Sept. 22. Yesterday, construction crews were still at the site completing the parking lot.

Waterfront communications director Michelle Noble said the "desperately needed" fields were ready last fall, shortly after the city hosted the junior World Cup. The soccer pitches were suppose to be used for that event.

Since its completion, the well-manicured fields on the corner of Unwin Ave. and Regatta Rd. have sat behind construction fence closed to the public or any soccer players.

City parks manager Leslie Coates said Toronto Public Health warned the city not to open the field because of concerns about badly contaminated soil.

The spot is one of the worst in the former industrial lands on the edge of Lake Ontario. Rather than dig out the soil and put in clean fill, officials opted to remediate the land.

"The biggest challenge with remediation is you don't know what you will find," Noble said. "We knew the area was contaminated because most of the Portlands are contaminated, but it was just finding out the extent and determining what needed to be done."

City bureaucrats had originally earmarked $5.5 million for the sports field complex, but the budget initially jumped to $6.5 million to deal with polluted land in the field area.

The cost went up another $2 million -- to $8.5 million -- to address contamination problems in the area designated for a parking lot.

Plans initially called for crews to simply put down asphhalt on the parking lot. However, it turned out the land was so badly polluted with volatile organic compounds, it required more extensive remediation work.

But Noble said the fields are almost ready to open to the public. "They're elite sports fields; they are absolutely stunning, I think the people that play on them will love them," Noble said.

Environment ministry officials signed off on the fields in late May.

"Our role really in this project was to review and approve the risk assessment," local ministry spokesman Charlotte Wilkinson said.

"At that time, we concluded the human health risk portion and the ecological risk assessment had been conducted in accordance with the appropriate legislation."

Rob Davies, director of operations for Toronto Central Sport and Social Club, said it's been frustrating to see the fields unused. "It's been almost a full year now they've been sitting there available and not one ball has been kicked on it," Davies said.

He said his organization hopes to get some time on the field before it is closed on Nov. 30 for the winter. "It's not a very big window of time," Davies said.

flatpicker
08-27-2008, 09:26 AM
maybe the contamination will create some mutant soccer players that can play for Toronto with super-human abilities!

I_AM_CANADIAN
08-27-2008, 09:26 AM
The title of this thread is so misleading...

I'd rather see them just go through with getting the grass pitch at BMO and absorbing the cost themselves of constructing a new facility for public use.

Daveisonfire
08-27-2008, 09:27 AM
LOL as long as they can still make babies after playing on it

Fort York Redcoat
08-27-2008, 09:30 AM
It sounds like the city want to see their investment used by the kids and porbably not the pros.

Cashcleaner
08-27-2008, 09:48 AM
No mention in the article of TFC's involvement. How exactly does it cost 8.5 million dollars to lay down two soccer pitches?

wzhxvy
08-27-2008, 09:49 AM
Wow what a great selling pitch to new players...we dont have grass but we practice on natural grass on contaminated soil...I dont think so...

Damien
08-27-2008, 10:06 AM
We could change our logo to a T over the biohazard symbol... how timeless is that!

TicTacTabarnack
08-27-2008, 12:06 PM
No mention in the article of TFC's involvement. How exactly does it cost 8.5 million dollars to lay down two soccer pitches?

Someone's got to fleece the city ... It's a publicly funded contract.

Though ... It is QUITE expensive to dig contaminated soil out and test to make sure it's all gone.

Ossington Mental Youth
08-27-2008, 12:18 PM
Totally misleading.
Christ the city doesnt know their asses from a hole in the wall.
Thats miserable

Broadview
08-27-2008, 12:30 PM
When the Argo's were still at the Ex, they used to practice on the grass of the ball diamond near the dufferin gate rather than pound away on the rock-like surface at Exhibition Stadium.

I wonder if TFC have considered that site for training? It's grass and only a short walk from their dressing rooms and other training facilities.

AL-MO
08-27-2008, 12:37 PM
How about this: TFC BUILD their own facility rather than using more public facilities?

Pyeddo
08-27-2008, 12:39 PM
^ Bingo!

jloome
08-27-2008, 12:51 PM
Wow, just a great example of government waste. And politicians wonder why soccer fans think grass at BMO shouldn't be cost prohibitive.

ochos
08-27-2008, 01:23 PM
there's more than just soccer fields there.. if anyone remembers the plan a while back, there should be a whole boatload of facilities there

this was not a waste a public funds.. rather a bit of naivety on the part of the planners for assuming that the corporations didn't do what they do best.. allow environmental hazards to make huge profits

Jarrek
08-27-2008, 01:37 PM
I don't get it.

What's the big fuss about? Would you rather be playing soccer on land polluted by toxic chemicals and other contaminants?

How exactly is this a waste of taxpayers money?

Cashcleaner
08-27-2008, 01:42 PM
How about this: TFC BUILD their own facility rather than using more public facilities?

WHAT?!

Jarrek
08-27-2008, 01:42 PM
Wow what a great selling pitch to new players...we dont have grass but we practice on natural grass on contaminated soil...I dont think so...

The Cherry Beach fields are not natural grass. They're artificial turf, one more reason why the fields were so expensive.

denime
08-28-2008, 06:19 AM
Artificial turf,no wonder it was so expansive,but why bather with contamination tests,when is under the turf anyway,it can't come out.Same with parking lot put the damn asphalt and that's it.

Fort York Redcoat
08-28-2008, 07:29 AM
If its only 2 pitches + whatever I don't know if the city will constitute that as "problem solved" and free up BMO from city use. I dare to hope but seems unlikely.

C.Ronaldo
08-28-2008, 08:39 AM
Why dont they just use the hershey centre?

It has a shit load of pitches, a full size indoor (if the weather sucks / or training), a gym and anything else they need.

I dont see why they are "looking". They should have been using this since day one.


Kind of like the Argos (puke) practice at UTM.




ps
I played a game of ping pong vs some line backers at UTMs gym.
Those fackers can move for big boys

denime
08-28-2008, 08:51 AM
Why dont they just use the hershey centre?

It has a shit load of pitches, a full size indoor (if the weather sucks / or training), a gym and anything else they need.

I dont see why they are "looking". They should have been using this since day one.


Kind of like the Argos (puke) practice at UTM.




ps
I played a game of ping pong vs some line backers at UTMs gym.
Those fackers can move for big boys



Maybe because Hershey Centre is NOT in Toronto !!!

Roogsy
08-28-2008, 09:04 AM
New pitches eh? $36/hour?

I am so there! It's so hard getting to play on a decent pitch in Toronto without having to apply for a loan. Especially in winter.

boban
08-28-2008, 09:39 AM
WHAT?!
What is it that your socialist agenda doesn't understand?

C.Ronaldo
08-29-2008, 08:30 AM
so what if its not in Toronto


a) its only for practice
b) its only 20 minutes away with easy off highway access
c) other teams play outside their labeled cities, why cant TFC practice outside of it. Hell they are practicing in Thornburry, should we not allow that?


Go have a look at that sports complex, its something to behold.
I was actually on that project when building it (PCL), and that thing was built to professional standards.

Heck, PCL also built BMO field, and those standards were shit. I'm not kidding, MLSE made us cut back on anything and everything, hence the shitty elevators, plastic barriers behind the box entrances, and lack of bathrooms.

And in case anyones wondering, PCL already has the blueprints for quoting MLSE and Toronto for the expansion project. They've had it already drawn up since last year.

Fort York Redcoat
08-29-2008, 08:33 AM
so what if its not in Toronto


And in case anyones wondering, PCL already has the blueprints for quoting MLSE and Toronto for the expansion project. They've had it already drawn up since last year.

Thank you. And get'er'dun.

They chose fewer bathrooms? :mad:

C.Ronaldo
08-29-2008, 08:37 AM
minimum code requirement.

denime
08-29-2008, 08:38 AM
so what if its not in Toronto


a) its only for practice
b) its only 20 minutes away with easy off highway access
c) other teams play outside their labeled cities, why cant TFC practice outside of it. Hell they are practicing in Thornburry, should we not allow that?


Go have a look at that sports complex, its something to behold.
I was actually on that project when building it (PCL), and that thing was built to professional standards.

Heck, PCL also built BMO field, and those standards were shit. I'm not kidding, MLSE made us cut back on anything and everything, hence the shitty elevators, plastic barriers behind the box entrances, and lack of bathrooms.

And in case anyones wondering, PCL already has the blueprints for quoting MLSE and Toronto for the expansion project. They've had it already drawn up since last year.

Maybe City of Mississauga has something against,since they invested money for their community use,and TFC should move in as it was made for them.If BMO gets the grass training facility HAS to be in the City of Toronto,so that Toronto community can use it ,as they are using BMO field,that why I wrote Hershey Centre can't be solution for TFC training facility with bubble during a winter time.It has to be in TO.

GrimsbyTown
08-29-2008, 08:39 AM
They can go practice on those fields Sunday afternoon and then go to the Promise Cherry Beach parties on the beach Sunday evening.

Happy times.

Cashcleaner
08-29-2008, 08:51 AM
What is it that your socialist agenda doesn't understand?

Err.. so Boban, you've pretty much proved to everyone that you don't actually know what the term socialist means. I don't want to spill the beans, but you really don't know much about such political things, do you?

I mean, from what I'm reading, you're pretty much getting the definitions completely mixed up - considering it's a fiscally conservative position to oppose public funds being given to a corporation.

Please explain. No hold on a minute, I wanna get some popcorn, this will be good. :yum:


Okay, go on...

C.Ronaldo
08-29-2008, 09:06 AM
I see your point denime.

and now that i think about it, Toronto does have a serious shortage of public pitches.

Although in Mississauga its more expensive to rent a pitch for an hour than it is in Toronto. So maybe they fund themselves out here

boban
08-29-2008, 09:25 AM
Okay, go on...
You're position is if its build then lets ram everything and their mother into the facility to use it. What is so wrong if clubs of different sports have their own facility. You have this communal outlook on this its mind boggling.
This is a metropolis of 5M+ with shortages of facilities and your into some tree hugging sharing for everything. Some things are better when kept separate is all I am saying.

Beach_Red
08-29-2008, 10:22 AM
You're position is if its build then lets ram everything and their mother into the facility to use it. What is so wrong if clubs of different sports have their own facility. You have this communal outlook on this its mind boggling.
This is a metropolis of 5M+ with shortages of facilities and your into some tree hugging sharing for everything. Some things are better when kept separate is all I am saying.

All he's saying is that if every team wants its own stadium, fine, they can build it themselves, but if public money is being spent then the stadium needs to be more than single-use.

Canadians have never gone to watch sports in such great numbers like Americans where every town has a 20,000 seat high school football stadium (and baseball stadium) and every college has one double or triple that size. (I don't know anything about Europe). We've also never been particularly interested in "national" teams until very recently.

Changes are coming, maybe too slow for you, but that's the way it is.

Cashcleaner
08-29-2008, 03:37 PM
You're position is if its build then lets ram everything and their mother into the facility to use it. What is so wrong if clubs of different sports have their own facility. You have this communal outlook on this its mind boggling.
This is a metropolis of 5M+ with shortages of facilities and your into some tree hugging sharing for everything. Some things are better when kept separate is all I am saying.

So you obviously don't bother to actually read my posts, I take it.

To dumb it down for you: When something (like a sports facility) is partly or fully funded by the taxpayer, we should endevour to allow the greatest number of people use it. That's not actually being socialistic or conservative - that's called being reasonable.

On the flip side of the coin, when something (again, like a sports facility) is built by a private individual or business, that entity alone should have total control - it is they're money afterall.

So you see, my position is actually very conservative. In the case of BMO Field, I believe that the government shouldn't really have anything to do with the business of building a stadium. Sport is a business afterall, so leave it up to the private sector. Because BMO Field WAS mostly built with taxpayer's money - it's only fair that the public gets some use of it.

I agree, some things are best kept seperate. I say we let the government build roads, hospitals, and schools; and the multi-million dollar sports organisations build the stadia for their own use.

Blizzard
08-31-2008, 02:06 AM
Since its completion, the well-manicured fields on the corner of Unwin Ave. and Regatta Rd. have sat behind construction fence closed to the public or any soccer players.

Well-manicured? They're artificial!