YORKTON - The Yorkton United Football Club (YUFC) was before the regular meeting of Yorkton Council asking the city for a loan to help the organization install two outdoor boarded 5v5 turf fields.
The proposed location of the fields would be within the gated area attached to the building on Gladstone at the entrance to Logan Flats soccer fields, Michelle McCrea - President of YUFC told Council.
In addition to two 50'x90' fields, this project will include LED lights (dark sky compliant), upper netting and covered bleachers. The fields will have silica sand turf, two endline nets and four sideline nets which provide us with the option to divide the fields and small mini sessions or drills. These fields are semi-permanent and could be moved in the future.
The overall project will have a cost estimated at $532,000, said McCrea. To facilitate the project moving forward they organization requested an interest free loan from the City of Yorkton of $545,000 to be paid back over the span of ten years to complete the project.
YUFC will pay $55,000 to the City yearly as repayment, she said.
McCrea said they hoped for a decision immediately so that work could begin in order for the fields to be installed for spring 2025 use.
“This project benefits YUFC by allowing us to expand our programming. We can get outside earlier as we will not be waiting for the fields to dry and we can expand outdoor play into the fall. The lit space will also allow us to run programming later into the evenings in the summer time. In particular it will provide an excellent space for an adult league and a more sheltered space for our U4 and younger groups. We also run summer camps with the clubhouse as a base, and with these fields, the players will not need to walk to and from the grass soccer fields, particularly in inclement weather,” detailed material circulated to Council from YUFC.
“From a player development standpoint, futsal sized fields, (as played in the flexihall), allow players to have a significantly more touches on the ball, and teaches them to manoeuvre in small tight spaces,” said McCrea.
In terms of permission to install and operate the mini-pitches on City owned land, Taylor Morrison, Director of Recreation & Community Services with the city said it really only expands a current arrangement with the club.
“In 2018 YUFC became the sole user of the Gladstone Storage Compound building after the Parks Division was able to relocate their items and materials to the new cemetery building,” he said.
“There are no current plans for the City to utilize this building and compound, and as such, permission could be granted to YUFC to install and operate the mini-pitches on this City owned land.”
As for the loan request Morrison said such requests have been granted in the past.
“The City has entered into funding and loan agreements with facility users and partners in the past,” he said, adding, “Most recently, internal borrowing agreements with the Yorkton Exhibition were established for the Grandstand Renovation Project, which was coordinated and led by the Exhibition.”
Other examples of funding and loan agreements include the hole #7 green at Deer Park with the Deer Park Men’s Club, and the pathway bridge along Dracup Avenue with the Yorkton Business Improvement District, and the Brick Mill with the Yorkton Brick Mill Heritage Society, continued Morrison.
In addition, the City has sufficient cash flow to fund a project of this size, but such a loan under the Cities Act would require passage of a borrowing bylaw, he said.
The pitch development “is in line with Yorkton’s 2020 Strategic Plan, and specifically the Community Development objective to “Develop and maintain facilities that offer a diverse range of sports and recreational opportunities for youth to seniors.”,” noted Morrison.
“The mini-pitch project is also supported by the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which identified Sports Fields (both grass and turf facilities) as needing increased or enhances supply in future years. Continuing to use partnerships and collaborations to maximize available resources was also identified as an ongoing service delivery strategy through the Master Plan.”
It was the recommendation of Administration, with first reading passed unanimously, to authorize Administration to proceed with the public notice process for intent to lend $545,000.00 to the Yorkton United FC Soccer Club for the mini-pitch project.
