Dean Lang and Cam Cote never wanted things to turn ugly with their bid to construct an outdoor turf field in Cochrane.
Representatives for Cochrane Lions Football, Lang and Cote have been planning to build a turf field for several years, and feel the reason behind any animosity between them and the Turf Association — which Lions Football was previously a member of — could have been avoided.
“We had a plan,” said Cote, “it was a good plan, it shouldn’t have been deviated from.”
Since a delegation with council Feb. 3, when both Lions Football and the Turf Association presented each of their ideas for a turf field in Cochrane, a war of words has ensued over whose plan would be best for the local sports community.
On one side, Lions Football has proposed an outdoor field next to Bow Valley High School (BVHS). The recipient of a used turf from McMahon Stadium free of charge, the projected cost of the project is $1.4 million, with approximately five to seven years of use remaining on the turf.
The Turf Association — now consisting of Cochrane Rangers Soccer, Minor Soccer and the Bow Valley Rugby Club — has suggested constructing a domed turf field at a cost the group said would cost around $1.5 million.
Lang and Cote dispute the projected costs presented by the Turf Association, saying that when they were part of the group, the idea of a domed field was rejected by the Turf Association, as the cost was simply too high.
Lang also claimed that maintenance costs for a domed field are much higher than the outdoor field Lions Football is proposing, indicating that during the winter months costs would come in somewhere in the area of $20,000 for a domed field.
“Why wouldn’t you just build a structure?” Cote questioned, saying the dome itself would have a lifespan of 20 years before it would need to be replaced.
A point of contention for the Turf Association with respect to the outdoor field is the engineering behind it.
Dominic Hickey of the Turf Association claims the plan Morrison Hershfield (the engineering company planning the field with Lions Football) would result in the playing surface eventually moving due to frost.
Lang and Cote vehemently deny that this is even a possibility.
“There’s no evidence to show that at all,” said Cote, adding that Morrison Hershfield provides a guarantee on its work that the field will not move for 30 years, and if it did they would repair the problem at no charge.
Suzanne Gaida, senior manager of community services for the Town of Cochrane, said the original project manager for the turf field, Dialog, was tasked with interpreting geotech testing on the BVHS site by engineering company Levelton, and cautioned against any kind of guarantees that the surface would remain stable and that frost would not eventually have an affect on it.
Gaida added that it was positive that Morrison Hershfield has provided a guarantee, but the assurance does not mean that the land would not move, only that if it did, the company would be there to repair it.
Another point of contention with respect to the turf field is the matter of a shock pad, specifically, the Turf Association’s claim that in order for rugby to use the field, it must have a shock pad.
Darren Gill, vice-president of global marketing for FieldTurf, the company that installed the turf at McMahon Stadium that Lions Football is receiving, sent a letter to Cote indicating that shock pads are not needed for rugby play.
The letter states: “There are two turf fields in Canada that IRB (International Rugby Board) has deemed ‘suitable for international matches,’ which is their highest standard. These fields are both located in Langford, B.C., which is home to Canada’s National Rugby team. Both fields are FieldTurf fields and were installed without a shock pad.”
The letter goes on to say that the only field in the United States deemed suitable for international matches is the rugby field at the University of Notre Dame, which also does not have a shock pad or ‘e-layer’.
Reports in the United States indicate that there has been some issues with as many as 167 turf fields installed by FieldTurf between 2006 and 2009.
FieldTurf is currently in a lawsuit with Royal TenCate, the company that used to manufacture the blades of fiber grass used on the fields, because of these apparent failures.
FieldTurf claims the grass did not have adequate UV protection and degraded too quickly, while TenCate alleges FieldTurf installed the turf incorrectly.
FieldTurf now manufactures its own artificial grass for its turf fields.
The turf at McMahon was installed in 2006. Stadium manager John Haverstock said they had no issues with the turf during its eight-year reign, and that FieldTurf was installing its new turf.
Haverstock said the turf is in the shape ‘you’d expect it to be,’ and that it ‘degraded as we expected.’ He added that they could have got two more years use out of it at the pro-sport level, but decided to change the turf prior to its expiry.
Haverstock said the approximate cost of the turf when it was installed in 2006 was $750,000.
Cote said there was always an agreement within the Turf Association that they would build an outdoor field first, and then, five or six years later, construct an indoor field.
Both Lang and Cote said they support an indoor, domed field in Cochrane sometime in the future, and feel it would be best situated somewhere next to the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
“We see a need for this in minor sports,” said Lang, adding that Lions Football is not trying to upset anyone with the implementation of their plan to build an outdoor turf field.
Cote said Lions Football was the originator of the Turf Association, and several years later, they finally plan to start digging this spring, with August being the anticipated opening month of the field.
“In the end,” said Cote, “it started with football and it will end with football.”
Lions Football was granted $500,000 from the Town of Cochrane for its turf project. Lang said they would not be approaching council again for funding for the project, as a user-pay model would provide for future maintenance.
The Turf Association is yet to receive grant monies from the town.
