The Cochrane Turf Association is entering the next phase of its effort to raise enough funds to construct a brand new turf field by Bow Valley High School (BVHS).
The group – made up of Cochrane Community Football, Minor Soccer, Rangers Adult Soccer and the Bow Valley Rugby Club – presented the town with a cheque for $925,000 on Jan. 28, and is now hoping corporations, businesses and area residents will hop on board to get work on the field going by this spring.
The price tag for the project is $2 million, but construction can commence at around the $1.2 million mark.
“We’re almost there where we can dig in the ground,” said Cam Cote, co-chair for the association, who said they have had tremendous support from the town and Rocky View Schools (RVS).
The project is aimed at alleviating what Cote and Dean Lang, a second co-chair for the Turf Association, see as a shortage of outdoor playing fields in Cochrane. Both Cote and Lang say the four organizations have faced the harsh reality of having to turn away kids who were looking to participate in outdoor sports, such as soccer.
“Twenty-seven per cent of Cochrane youth play a field sport,” said Lang, adding that at present, Cochrane’s fields, both outdoor and at Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) Family Sports Centre, accommodate approximately 1,500 kids and adults, and they would like to see that number double.
For Cote and Lang, a turf field is a step in the right direction. Both point out that natural grass fields cannot handle the outdoor sports demand being posed on Cochrane, as the fields require time to rest so they don’t become completely destroyed from overuse.
“A turf field,” Cote said, “is equivalent to six regular fields.”
The reason for this is because turf fields do not need to rest, and can be used throughout the day, accommodating more teams, sports and athletes.
Lang also underscored the fact that turf fields do not require watering or the use of herbicides, and is therefore an environmentally friendly option. The Turf Association was provided a four acre plot of land at BVHS to construct the field, which will include outdoor lights, bleachers and concession/field house.
Cote is quite pleased with the cooperation his group has received from RVS.
“They’ve donated what they can donate,” he said, pointing out that along with the land, RVS have agreed to provide parking, power and ongoing maintenance for the proposed field.
Cote said the use of the field would fall under a joint-use agreement, between the community and the school, with BVHS utilizing the area during school hours and other organizations while school is out.
Each of the four groups that make up the Turf Association is responsible for fundraisng $100,000 to go toward the new field. It will be the first new field built in Cochrane for over 10 years, and both Cote and Lang hope it will mean Cochranites will no longer have to commute into Calgary to play outdoor field sports.
Startup costs for a turf field at $1.2 million are higher compared to natural grass, which is approximately $400,000. Cote, however, said that if you compare the two, with ongoing maintenance over the course of 10 years, costs are nearly identical.
The turf field is the first phase of a three-part initiative for the association, which spans eight years. The second would be an additional indoor turf to the one found at the SLS Centre; and the third a multi-use field park.
The Town of Cochrane donated $600,000 toward this project, while Rocky View County provided $250,000 and the association raised the remaining $75,000.
It has been a two-year process for the Turf Association to get to this point.
