Thunder Bay’s touch football league has mixed feelings as city council prepares to discuss multi-use indoor turf facility options.
Vice President Daniel Gilberds tells us while he’s pleased the April 29th meeting is happening, the league is frustrated this has dragged out so long.
“We don’t have an indoor turf facility to play our indoor league in. We’re making due, well, we were before COVID, at an old hockey rink, which is definitely not the safest or the greatest for our league in terms of playing touch football,” notes Gilberds.
He adds it’s also for baseball, cricket, frisbee, soccer and other functions.
As for concerns about the price, Gilberds points out that’s a valid argument… but, when will the right time come? “We need to invest in our youth and people for recreational facilities. Peoples’ mental health over the last 12 months, in my opinion, has gone completely down the drain from COVID.”
The touch football club rep also wants belief in the community the building is only for soccer to stop.
He says out after years of debate, those pushing that narrative do not know what they are talking about.
“I’ve been at these meetings for the last three or four years. I don’t play soccer, I never have. So, this whole idea that it’s a soccer facility is beyond me. It’s for every user group in Thunder Bay that needs an indoor turf facility. That narrative needs to be thrown out the window, because it’s so not true,” says Gilberds.
