Work towards the indoor turf facility will continue without tennis courts, after a long debate at last night’s Council meeting.
Councillor Mark Bentz opposes the plan to give the Thunder Bay Community Tennis Centre up to $1.5 million for a bubble with indoor tennis courts.
“I’m all for partnerships, and I like this approach, but we’re treating different recreational groups differently in this case,” Bentz claims.
Mayor Bill Mauro put forward the motion, saying it will be good for the tennis community and let them expand if they wish.
“They committed to fundraise $400,000 as I remember it, which gets them to $1.9 [million] if they’re able to receive their fundraising total. It will allow them, if they operate separately as a non-profit, to accommodate pickleball and get another 400 to 500 members.”
The motion passed last night also lets the city go ahead with a federal funding application for the $30-million indoor turf facility.
That application is due by November 14th.
The search for an indoor turf facility was spurred on following the collapse of the Sports Dome on the CLE Grounds in a November 2016 snowstorm.
It threw the soccer community into chaos since both men’s and women’s clubs were forced to cancel their seasons because there was no place to play.
In 2017, local soccer clubs were given a glimmer of hope with news Soccer Northwest was trying to get a temporary facility set up at a vacant sawmill on Maureen Street but that fell through because of a legal roadblock.
Fast forward to early 2018, when city council started the process by voting to build such a complex, which was kicked into high gear after city administration began working behind the scenes to make a reality at Chapples Park.
After an appeal by local tennis officials, Council committed to including six tennis courts in the project, but then reversed their decision.
Mayor Mauro has made building the turf facility a top priority throwing his full support behind it.
