A federal commitment to $500 million over the next two years for recreation should translate into $15 million for Calgary, but Mayor Dave Bronconnier says that we shouldn’t get our hopes up.
Because city council had doubts about financial support from the federal government, yesterday it decided to wait until funding is in place before it commits to building artificial turf fields for soccer.
The project will be back on the city agenda by July.
“Within the next 30 to 45 days we will have a clear direction from the government of Canada,” Bronconnier said.
There is currently only one existing artificial turf field available to soccer players in Calgary, and as a result the city has not been chosen to host any major soccer events, according to documents.
The fields cost between $2 and $2.5 million each to build.
