Exciting news for Altona's soccer community!
After years of planning, discussions and rallying support, Altona Soccer is finally moving ahead with a grand plan to build a soccer park in town.
"We are very excited and thrilled, especially those heavily involved in playing soccer on a regular basis, to work towards facilities and pitches and surfaces that can help grow soccer in the community," said Karl Enns, President of Altona Soccer.
The plan
Phase one involves building the soccer park on the greenspace located north of the Millenium Exhibition Centre. It will include two full-sized soccer pitches with competition-level surfaces, a built-in irrigation system, a greenspace that allows for warm-ups and practice, pathways connecting the park to the rest of the local active transportation system, plus more.
As well, Altona Soccer and Border Land School Division (BLSD) have signed an agreement granting permission to fundraise and complete upgrades to existing soccer pitches on BLSD property. This, noted Enns, will be Phase two.
The potential
With 250 to 300 people involved in Altona Soccer programs each year, Enns says the executive is excited about what could be with this project.
"[..] from age three right on through up through adults. We have a women's league now, and we have the Timbits program on the younger edge. We have the recreational soccer, Pembina Valley Youth Soccer League, which covers Winkler, Moden, Carman, Altona, Rosenort, and Morris as well. We're revamping soccer in southern Manitoba and also looking at some potentials to grow the programs. And so, more facilities will be needed across southern Manitoba, and this will give us four or five really great pitches that we can use, allowing the community to host tournaments, events, provincials, things like that."
Striking a deal
The Town of Altona is providing the greenspace for the soccer park and has signed an agreement with Altona Soccer regarding terms of reference as to who will care for the property moving forward, among other details.
"We're very excited," said Mayor Harv Schroeder. "They are taking on a big project."
The decision to provide the land comes after Council reviewed the results of its recent Active Transportation and Recreation Master Plan where, following consulting with various stakeholders, Schroeder says the need for soccer facilities was one of the things that topped the list of local needs.
"The other day I drove past an evening of soccer that was happening at Ecole West Park School, and I was shocked at the sea of kids," he noted.
What will it cost?
The entire project is expected to cost around $750,000. Altona Soccer will begin fund raising in a few short weeks.
"So, if you see me knocking on your door, then you already know what I'm going to be there asking for," said Enns. "We'll be looking for business and corporate sponsorship as well, which could potentially come with things like naming rights and stuff to the various fields and spaces. But also, we want to involve the community and there will be a number of activities and events that we will be doing throughout the winter and into next summer."
More information can also be found on the Altona Soccer web site.
"We've been so very fortunate to work and live in a community that supports things like recreation facilities, partnerships between the town office, the recreation office, the school division, and then the various sporting groups can use each other's facilities. That's just been a real blessing," added Enns.
The overall project is expected to approximately 18 to 24 months to complete but could be up to two years just to ensure the space, the land has time to settle and to do all the grading and all the seeding properly," said Enns.
The hope is for a grand opening in 2027.