Springbank Recreation Facilities - Online Survey

We want to let everyone know that the County’s online survey regarding Springbank recreation facilities is now available here.  The survey will be available until Sunday, July 6^th.

This is your opportunity to provide feedback before Council commits substantial money into Springbank recreation facilities.  As we said before, these are your tax dollars.  Be sure to have a say in how they are used. 

The survey focuses on the following possibilities:

• A community centre with a 200-person hall, 2 multipurpose rooms, and a studio space

• A fieldhouse with an indoor soccer field, a competition-sized basketball court that can be used for other racquet sports and/or volleyball, and a 3-lane walking/running track around the court.

• A natural area with walking paths and an open-air event area on the County’s 75-acre parcel

These alternatives do not appear to reflect the priorities for unstructured indoor and outdoor amenities that the Springbank community has identified as their recreation priorities over the past decade.

As a refresher, these facilities were identified in the three phases in the 2022 South Springbank Recreation Facility Business Case. It recommended that they be built over 15+ years. 

In November, the Springbank Park for All Seasons (SPFAS) came forward with expansion plans to replace the Business Case’s second phase – the fieldhouse.  Council then asked Administration to work with the SPFAS and the Springbank Community Association on alternatives for combining these on the County’s 75-acre parcel immediately north of the SPFAS and Springbank high school.

Residents are now being asked for input on the outcome of that work.  From the information at the open house, which is available for review with the survey, the recommendation is to build both within the next 5 years.

The primary differences between the alternatives are which facility is built first and the locations of the fieldhouse and the baseball diamonds.

• Option 1 – the community centre is built first near the north-west corner of the 75 acres and the fieldhouse is built second on the SPFAS property.  This requires relocating its baseball diamonds to the adjacent 75-acre parcel.

• Option 2 – the fieldhouse is built first on the 75 acres and the community centre is built second, still in the north-west corner of the 75 acres.  The existing baseball diamonds remain where they are on the SPFAS land.

• Option 3 – the natural area is built first.  With this option, it is not clear where the fieldhouse and baseball diamonds would be located or which of the community centre or the fieldhouse would be built first.

You can see the different configurations under the “Open House Boards” tab on the survey’s webpage.

These recreation facilities are heavily weighted towards organized activities. If you think these meet Springbank’s needs, it’s up to you to decide if this is the best use of between $44 and $50 million.  Most of the survey’s questions ask for input on designing these facilities.   

Alternatively, if you do not support spending upwards of $50 million on either Option 1 or Option 2, it is particularly important for you to complete the survey.  Your views on the two options are still important.  As well, if you think the existing recreation opportunities readily available to Springbank residents would be more effectively enhanced by other options, the survey’s last question is your opportunity to emphasize this.  This is the place to identify other recreation priorities, such as unstructured indoor and/or outdoor amenities like fitness facilities, trails, pathways, safer cycling, river access, etc.  It is important for Council to understand everyone’s views.

We were disappointed that the options did not consider constructing one multi-purpose building that combined the community centre and fieldhouse.  There might be cost savings associated with this approach.  Those could then either be put to other uses or used to add amenities like a fitness facility and/or weight room.

At the open house we were told that this was not considered because no one wants people coming and going from soccer games and other athletic activities in the same building while someone was having a wedding.  It’s up to you to decide whether Rocky View’s responsibility to provide recreation amenities for its residents extends to ensuring that those amenities include an attractive wedding venue.

As we said in our last email, there is only so much money for recreation amenities in Rocky View – this is your opportunity to let the County know your views before it makes decisions on Springbank recreation issues at its July 22^nd meeting. 

While responding to the survey is important, you may also want to consider sending your views directly to your councillor and to Administration.