Winnipeg’s new football stadium will only be able to host sports three seasons out of the year now that a plan that would extend its life into winter has been nixed.
Part of the stadium’s original design had a vinyl bubble covering the turf to accommodate winter play for soccer, football and ultimate.
Now the provincial government has decided to take cash it had allocated to the bubble project and divert it to a new soccer facility in Garden City.
Mayor Sam Katz is disappointed.
“When we started the project which is now Investors Group Field, the bubble was definitely a part of that. I remember it vividly. From my point of view, it certainly added a lot knowing that could be used on many more days than just for the Blue Bombers or the Bisons,” Katz said.
“We were extremely disappointed to learn this is a final done deal,” said Ron East, executive director of Football Manitoba.
East was looking forward to having an indoor facility to host football practices and games in winter. Currently, there are no indoor facilities in Winnipeg dedicated to football.
“If you look at the golf dome, for example, the golf dome is made specifically for people who come and practice their golf swings. If you’re looking at the field, the turf itself you’re using, it’s just not conducive to football,” East said.
The bubble was first proposed in 2008 in an effort to extend the use of the stadium.
“It’s difficult to build a multimillion-dollar facility, in this case a couple million dollars, if you’re using it 30, 40 times a year,” Katz said. “You’d like to get that usage up to over 100 plus and that was one of the ways of doing it.”
Katz also said the province hasn’t asked for the land where the new soccer complex is proposed to be built.
The province says its funding for the new complex is one-third of the money needed and the city would be expected to chip in as well.
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