CALGARY – One of the city’s brand new sports fields is giving athletes a bit of a rough ride.
The artificial turn at Hellard Field in Shouldice Park is heaving.
The once-flat playing surface now slopes in several places.
As a result, Alberta Major Soccer League has moved all of its games to different locations.
The city has also sent out notices about the issue to other sports clubs.
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Despite the imperfection, it insists the field remains safe to play on.
“Those fields have a bit of an issue in terms of the level – it’s not flat all the way. So it’s more of a caution to them,” says Shelley Shea, City of Calgary.
“If they feel they would be unsafe to use we’d be glad to find them some other ones.”
The field is still under warranty.
The city is now working to get an assessment done to see if it’s a design issue or construction problem.
The multi-million dollar field was made possible through years of fundraising and government grants.
Tony Spoletini of the Greater Calgary Area Amateur Football Association helped spearhead the movement to bring the new field to Calgary.
He says Hellard remains one of the best fields in the city.
“Football is more than confident we are playing every atom, bantam, midget in the fall and we’ve rather play on Hellard than a grass field any day.”
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