A mayoral candidate in Windsor along with a candidate in Ward 7 are promising to deliver a new, outdoor turf field at McHugh Park.
Mayor Drew Dilkens, running for re-election on October 24, made his commitment on Friday morning alongside Ward 7 councillor Jeewan Gill, Vancho Cirovski, and Joe Barile.
Consistent with longer-term objectives of the City of Windsor’s Parks’ Master Plan, Gill and Dilkens support moving forward within the next term of Council with planning, design and construction start of a new turf field.
Dilkens says soccer and football are among the growing list of sport activities that have seen increased interest and participation, through a variety of youth and adult leagues, which have put demands on municipal recreation facilities over the past few years.
He says the Essex County Soccer Association and other sport user groups are now looking for a partner to join with them to expand access.
"Of course an artificial turf field would expand the playing season and it would also increase our ability to attract competitive tournaments," he continued. "Jeewan and I are here today to collectively raise our hands and announce that we want the City of Windsor to be that partner and to expand the facilities right here at McHugh field as part of a partnership approach."
Photo by Rob Hindi
Dilkens says by investing in this kind of amenity they can further cement the city's reputation as a premier destination for amateur sporting and hosting of regional, provincial and national competitive tournaments.
He says this proposal is different from the one that came to council last October, but they need to get this done in the next term.
"We've talked about this for so long, and that's what today is all about, is committing to get this done. We know that there thousands and thousands of families in the City of Windsor whose kids play soccer, we want to get this done for them, we want to get this done to be able to host a wonderful team here, a national team. And be part of that circuit that brings a lot more excitement to our community along with the economic benefit of sport tourism."
Dilkens says they would start with one field, and potentially look at more in the future, with the cost around $3-million.
Gill says he's heard from residents in his ward, and from community stakeholders that a new turf field is needed to support the sport and recreation needs of Windsor.
"I’m committed to finding and building a partnership approach with local or regional sporting associations to deliver this field as a win-win for multiple partners. Ward 7 deserves this investment and I will work hard to get this done," he added.
Cirovski, who owns Windsor TFC, is also looking to bring a Canadian Premier League team to the city.
He says they're talking about a three to four year project, and that former CPL commissioner David Clanachan has indicated his target date is 2024.
"Now that may be a challenge, I don't know, it depends on the efforts that we put together and the resources that we put together. But this is a public-private partnership, this is about a project that is going to be along the theme of making it affordable and not being super fantastical about what we can accomplish," Cirovski said.
Dilkens says the commitment he and Gill have made is they will start the process in 2023 if re-elected, and if they don't have it fully built during that year, it will be done by 2024.
He added while it isn't in the capital budget right now, they're making a commitment on the Parks and Recreation side that they will prioritize the project.
As part of this vision, Gill and Dilkens say they will spearhead efforts to find community partners to participate in the long term operation and cost-share the start up costs associated with this new City infrastructure.
Dilkens is running against current Ward 4 councillor Chris Holt, Benjamin Danyluk, Matthew Giancola, Aaron Day, Ernie Lamont and Louis Vaupotic in the mayors race.
- with files from AM800's Rob Hindi