Cambridge council endorses design for Fountain Street Soccer Complex
Cambridge City Council has given the go-ahead to the proposed design and construction of a new soccer complex on Fountain Street.
Council made the announcement last month, while also approving a partnership with Conestoga College that would provide $1.5 million towards the project.
“This is a very exciting project for Cambridge,” said Mayor Kathryn McGarry. “We are not only boosting our sport and recreation offerings in the community and building out vital infrastructure for sports tourism, but also forming an important partnership that will support our commitment to offering a world-class city to live, work, learn and play.”
The endorsed design is set to include two synthetic turf fields with sports lighting, bleacher seating, players benches, meeting minimum specifications of League1 soccer facilities requirements, a synthetic turf field with combined soccer and rugby play areas, four natural turf playing fields, a 6,500-square foot service building with public and universal washrooms, changerooms, multi-purpose space, staff room and equipment storage, and an asphalt parking lot with 16 accessible and 299 standard parking spaces, lighting and landscaping.
Under the partnership agreement, Conestoga College will provide funding for costs associated with converting one natural turf field to an artificial soccer/rugby field, upgrading players’ benches and bleacher seating, installing a digital scoreboard, storage area, and other related amenities.
“We are delighted to build on our longstanding relationship with the City of Cambridge through this exciting initiative,” said Conestoga College president John Tibbits. “The Fountain Street Soccer Complex will create high quality sports and recreation opportunities for athletes and youth across the community as well as for our students, while showcasing the city as a destination of choice for sports tourism.”
In addition to the $1.5 million in funding from Conestoga College, the City of Cambridge will increase the project budget by $1.9 million to accommodate various needs identified during public consultations, including premium natural and synthetic fields, paved parking areas and field lighting.
Following council endorsement, the project can now move to the design development phase which includes a Stage 2 Environmental Impact Study and the site plan application process. The complex is anticipated to be open for public use in the spring of 2023.
Featured image: Design concept for the Fountain Street Soccer Complex. (City of Cambridge)