A covered bleacher area for spectators at Timberlane Park might finally be realized if City of Powell River council approves funding for the design of engineered drawings. The lack of shelter from inclement weather has long been a complaint from sports fans attending events at the field.
City manager of recreation Neil Pukesh asked committee of the whole on August 14 to approve funding in the amount of $5,000 for Powell River Villa soccer club to purchase the drawings.
Timberlane is home field for the Vancouver Island Soccer League team. The park is also used by many community sports groups, including Powell River Youth Soccer Association, School District 47 and Powell River Track and Field Club, and for events such as the annual elementary school track and field meet near the end of each school year.
“This past season I went out to the school track and field meet and it was a miserable day,” said Pukesh. “There’s nowhere to stand undercover for parents or spectators during those events.”
Villa president Jamie Zroback would not comment on the matter or the request for funding, but Pukesh said a lack of proper covered beachers has a negative effect on the club’s gate revenues.
“When games are played during inclement conditions, the number of spectators coming out drops, thus having an impact on their annual operating funding budget,” said Pukesh. “Villa has indicated that if a covered bleacher was purchased or constructed, the attendance would increase significantly at their games.”
According to a report to the committee, city staff and Villa met in July and a request was made by the club to improve spectator seating for their home games as well as other scheduled special events held at Timberlane throughout the year.
While open-air portable bleachers are currently on site during home games and other sports events, the venue is lacking a covered area for spectators to enjoy games and events held throughout fall and winter months, which are often prone to inclement weather conditions, the report stated.
The $5,000 cost would come from the city’s Sports Field User Fees Reserve Account, which currently holds a balance of $96,455.
If approved by council in two weeks, the funds would be used to contract a professional engineer to design the structure as well as for production of conceptual drawings.
Pukesh said that, if approved, Villa has indicated that an application would be submitted to Powell River Community Forest to secure funding for construction and installation of the structure. At this point there are no known cost estimates for that process.
Committee of the whole moved the item to council for a decision.
