Given the generosity of rain gods in Squamish, our town could certainly use something like this.
A Burnaby-based sports company is offering to build an indoor recreation facility on the Brennan Park gravel field on Centennial Way. Monster Sports Management, in collaboration with Squamish Youth Soccer, wants the Squamish council to a long-term lease for a facility they say will enable both youth and adults to enjoy health and fitness all through the year, and benefit local associations and user groups who are looking for an indoor space.
“The company’s business will be to build, operate and manage a 31,500 square foot, field turf-surfaced training area that will enable the community of Squamish to enjoy a multitude of sports in an indoor environment. The facility would also provide the Squamish community a space for events, concerts, community gatherings, and much more,” they told the council.
The estimated construction cost is $1.2 million and the company will cover building costs, financing, and overall operations in return for the use of the land on a long-term lease. The facility will be built to accommodate a side soccer field, and three side fields, and six training pads.
These courts will be state of the art, professionally installed synthetic turf and will accommodate an array of different lines for multi-sport users. The facility can also be rented out to business and other community association although the primary focus would be to let local school, youth and adult sports association reserve the field for practice or game time.
“The proposed indoor facility would be of great benefit to the community of Squamish and the Sea to Sky Corridor. It would provide an indoor sports space for soccer, field hockey, baseball, lacrosse, rugby, as well as other various sports, events, community gatherings, and concerts,” the company representatives told the council recently.
The proposed facility, the company says, would be the biggest community based indoor turf facility in Western Canada and would put Squamish on the map to host major tournaments. In addition to sports based activities, the facility may be booked for community user groups, Squamish Nation and Business gatherings, events, and concerts, they added.
According to the company’s plans, the District of Squamish would lease the land space to Monster Sports Management who would construct the facility in return. The company wants the lease to be for 25 to 30 years where the company would own the facility through a form of subdivision that allows the municipality to continue to own the land.
The district staff plans to continue the discussion with the company.
Mikael Mikkelsen says
Upon first read, all I could think was “Fantastic, more community space is exactly what Squamish needs!”
But then doing some basic math. If construction cost is “ONLY” 1.2 Million, its not exactly going to be a high end or state of the art facility..
They are looking for 25-30 Years commitment in exchange for the build cost, bringing monthly “rent” down to about $3,500 a month (or about 3/sq ft). Thats pretty cheap consitering the cost of rental space in Squamish, growth and income potential for the prime peice of real estate for this privately held company.
Will the city own this property in 30 years when the lease is up? If so, what will it look like in 30 years? Will it be totally run down and needing a $2 Million dollar overhaul, or even torn down? Will the city negotiate free city use of the space during certain times of the year? What happens “IF” Monster Sports Management goes bankrupt, either in the process or 10 years down the road?
Private/Public partnerships can be amazing for growth and development, but can we as citizens get a better deal? Profit sharing? Free Use?
What I want to see out of this is the city offering 100% transparancy. Squamish needs to be in no rush to “unload” this peice of land. I have a feeling there is a mountain of other interested investors that would happily jump on a deal with the city for something like this.
David Lassmann says
Let’s not forget that companies exist in order to make a profit. They will be looking to recoup all of their expenses from the field users including the cost of leasing and also take as much profit as they can on top of the costs. What will be next? Shall we privitize Brennan Park and our civic centre? How about our schools, highways, hospital, or our “affordable housing”?