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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday May 30, 2008 - 3 QUALITY INTEGRITY VALUE A score for local soccer By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A bitter wind did little to chill the enthusiasm of Town officials and members of the Oakville Soccer Club (OSC) on Tuesday, as they officially broke ground for Oakville's first indoor soccer facility, located in Pine Glen Park. With the help of several young, shivering, uniform-clad soccer players, the participating parties, which included Mayor Rob Burton and OSC President Neil Brown, drove shovels into the ground to mark the beginning of the hard-fought facility. Town Council gave approval on May 5 for the construction of the $10.9 million building in a slim majority vote that saw council agree to enter into a cost-sharing partnership with the OSC. Under the agreement, the Town will be contributing $1.075 million with the OSC making an upfront contribution of $300,000. The Town is also loaning the OSC $9.5 million towards the indoor soccer facility, which the Town expects will be paid back in no less than 20 years. The agreement also states that the Town owns the land and the facility, while the OSC will control the day-to-day operations. The building will be 100,000 square-feet in size and include a full-sized regulation field with FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association)-class artificial turf. "We're very proud to be able to provide this Town-owned amenity to the Oakville community," said Burton. "It's a win for everyone, whether you're interested in sports or leisure. We plan to expand the uses at Pine Glen Community Park to create wider park appeal and enhance the opportunities for year-round recreation." For OSC President Neil Brown the groundbreaking ceremony marked the end of a period of uncertainty that had been hanging over the club ever since the temporary facility they had been using for their indoor soccer program was sold to new owners, who were not in the recreational sport business. The situation placed the club's 2008/2009 indoor soccer season, which serves around 2,000 children, in jeopardy but now that worry is in the past with the Pine Glen facility expected to be fully operational by January 2009. "This project has been several months in the making, several hectic months getting us to where we are today," said Brown. "This is obviously a very exciting day for the soccer club, but At Closet and Storage Concepts, we don't just sell you a storage cabinet,we provide creative ideas for complete home space management. Our professional designers will assess your needs and design effective custom solutions to give you and your family more living space. With our attention to detail and lifetime warranty, clients are guaranteed quality workmanship and top-of-the-line materials. So whether you're doing a single closet or your entire home, Closet & Storage Quality Custom closet and Concepts will be there from concept storage solutions since 1987 to completion. LIFETIME WARRANTY Organized ... for peace of mind Closets · Home Offices · Garages · Media Centres 1047 North Service Road East, Oakville For Complimentary In Home Consultation CALL (905) 337-2900 email: info@closetandstorageconcepts.ca CALL 1-888-THE-CLOSET (1-888-843-2567) Supplier of choice for Divine Design with Candice Olson seen on WTN & HGTV www.closetandstorageconcepts.ca LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER GETTING STARTED: At the groundbreaking ceremony to mark the future home of Oakville's first indoor soccer building at Pine Glen Park were, from left, Neil Brown, Oakville Soccer Club (OSC) president, Ethan Grantis and Mayor Rob Burton. "I'm looking forward to having a wonderful indoor facility here where our kids can ply soccer and where other members of the community, sports organizations and community groups can take advantage of the facility as well." Neil Brown, president Oakville Soccer Club also for the community and the Town of Oakville. I'm very pleased to be part of this project and I'm looking forward to having a wonderful indoor facility here where our kids can play soccer and where other members of the community, sports organizations and community groups can take advantage of the facility as well." Not everyone was happy about the construction of indoor soccer facility at Pine Glen Park with some local residents raising concerns that a substantial amount of green space will be lost. To combat these worries Town staff noted that additional green space will be added to Pine Glen through the removal of one of the existing soccer fields, however, as soccer fields are in such huge demand in Oakville this will not be done until the proposed soccer fields at North Park are created in 2010.