Mixed feelings

By Richard Rolke Sep 05 2007 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/

Firm opinions about a sports complex in Coldstream abound these days, but you won’t find one here. Since the plan was first announced by the Greater Vernon Services Committee, I have wrestled with the notion of a large-scale complex on Aberdeen Road. And that may seem strange as I have written before about the lack of proper sports facilities in Greater Vernon compared to other communities. But I am the product of farmers and agriculture is deep within my roots. As I drive past the Aberdeen Road property every day, I value its ability to grow numerous forage crops a year. I also shudder at how Coldstream is becoming urbanized. I fear that a sports complex on this site will open the door for other properties in the area to develop, further diminishing so-called rural living at its best.

And for GVSC officials to claim the land could always return to agriculture is a joke. Once millions of taxpayers’ dollars have been invested on asphalt, playing fields and buildings, farming is never coming back. Beyond this, I am only about a 10-minute walk from the site so I selfishly wonder how it will impact me. Already I hear the Funtastic music festival from DND, so what will it be like if the concert is just up the road from me? I also question why a banquet hall has been placed in preliminary designs. Receptions and dinners could be held at existing hotels and restaurants in Vernon, bolstering their revenues and reducing the impact on the Aberdeen Road neighbourhood.

But as I indicated earlier, I have a split personality when it comes to this matter, and I also see positive aspects to the complex. Primarily, my daughters play fastball and I have experienced tournaments both here and away. After working concession stands and sitting in bleachers, I believe the current facilities in Greater Vernon are woefully inadequate. Yes there are the DND fields, but GVSC can only ink a year-to-year lease from the federal government. There is no certainty that those lands will always be available to the public, so any major spending on capital upgrades is a waste of cash. As for Marshall Fields, it is largely committed to soccer and I don’t see how it can be expanded to include football, track and field, fastball, slowpitch and dog agility. GVSC’s opponents insist economics are driving the proposal, but they ignore the importance sports tourism can have on the area. Everyone attending a tournament drops money at local hotels, restaurants, shops and gas stations. In turn, those businesses hire local residents and purchase supplies from other businesses. Ultimately, some of that cash goes back into municipalities through taxes.

But economics aside, proper sports facilities will allow local residents — both youth and adults — to train and play here. Currently, that is extremely challenging for both football and track and field. And as much as I want farm land preserved, there is the reality that the only large chunks of property left in Greater Vernon are in the Agricultural Land Reserve. If it’s not Aberdeen Road, it will be farm land somewhere because the issue of a sports complex won’t go away. In the end, I will support the concept of a sports complex on Aberdeen Road, but I’m not completely thrilled about it. Hopefully, Coldstream council gets more clear direction from other residents so an educated decision can be made.