A brand new playground is planned for the southeast corner of the Taxandria Soccer Complex in Arkona.
The structure, which is said to be critical for increased safety around the facility, was endorsed by Warwick Township Council.
Taxandria Soccer Club Vice President Jenny Coeck made the pitch at the meeting on Monday, March 17.
She noted the club has nearly 1,000 players aged three to 65, and having a dedicated space for children to play while their loved ones are playing soccer has become an urgent need.
"While those are the players registered to play soccer in Arkona, we know that many of those players attend our fields with families in tow and this number does not also reflect those visiting our facility from neighbouring associations," said Coeck. "This makes the number of children and youth who could benefit from a designated and safe play space quite significant. If you've ever driven by our club on a week night between May and September, it's quite visible how many families our club hosts on an ongoing basis."
Coeck said they have been fortunate not to have any major issues in previous years.
"But, we're beginning to recognize that leaving our youth to their own imaginations to create play and occupy their time while on the property is starting to create issues around the facility," she said. "There's not only been some physical damage, but there have been some near-miss issues regarding individual safety."
Coeck said the club is working with Point Edward-based Active Playground Equipment (APE) to supply and install the equipment.
The site will be prepared with help from volunteers and donations from local contractors.
"A variation of APE's five mile playground structure has been selected as our design of choice," she said. "It's designed for children 18 months to 12 years of age with 31 different play elements and three slides. This structure has been formally quoted to us to run just over $87,000 plus tax. If we supply our own wood chip safety base, the quote will drop significantly to $74,363."
Warwick Township agreed to work with the group to take care of the insurance aspect.
Deputy Mayor John Couwenberg, like the rest of council, supported the project.
"I don't think it would add much to our insurance because of all the other parks and recreation facilities we have," said Couwenberg. "I've played soccer there, my kids played soccer there and maybe someday my grandson will play there. I think it's a great idea."
Fundraising for the capital project will be done in partnership with the Kaeden Brown Foundation (KBF), which will be done to avoid increases to player registration fees.
Coeck said ideally, donations will come from families belonging to their organization, local businesses, community service clubs, and community grants.
She said if more money is raised than they planned for, a second smaller structure would be built to accommodate those 18 months to five years old.
Tax receipts will be provided to those who donate to the KBF, given their charitable status.
Donors will be recognized through an artistic mural on the east side of our clubhouse building.
It's hoped the playground can be installed by August or September of this year.