The fundraising effort for Phase 2 of the Lamont Sports Park in Port Elgin is nearing its goal.
Committee Co-Chair Robert Stanley says they currently have signed commitments of $1.3 million, and with the verbal commitments the campaign has received they’re close to the $1.5-million goal.
Stanley says he will be bringing an update to Saugeen Shores council next week.
“I’m hopeful that on Sept. 12, when I report to council, I will be able to report that we have achieved our goal and that is an optimistic target,” says Stanley. “So we have verbal commitments that will get us very close to the $1.5 million, so I am optimistic because we are going to work real hard in the next week and a half to have those commitments signed, and if they are infact by Sept. 12, that is what I will be able to report to council.”
Stanley says they were able to reach their original goal of $1 million earlier in summer to build two youth ball diamonds and an accessible play ground. They then approached council and asked if they could expand the goal to $1.5 million and if attained, it would add on a storage building for minor baseball equipment, two minor league batting cages, and a community pavilion to the original scope of the project. The construction of the project would begin in the spring of 2023.
Stanley says if the second phase of the campaign is implemented, council will proceed to look at moving to phase three which would be community consultations and asking residents what they would like to see at the sport facility.
“We’ve had feedback from the soccer community that would like to see a soccer field or some volleyball courts set up out there. What is going to happen when phase three is completed, and that will be an eventuality, there will be a lot more than the baseball diamonds. We are looking forward to possibly having council agree to a phase three at some point and then there will be another project or fundraiser to start phase three somewhere well down the road,” says Stanley.
The campaign recently added another $30,000 dollars to phase two and they received $10,000 from local labour union branches, including Labourers’ International Union of North America, United Brotherhood of Carpenters, and Ironworkers District Council.