BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca

Instead of laying sod on a Terra Cotta Park soccer pitch in 2008, Pointe Claire might opt for carpeting.

The city is mulling artificial turf for one of its sports fields, according to its three-year capital expenditure budget released on Nov. 27. The revamped terrain has an estimated price tag of $1.1 million, the document states.

“We have over 2,500 soccer players in Pointe Claire and I think we have nine fields. All of them are overused,� director general Jean-Denis Jacob told The Chronicle. “We think that getting an artificial turf will help us in maximizing the use of our field.�

The new pitch will not be in place until at least next year and its site is still to be determined, he said. However, a logical spot would be an existing pitch at the much-used Terra Cotta, Jacob said.

Funding for the project would come from the city, but outside sources, including grants, are a possibility, he added.

“I know that the (Pointe Claire Amateur) Soccer Association said for a certain time now that they would be interested in participating in the cost of having such a field,� he said. “Of course we will accept any help we can get.�

Of 1,300 matches hosted by PCASA in 2006, close to 15 per cent were postponed because of water-logged fields and poor weather, club president Robin Dickson said.

He said a synthetic field would mean fewer cancellations and extend the season by one month before and another following the summer. Pointe Claire would also save on maintenance costs, he added.

“We’re looking jealously at other municipalities that have (artificial fields) in place, like Kirkland, like Dollard,� Dickson said, “and all of these places have less members than we do as an association.�

PCASA is willing to use its $100,000 surplus to help the city defray the cost of the project, he said.

“We do want to see an infrastructure improvement and we’re willing to use what we have as resources,� he said. “We want the best for our members and we’ll put our money where our mouth is.�

Ideally, Dickson would like to build a field with a retractable dome for the winter.

He said PCASA spends between $50,000 and $60,000 a year to rent fields at the indoor Catalogna Soccerplexe in Lachine, while Sports Etudes pays nearly $50,000 annually for time at the facility.

Dickson said PCASA players make up more than 10 per cent of the Lac St. Louis Soccer Association, Quebec’s largest. The club, which hosts 10,000 people at its annual house league tournament, is looking into fielding its own AAA team.

Dollard seeking grant for second

synthetic sports field

Dollard des Ormeaux requested cash from Quebec to install artificial turf at Sunnybrooke Park’s athletic field last week.

Mayor Ed Janiszewski said the project, at a cost of close to $1.2 million, would only proceed with financial help from the province.

In 2005, the city opened a synthetic field for soccer and football at Dollard des Ormeaux Park. The field was paid for with Dollard’s surplus funds prior to the 2002 municipal mergers, he said.

“We have one (artificial field) and it’s working out very well,� Janiszewski said. “You get much more usage out of it without tearing it up.

“We’re not too sure if the money will be forthcoming or not, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed.�

The city limits usage on its natural pitches to allow the grass to recover, he said.

“Maybe (it’s) not cost saving, but you can get basically the same use out of one field as you can out of two or three of the others,� he said, noting the high initial cost makes it difficult to break even.

City officials chose Sunnybrooke due to the large area surrounding its existing field for players and spectators, he added.

The contribution request to Quebec’s sports development and physical activity fund was passed at the Dec. 12 council meeting.