Last week the Gibsons Area Community Centre Society (GACCS) held two successful open houses in Gibsons.
The society unveiled plans for a new community centre. The proposed location is in an area of land in Brothers Park and the Field of Dreams. So far, the people we've talked to are in favour of this site. And we also agree.
This site is a natural location for the facility. It would be located across the street from the curling club and pool and a stone's throw away from Elphinstone Secondary School and Sunnycrest Mall. It would serve as a complement to the soccer and baseball fields already in place in Brothers Park.
A similar centre has proven to be successful in other communities. If you've been up to Squamish, you already know about Brennan Park and Centennial Fields.
Brennan Park is home to a community centre, ice arena and pool. Centennial Fields, located directly behind the facility, has baseball and slo-pitch diamonds, soccer fields and a football field.
Squamish has played host to a number of high-level events, including the provincial girls' softball championships, annual adult slo-pitch tournaments, the provincial high school boys' soccer championships and an annual adult soccer tournament that brings close to 60 teams to the community for a three-day tournament.
The facility proposed by GACCS would include an Olympic-sized ice rink, a youth drop-in centre, a fitness centre, racquetball courts, a seniors' centre, a family centre, meeting rooms and a commercial kitchen.
With a facility like the one GACCS has proposed, the possibility for the Coast to attract top-level events is tremendous.
Add to that the re-shaping of Dakota Ridge, planned upgrades to the pool in Gibsons and potential improvements to the curling club, and you have the makings of some amazing facilities.
The society's goal is to have a referendum question for June 2005.
GACCS should be applauded for the work and effort they have put in to present such an attractive proposal to the community. Gibsons council has endorsed the site. We're hoping the regional district won't be far behind.
