NDSS field (front) is earmarked to become a medium-sized stadium, flanked by between 3,000-8,000 seats. It would create a formidable sporting complex with Rotary Bowl (back left) and Serauxmen Stadium (back right) on Third St. (City of Nanaimo)

By Alex Rawnsley

STADIUM SEATING

Nanaimo eyes Third St. ‘sports zone’ for 3,000+ seat stadium concept

Apr 6, 2021 | 5:31 AM

NANAIMO — The City is doubling down on a corridor of Third St. as Nanaimo’s sporting epicentre.

Council on Monday, March 29 approved the Larry McNabb Sports Complex as the site of any potential “medium-sized stadium” classified as a facility with between 3,000 and 12,000 seats.

Art Groot, director of facility and parks operations, told NanaimoNewsNOW the City-owned site already aligns perfectly with the end goal.

“There’s a [multi-sport] turf field, you have the Rotary Bowl track and field with grandstand and Serauxmen baseball stadium. It’s a great location to be able to development into that concept.”

The projected capacity of up to 12,000 seats would combine seating at all three venues.

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A majority of the new seating would go to NDSS field, currently setup with bleachers for around 400 people. A report completed for the City in May 2020 stated seating for 3,000 people at the turf field would be of sufficient size.

Rotary Bowl can hold approximately 5,500 while Serauxmen Stadium’s current 900-seat capacity is expected to grow to around 1,500 in the coming years.

The development of a medium-sized stadium would give Nanaimo a facility it doesn’t have and position the region to host more multi-sport events along with provincial and national tournaments.

“We’ve got the Aquatic Centre, the Ice Centre and the trifecta of the turf field, Rotary Bowl and Serauxmen Stadium,” Groot said. “Across the street, further up Third St., you’ve got Serauxmen Fields…it’s just this whole sports zone and such a great way to tie it all together.”

Now with Council approval, staff will re-consult with user groups on their specific wants and needs before coming up with concrete plans.

A total cost for the project is estimated to be between $6,000,000 and $9,000,000.

Any development on the site would take around two years or more and likely come in a multi-year, phased approach in order to not shutdown all three facilities at once.

Possible stadiums were considered for Beban Park and Caledonia Park, however each were discarded due to cost or available land size.

Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley