An artists rendering of the two artificial turf fields to be built at Harewood Centennial Park. (City of Nanaimo)

By Jordan Davidson

turf or nothing

Pair of Harewood artificial turf fields move ahead with double the budget

Apr 20, 2023 | 1:02 PM

NANAIMO — A major project to build two artificial turf fields at Harewood Centennial Park is proceeding, with almost $5 million added to the budget.

City councillors sided with a staff recommendation to increase the highly anticipated project from $4.9 million to $9.9 million during a Wednesday, April 19 finance and audit committee meeting.

The motion to increase the budget was passed 6-3, with councillors Brown, Manly, and Geselbracht opposed, due to the increase in cost and possible environmental and health concerns regarding artificial turf.

Mayor Leonard Krog said enhancing the existing Sherry Fields will be used by thousands of people in Nanaimo, and was “astonished” by some of the arguments against proceeding.

“I disagree profoundly with the concept that we should be worried about a cost overrun that is inevitable in the modern world, and at the same time, turn around and make an environmental argument against proceeding with this project on the loosest and flimsiest of considerations.”

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The existing natural grass fields near John Barsby Secondary will be replaced to multi-sport artificial fields, with a much higher than originally expected cost. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Those environmental concerns regarding possible chemicals in the turf causing harm to those who use it were dispelled by Doug Wournell, a sports architect who specializes in modern artificial fields.

Wournell said there is no solid evidence the chemicals contained in new-age turf fields lead to negative health outcomes unless the playing surface is burned, which he said is incredibly hard to do.

“In the United States, there are large companies that build natural grass fields. It is to their advantage to put out press releases that question the safety of (turf) fields. There’s also been some sensational stuff… which claimed that there is a high degree of cancer in goalies playing on artificial fields, but it was completely debunked.”

Wournell said cancer rates among goalies who play on turf are actually much lower than the general population, as they are likely more athletic.

Depending on its usage, Wournell said artificial fields have a working life of 10-15 years and require little to no maintenance or treatment using herbicides or pesticides.

On top of lower maintenance, Wournell emphasized the significantly higher amount of playing time the fields can handle.

“You will get six times the use on an artificial turf field in bookable hours than natural grass fields, and that’s simply because natural grass has a limit on how much you can play on it, it’s about 300-400 hours. Basically, these two (turf) fields here represent 12 natural grass fields in terms of use.”

The budget increase of $4,937,100 to $9,957,070 is covered by $3 million through the provincial growing communities fund, $330,000 from casino reserves, $1,570,000 from the special initiatives reserve fund, and an additional $200,000 from Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools.

The local school district’s contribution to the project is now $700,000, which will see extensive benefits during school hours, including its highly regarded John Barsby Secondary football program.

A detailed design process undertaken last June revealed inflation, rising project costs for all capital projects, and supply chain difficulties would hike the initial estimated costs far higher than expected.

The shock-absorbent, fast-draining synthetic fields will be configured for football, soccer, field lacrosse and minor softball, and also included numerous supportive amenities such as bleacher seating and LED lighting.

Council will still have to officially endorse these changes at a future regular council meeting.

The new fields are hoped to be ready for use later this year.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow