A Kincardine businessman is looking to bring an indoor sports field to the area, and brought his pitch to Huron-Kinloss council last week.
Brandon Kushnir presented the idea for a multi-sport domed facility in Kin Bruce Park to council, who directed staff to report back on the feasibility of developing a long-term lease agreement.
Kushnir said he moved to the area years ago, which is where the idea came from.
"I got involved in the soccer scene and a group of volunteers for about four or five years had been trying to get an indoor soccer space," he said. "I got involved in that project, and after about a year, I looked at everyone and said 'The intentions are fantastic, but there's no way a group of eight volunteers are going to get this off the ground.' So I kind of took over, and a few of them are still helping me out."
Kushnir's business, Bluewater Sports Management, did a feasibility study, including reaching out to user minor sports associations in the area. He found that most groups needed spaces to practice and play in the winter, particularly minor baseball, meaning demand is there.
"That became a main focus of mine, to get them a space, and then once I started reaching out to the surrounding area of where we're going to draw from, I'm almost looking at expansion plans at this point," he laughed. "The two fields we're going to put up are going to be pretty much booked solid from day one."
Kushnir is also part of the effort to bring high school football back to Kincardine, and says the program would also use the space.
The closest indoor facility is in Listowel, over an hour away.
The proposed facility is 77,000 square feet, and includes two seven-on-seven soccer fields, with an overlapping baseball infield to accommodate hardball and softball training. There would also be batting cages, pickleball courts, and a brick reception building that would hold the change rooms and a meeting room.
Kushnir estimates the cost at $6 million, most of which would be privately funded, with the potential for a provincial grant to cover around 25 per cent of the cost.
"We're hoping for that money, which would help keep costs down," he said. "Prices are obviously going to increase in the facility versus being in a high school gym. But at the end of the day, our user group is the youth and we want to make it as accessible as possible."
He said his survey of sports groups in the area found that hourly rental fees of between $100 and $130 per hour "were viewed as reasonable."
Council did have questions for whether the dome could stand up to the harsh winter weather and winds in the area.
Kushnir said he's working with a company that knows the region and will ensure the dome is installed correctly.
"There's an extra coating that you can put on top these domes, specifically to help with winter-related issues. In a normal case, it would extend the shelf-life of the dome about seven years and make it look more pristine," he said.
He added that the location along Lake Range Drive means that even if Hwy 21 is closed for weather, Kincardine groups can still access the facility.
While there are still many steps the project has to go through for approval, Kushnir said if all goes well, it could be operational next year.
"Optimistically, ideally, I'd like to be open for the Fall of 2026. That's one of the benefits of building the dome... we have to build a concrete base, we have to lay down the field, and then the dome takes like a week to go on top of it."
The report on an agreement will return to Huron-Kinloss council at a later date, at which point, public consultation will be sought.