Sarnia City Councillor Nathan Colquhoun is hoping his petition for an indoor sports complex will help the city secure federal grant money.
Colquhoun told his peers Monday, that over 700 people have signed his petition in favour of constructing a year-round facility, that would accommodate sports like soccer, baseball, track and field, rock climbing and volleyball.
"The demand is already here, especially when you consider the increase of just soccer registrations alone in terms of the clubs that we have in the city," said Colquhoun. "There's a large need for it, and right now everybody drives outside of the city."
Colquhoun said it would give the city more resources to host big tournaments and draw tourism this way.
"We're one of the fewer municipalities in the entire country of our size that doesn't have a facility like this, so I think it's about time Sarnia residents had something like this that they could enjoy."
Colquhoun submitted the petition to staff to include in applications for an indoor multi-purpose facility.
Council said there needed to be a public input on decommissioning the outdoor pool first.
A public meeting will be held before council's next regular meeting October 28.
