The Town of Gibsons has a chance to do something pretty special for sport, recreation and tourism.
This week, Gibsons Minor Ball Association rolled out its plans to improve the Ryan Dempster Field of Dreams in Brothers Park. The $380,000 project is calling for state-of-the-art lights, new bleachers, an electronic scoreboard and scorekeepers' building, a picnic and playground area, improved landscaping and field conditions, a permanent concession stand, wheelchair access and below ground dugouts. Chicago Cubs pitcher Dempster is personally donating $360,000 for the project, while $20,000 will come from the association. The parks committee enthusiastically endorsed the plan on Tuesday. All that is needed is a final approval from council this Tuesday, and the association can get to work.
These improvements would be a welcome addition for the association and minor ball in general on the Coast. Over the years we have sent several teams to provincial championships - many of which returned with medals in celebration of their success. But Gibsons has not been able to host any of those championships. Now, thanks to this project, if approved, Gibsons may get that chance.
And it's not just minor ball that could benefit from this. By showing a commitment to sport and the willingness to continue to add to our recreation opportunities, the Town of Gibsons is paving the way for the District of Sechelt and the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) to also work towards further promotion of our facilities.
The SCRD budget process is almost complete. Through hard work and the resolve of citizens, spring ice was saved, as were swim hours at the Gibsons pool. People are starting to fight for recreation and for the facilities that many worked decades to get built. During last Thursday's budget round table on Coast Cable 11, a resident called in encouraging regional district directors to promote our recreation facilities more and encourage tournaments and events in our facilities. Those events can boost tourism, bringing much-needed dollars to our community and to the recreation facilities, making budgeting easier next time around.
All of the directors said marketing the facilities would be a key priority of the board, and they pledged to work with the other governments to make this happen. The field upgrades project in Gibsons is the first example of putting those words into action.
