Merritt’s newest sporting facility and concession building is now open, but it came at a cost well over budget.
On Sunday, representatives from the City of Merritt and the Nicola Valley Minor Lacrosse Association officially opened the lacrosse box — which has multi-sport capabilities — with a ribbon cutting ceremony, but the facility’s final price tag is more than $750,000.
The bid from the project’s lead contractor Ice Developments came in at a cost of just $511,700.
The city initially borrowed $698,000 from the municipal finance authority for the project, and then added another $30,000 to the project from reserve funds and council approved $25,000 to upgrade the lighting system to LED lights.
Financial services manager Ken Ostraat told the Herald the total cost has yet to be determined because more costs are coming in.
City of Merritt leisure services manager Larry Plotnikoff said there were cost overruns that pushed the total above what was budgeted.
The city experienced unforeseen challenges such as having to dig deeper into the ground based on the results of geotechnical tests.
“A lot of clay and organics were intermixed in pockets,” Plotnikoff said. “A lot of the area had to be dug down to a level almost twice as deep as what we had originally anticipated, and then that had to be filled before we could pour the concrete.”
Ostraat said there were additional costs for rebar and concrete because of this.
Heavy rainfall on Saturday presented an opportunity for those who gathered at the ceremony on Sunday to see how water and snow are removed from the playing surface — by sweeping the liquid through openings in the side walls called scuppers.
Plotnikoff said the city will maintain the facility, but cautions residents to use it at their own risk on days where the weather may hinder its use.
He said the city will conduct daily maintenance checks, but the onus will be on the public to keep the facility in good condition.
Merritt Mayor Neil Menard described the opening of this facility as “absolutely awesome.”
“[This is] a big project that’s completed and one that I think will be used morning, noon and night,” he said.
Menard said it should attract more lacrosse teams and tourists to the city.
Nicola Valley Thunder regulation games, however, are not ready to be played here.
Coaching cordinator for the Nicola Valley Minor Lacrosse Association Bernard Manual Jr. said if more seating and regulation score and shot clocks are brought in, the facility will be able to accommodate lacrosse games and tournaments.
At the moment, the facility can accommodate team practices.
Manual said the facility will help grow the game of lacrosse in the community.
The concession and washroom building has its water, sewer, electrical and gas lines hooked up, but some appliances still need to be installed in the kitchen.
The city acquired $40,000 in the form of a grant from the provincial government that will enable the purchase of new appliances instead of used ones for the concession’s kitchen, which the city would have looked for had they not received the provincial money.
The washroom has been operational for a month and the lacrosse box hours of operation are 9 a.m. to dusk every day for public use.
Anyone wishing to book the facility can do that through the Civic Centre.
The beach volleyball courts were relocated from the site where the lacrosse box now sits, to a spot in between Central Park and Rotary Park.
Ostraat said the lacrosse box is the size of an NHL rink, meaning it’s bigger than the one in the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena.
See photos on page 2
