Yellowknife (Apr 21/06) - The price tag for a proposed sports field house that would include two soccer pitches and a running track could hit $13 million or higher, more than double some of the original estimates.

A twin pad soccer facility could cost double what was estimated. Facilities for Kids and Dillon Consulting hosted a public meeting Wednesday evening to go over a few conceptual ideas of what the new building could look like. - Chris Puglia/NNSL photo

About 20 people met Wednesday night to discuss the building, proposed by Facilities for Kids. The facility, expected to be built beside the Multiplex, was originally expected to cost between $6 million and $12 million, depending upon what would be included.

Steve Barr, an architect with Edmonton firm Barr-Ryder Architects and Planners, has worked with the field house development committee to come up with a conceptual idea of what the new recreation complex could look like.

Barr, who has worked on a substantial number of similar facilities including Whitehorse's Canada Games Multiplex, predicted costs to be closer to $11 million to $13 million for a simple double pad complex. Those numbers rocket to nearly $20 million if additional multipurpose and dedicated spaces for other uses, like a fine arts space, are included.

The reason for the inflated costs is due to construction booms in Alberta and B.C. that have made contractors a hot commodity.

"There is nobody left down south to help out. We are 100,000 (labourers) shy of what we need. In some cases we're not even getting bids," said Barr.

"We're just not controlling costs anymore. Short of building it out of cardboard there is nothing that I can do."

Kevin Stapleton, president with Facilities for Kids, said he was surprised by the figures.

"I'm discouraged," he said. "But, I don't think it's dead in the water."

Stapleton believes that with some creativity and community support it is still possible to develop a structure that incorporates their priorities for the facility, which are two soccer pitches and a running track, for about $12 million. He said that, if planned correctly, the building could be constructed to allow additional features to be phased in over time. "The rest is bit of a luxury," he said.

Mike Roesch, development committee chairperson, wasn't surprised by the cost predictions. "We weren't naive and thinking this project was going to cost us $10 million and was going to be easy," he said.

Barr said construction costs are predicted to jump by more than 15 per cent over the next two years. "The numbers here that are important are the ones that say if we wait it's going to cost millions and millions more," said Roesch.

Stapleton said he is still confident the building can be ready for the 2008 Arctic Winter Games.

"It's going to be tight. We can't sit idle."

There are two more public consultations scheduled before the final plan will be submitted to city council. A major funding partner still has to be signed. Over the next couple of months, a comprehensive design of the fields facility will be put together using public input collected by Dillon Consulting.

Barr said operating costs shouldn't be a major concern.

"They cost half of what it costs to run an arena, but can charge more," said Barr.

City arenas operate at about a 50 per cent cost recovery, whereas the fields facility could be run at 60 to 65 per cent cost recovery, although public money will still be needed to cover operations. "We have to accept the fact it's going to be tax supported," he said.