Town continues discussion for sports centre renovations

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Town of Strathmore continues to explore the idea of establishing an additional multi-purpose sport court at the Motor Products Sports Center.

Lisa Montgomery, sports centre manager, spoke to the results of the original feasibility study requested by council in February.

“I was asked to look at why would we develop the concrete (pad) and it would be to increase facility utilization …  which would be rentals or competitive sport,” said Montgomery. “Currently for 2026, we had eight Volleyball Alberta bookings. Of those eight, they cancelled seven. In 2025, we would have needed another for them, so their bookings vary based on registration numbers.”

Sports Centre is rarely used for organized tournaments because it lacks enough space to accommodate the number of registrants.

The existing concrete pad is highly utilized by baseball groups, which make use of the batting cage. Currently, this is the sole place within Strathmore where the devices can be located.

Should the renovation proceed, the town would be looking at approximately 9,576 square feet of flooring, as well as a dividing curtain, and retractable basketball hoops, among other sporting paraphernalia.

The total cost of the project and associated equipment was estimated to be in the realm of $385,000. Town administration projected that completion of the renovations has the potential to increase revenue from the facility by around $34,000 a year.

The addition of more suitable facilities would also serve to prevent cancellations such as those observed from Volleyball Alberta, leading to further increases in annual revenue.

“Our current storage, which is at the back of the school gym, is full … we would have to look at adding another type of storage to be able to fit all (the new) volleyball type equipment,” said Montgomery.  “Our turf is also almost at end of life. It is within the next two years we would be looking at moving to a turf which comes in squares so that you could then just lift if off and utilize the concrete so you could have trade shows there.”

Switching to a removable turf would also compensate for the loss of the existing concrete pad, allowing for the retention of facilities suitable to indoor baseball and pickleball activities.

Following discussion, town administration was directed to bring the feasibility study back to the Committee of the Whole during a future meeting with the financial implications of the renovation.