Essex commits to new sports complex, seeks federal money

A project 10 years in the making, a new Sportsplex is going to Essex council on Monday. CTV’s Chris Campbell reports.

The Town of Essex is preparing another bid for federal funding to help complete a long-planned sports complex aimed at addressing a shortage of soccer fields and baseball diamonds in the community.

On Monday, Council is being asked to approve an application to the federal Build Communities Stronger Fund which could provide up to $5.2 million toward the estimated $13 million Essex Centre Sports Fields project.

If the application is unsuccessful, administration is also recommending council proceed with a scaled-back $4 million second phase using investment income, development charges, and parkland reserves.

Mayor Sherry Bondy said the project has been years in the making, with local sports organizations repeatedly asking the town to expand its outdoor recreation facilities.

“It’s really exciting to bring this report forward to the community,” Bondy said. “We’ve had several user groups lobby council over the years because we’ve lost amenities in Ward 1. When new schools are being built, they’ve been built where our ball diamonds have been built and our soccer fields.”

According to a report before council, Essex Centre once had nine baseball diamonds but now has four after new schools were built on the former sports field sites.

The town also has only four soccer fields, two full-sized and two junior fields, which it says no longer meet the demand from youth and adult leagues.

“This is good. You know, fingers crossed we get a grant,” said Bondy. “But either way, we know it’s time to move forward with this.”

Meeting demand

The report says Essex Minor Baseball, Essex Minor Soccer, the Essex County Ravens football program and adult sports leagues have all requested additional field space, but the town has been unable to accommodate requests because of limited facilities.

The report also notes the planned Hanlan St. extension, associated with the Highway 3 expansion, will pass through the current soccer fields — increasing the need for a new sports complex.

“We’ve often heard from our soccer group, our minor soccer, and also baseball, due to new schools being built and building on our current facility footprint,” Bondy said. “We have the Hanlan extension going through as well. When Highway 3 was built, there was a promise from the [Ontario Ministry of Transportation] to do a feeder road throughout the Town of Essex. So, we have a road that’s coming that’s going to actually be right where our current soccer fields are. So, it makes sense to move it all to a new joint facility.”

Ward 1 Coun. Joe Garon, who has been involved in local minor sports for years, said the need for additional playing fields has existed for more than a decade.

“Ten, 15 years ago is when the talk started about the need for a sports field and for more soccer pitches and baseball diamonds,” Garon said. “Now we’re here really desperate because our Hanlan extension is going through in 2027. We’ve had a lot of people raising their kids. They want to play baseball and soccer inside of Essex, but they just don’t have the facilities.”

Garon said the expanded complex would benefit both local athletes and the community’s economy.

“We’ve done hotel studies. We have a hotel coming into town. It should be breaking ground soon,” he explained. “If we get those hotels and we get the sports fields, then we can attract a lot of people to stay right in Essex.”

Seeking support

The town has pursued several grants for the project over the years. Bondy said this latest application reflects feedback received from senior levels of government earlier this year.

“Back in January, we did go meet with the upper levels of government and we heard feedback on our grant application saying that if we want the upper levels of government to meet us, we have to put in some of our own money,” she said. “So that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

If approved, the grant would help fund amenities including utilities, washrooms, storage facilities, two baseball diamonds, and upgrades to two soccer fields with artificial turf.

Bondy said community support could strengthen the application.

“When we’ve had success with grant applications in the past, we had user groups and individuals send letters of support,” she said. “So, I’m hoping Monday we could really take this to the next level, get the community involved so we can actually see some movement here.”

The town expects the soccer fields already under development to be ready for use during the 2027 season while it awaits a decision on the federal funding application.