Quote:CAMBRIDGE — Blake Morrison's vision for Cambridge's multi-sports complex is not anchored on an army of Olympics-bound speedskaters racing in fat circles inside a refrigerated mansion.

That's such a small part of his dreamy designs to build the only indoor long-track facility east of Alberta on an abandoned industrial plot beside Jacob Hespeler high school.

"Maybe just three per cent," said the Cambridge Speed Skating coach.

The other 97 per cent? Not speedskating.

This is where Cambridge — where five-term mayor Doug Craig has made a discussed-for-decades sports complex a cornerstone of his farewell-term agenda — must open its nearly 140,000 minds to an expanding oval of peculiar possibilities beyond hockey rinks and soccer pitches and swimming pools.

"If people want to think outside the box, then the sky's the limit," said Morrison, a captain at the Hespeler fire station.

So, look up into the ether of limitless options floating high above 11 dead-end acres on Groh Avenue, where the smashed glass and rod iron-dotted structure of the former Rauscher Plating still stands on a site that will likely need a potentially expensive cleaning up.

Pretend the empty old metal shop is gone, replaced by a huge parking lot right across the street from the high school track and football field.

And further along this T-shaped lot, closer to the high school itself, rises Morrison's 90-foot high dream for the Hespeler hilltop doorstep of the 401.

Gaze into the rafters of this $70-million-for-just-the-structure vision. See the fire-eating trapeze artists of Cirque du Soleil rappelling from dizzying 75-foot heights. Observe in-line skaters rolling around the concrete long track in the six months when the ice is out.

Count the hundred snooker tables all lined up in the infield for a pool tournament.

Of maybe fill that infield with six tennis or volleyball or basketball courts. Keep your eye on the birdies as the shuttlecock flies over a dozen badminton courts while you stroll around the massive indoor walking track.

There could be car shows here. And monster trucks. And bicycle motocross races. And concerts that would never come to Cambridge before. And weddings on a wild scale.

Quote:Cambridge looks to build sportsplex on Conestoga College land

CAMBRIDGE — In a cost saving move, the City of Cambridge hopes to build its long-awaited sports multiplex facility on Conestoga College's property off Fountain Street, south of Highway 401.

In a proposal to be considered by Cambridge city council on April 16, city staff says they sought out Conestoga College because building the 150,000-square-foot or larger facility in partnership with the college "would achieve efficiencies that would otherwise not exist in an independent venture."

"When this opportunity presented itself, we saw it first and foremost as a land acquisition opportunity," said Kent McVittie, city commissioner of community services. "But from there, as we discussed it, there are just so many synergies and efficiencies that make themselves attractive.

Under the proposed terms, the city would enter into a long-term land lease with Conestoga College, allowing the city to secure the eight to 12 hectares needed for the facility for $3.5 million less than the $6 million officials had budgeted.

(04-23-2015, 07:44 AM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: I applaud them for bringing up future LRT stations.

(04-30-2015, 06:53 PM)DHLawrence Wrote: It may not be on the light rail line, but a bus from Conestoga to Sportsworld or Preston would connect to ION Phase II so easily. Maybe it will give Preston a bit of a jumpstart.

(04-30-2015, 11:23 PM)mpd618 Wrote:

(04-30-2015, 06:53 PM)DHLawrence Wrote: It may not be on the light rail line, but a bus from Conestoga to Sportsworld or Preston would connect to ION Phase II so easily. Maybe it will give Preston a bit of a jumpstart.

Has RIM Park given anything a jumpstart, though? If this is located in the middle of nowhere, I doubt it will contribute much to any of the somewheres via which you might get to it.

This, like the original placement of Conestoga College itself, is all about minimizing cost.