Latest news with #Indoor
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Regina city council approves $40M increase for indoor aquatic centre
An additional $40 million to build Regina's new Indoor Aquatic Facility (IAF) has been greenlit by mayor and council. The IAF is meant to replace the Lawson Aquatic Centre and is now projected to cost $285.1 million, states a report presented at a city council meeting Wednesday. Originally, the IAF was set to cost $160.7 million. Citing inflation, administration announced that the budget had increased to $245.1 million in October 2024. The city has attributed the spike in cost to 'global supply chain disruptions' as well as 'market volatility.' A refrain heard from the majority of council Wednesday was the longer the city waits, the more the project will cost. 'Early fall is when we're putting a shovel in the ground,' said Mayor Chad Bachynski after the meeting. Council voted 9-2 in favour of the increase. Ward 2 Coun. George Tsiklis and Ward 10 Coun. Clark Bezo voted against. 'I want it all' A number of residents presented their stance on the increase during the meeting, from concerns over possibly deferring the construction of pickleball courts and dog parks, to worries over pool maintenance. Ward 4 Coun. Mark Burton summarized the tension with a reference to a Queen song. 'I want it all and I want it now' Burton quoted, relating it to the variety of needs and wants of community members. Kelly Miller said the issue of replacing the Lawson has been going on for a decade and a half. 'We shouldn't be back at this again, it should be done,' she argued. A campaign promise by former mayor Sandra Masters who served from 2020 to 2024, Miller said cost to build the facility 'should have been half of this.' Now, administration will finance another $10 million through city debt and pull $30 million from the five-year recreation capital plan to cover the increased budget. Doing so, the report advises, could mean shelving several other projects until at least 2030. That includes: two new dog parks ($1.2 million) and eight new pickleball courts ($1.4 million), turf replacement on city-owned fields ($5.6 million) and rebuild plans for other outdoor pools ($21.7 million). The additional city debt would translate to an additional $6.84 per year in taxes for the average Regina taxpayer. With federal support, the city will be on the hook for $156 million in debt and $49.9 million in annual capital funding. The federal government and the province is set to provide $43.2 million and $36 million through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. Pickleball passion Randy Dove, with Pickleball Regina Inc., was opposed to the idea of deferring the pickleball courts, touting the sports growing prominence in Regina and around the world. 'We need a minimum of 20 high quality courts,' Dove argued. Ward 3 Coun. David Froh said there were many strains on other recreation needs and that there will be other opportunities for pickleball to receive funding. But Dove asked council to 'consider the value of pickleball as a lifelong sport that's growing in the community' and said he is not asking for one to be prioritized over the other. 'Our club has no issues with the aquatics centre.' Related Regina's planned indoor aquatic centre is another $40M over budget, says new report 'Never going to feel good about that': Regina councillors back $40M IAF budget overrun Councillor questions research Ward 1 Coun. Dan Rashovich again offered skepticism over the geothermal component of the IAF. 'I believe it creates a lot of risk,' he said. City administration said a full feasibility study was done on the prospect of including geothermal within the IAF. It would result in a $4.6-million savings over 50 years compared to natural gas, the city said. Rashovich took issue with those estimates. He challenged councillors to 'do some research' and claimed the city was 'doing an experiment with tax dollars.' He proposed an amendment — similar to one he put forward at a past executive committee meeting — to cancel the geothermal component. Ward 8 Coun. Shanon Zachidniak cited extensive testing done at the University of Regina since 1979 at the school's geothermal well. 'We do have testing,' she said this aspect of the project creates the possibility to study applications of geothermal heating in the city further. 'I cannot continue to rehash decisions that have already been made,' said Ward 7 Coun. Shobna Radons. Ward 9 Coun. Jason Mancinelli asked if it's likely 'that anything remains the same price for 50 years?' Administration said no, to which Mancinelli said geothermal was 'a gift horse' that will not be subject to market elasticity like natural gas. The amendment lost, with Rashovich and Bezo the only two 'yes' votes. Tsiklis unsuccessfully sought to table the motion. — with files from Larissa Kurz alsalloum@ The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Miami Herald
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Gabby Thomas, Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr among track stars racing in Miramar this weekend
While the world's top F1 drivers are racing at Hard Rock Stadium this weekend, some of the fastest track and field athletes will be racing just up the road in Miramar at Grand Slam Track Miami, the second stop of the new track series founded by Olympic legend Michael Johnson. The meet is being held from Friday through Sunday at the Ansin Sports Complex. Among the featured events are the women's 100/200, with Olympic champion Gabby Thomas (USA) and Olympic bronze medalist Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (USA); the women's 200/400 with Dominican star Marileidy Paulino, 2019 world champion Salwa Eid Naser, and World Indoor champ Amber Anning; Grant Fisher (USA) and Sam Atkin (Great Britain) in the men's 3,000, and the men's 800/1500 with Olympic silver medalist Josh Kerr (Great Britain), Olympic champion Cole Hocker (USA), Yared Nuguse (USA), Marco Arop (Canada), and Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya. The tour contracted 48 athletes, known as 'GST Racers' to compete in four annual meets with a total of $12.6 million in prize money and then used appearance fees to bring in another 48 athletes ('GST Challengers'). The athletes are divided into categories by race distance from the 100 to the 5,000 meters and compete for a $100,000 top prize, with money being awarded down to $10,000 for eighth place. Johnson said South Florida was selected as a venue because the Ansin track, which has hosted international track meets in the past, is known for its quick surface and because Miami is a global city. 'Our league is a global league with athletes from all over the world, so we felt Miami was good location for us,' Johnson told the Herald. 'There's great culture there, music, food and for all our events, that is an important component.' Miramar is in the heart of South Florida's Caribbean community, hosts an annual Caribbean American Heritage Month and its residents have a tradition of following track and field, as many great sprinters have been from Jamaica, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago. The meet will be streamed live on Peacock. Tickets are available at
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ten finalists in the News & Star's 'Best Family Indoor Entertainment 2025' award
THE ten finalists in the News & Star's 'Best Family Indoor Entertainment 2025' award have been revealed. These finalists have been chosen by News & Star readers after a week of online nominations, which started on Monday, March 24, and concluded on Saturday, March 29. The ten finalists who will all be in the running to be crowned News & Star 'Best Family Indoor Entertainment 2025' are: Aztec Adventure Play, Crown Street, Carlisle Fusion Trampoline Park, Millrace Road, Carlisle Game On! Botchergate, Carlisle Just Messin, Botchergate, Carlisle Lake District Coast Aquarium, South Quay, Maryport Parkway Cinema Workington, Maryport Road Planet Play, Blackwood Road, Workington Red Herring Escape Rooms, West Tower Street, Carlisle Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Castle Street, Carlisle Walby Farm Park, Crosby-on-Eden, Carlisle News & Star readers will now be able to vote for their favourite finalist by picking up a copy of the daily newspaper between Monday, April 7, and Saturday, April 19. In addition, we will be highlighting the shortlisted Family Indoor Entertainment in our competition in the News & Star. Each of the establishments will be featured over ten issues. After this final voting stage has concluded, the winner will be crowned as the News & Star's 'Best Family Indoor Entertainment 2025' during the week commencing Monday, April 28.
