Most of Wellington Street facilities will be ready to stage Summer Games

Corner Brook - Corner Brook's latest sporting jewel is rounding into form and should be ready for the 2008 Provincial Summer Games.

A few months ago, the open field on Wellington Street was only a dream.

Today, the beach volleyball courts will be ready to go once the nets are in place. The artificial surface on the soccer field has been installed for weeks and is ready for action, except for the many touch ups and other construction at the site. The tennis courts are the venue where the most work remains. The acrylic surface must be poured and the fence and wind screens have to be erected.

The two washroom facilities and the canteen have been built, the main parking lot has been cleared and workers have been pouring concrete curb in preparation for asphalt. A base coat of pavement will be laid before the Games take place in just over two weeks.

The score clock and directional lighting are installed at the soccer field and the bleachers are being constructed. The nets are on site and the corner markers are on order, while the flag poles will soon be installed.

Brandon MacDonald, the city's director of operational services, said the contractors - Turf Masters and Brook Construction - are the reason things have been on schedule and even ahead of schedule in some cases.

"It's taking shape, looking really sharp," he told The Western Star Wednesday.
"There are a lot more finishing touches that will really put the sparkle on it - like when we go in and we install all the curb associated with the islands and the parking area and the iron gate entryway and the rock wall - it is going to look top shape. But, even now it looks good, I must say."

He said the amount of work still to be done on the tennis courts leaves the schedule tight for the Games.

"I'm not going to sleep 100 per cent until the tennis courts are ready," he said. "To be honest, if we get two weeks of solid rain it could put a major crimp in things.

"...For people watching the events and stuff, you can make do. You can haul in your lawn chairs or whatever and sit where you need to sit. If it is a gravel parking lot, that's OK too. But, if you can't play tennis on the courts, now there is a problem. That's why the pressure is still there from that point of view."

But MacDonald expects the courts to be ready. It will be completed with the addition of an acrylic surface that also requires a curing period. However, he doesn't anticipate the parking lot for that area to be finished.

"(The site) will still very much look unfinished, but it will be usable and it is still a wonderful looking facility," he said.

"But yeah, it will still look like a construction site to some degree."

Anything left undone before the Games won't have any real impact on the ability to host a first-class event, he said.