Calgary still seeking funding help for long-planned Foothills fieldhouse

The city has been trying to line up the funding to build an indoor field house here at the Foothills Athletic Park for years, but it's still waiting for the province and Ottawa to step up to the plate. The planned Foothills multi-sport field house project would include three different buildings and feature an indoor soccer field, indoor courts and a 200 meter track. The city committed 109 million dollars Council asked Ottawa for $150 million in this year's federal budget, for the project but it's still not fully funded. but the spending plan does not mention the project. Calgary is the only major city without a purpose-built, competition-capable field house. It is not included as a yes in this document and we hope that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a no. Council has been asking Ottawa and the province to chip in since 2023, but neither has provided any funding. When it comes to the field house in particular, The city of Calgary has already put in far more than its fair share. One local organizer says a lack of indoor training space is having a big impact on track and field athletes. It really holds us back because we're limited by numbers, obviously by facility size where we train right now. He's been pushing for a field house in Calgary for 20 years and says all kinds of athletes would benefit. From your Paralympians to your... National champions all the way down to our, you know, our nine and ten year olds that are hoping to become one of those Olympic champions. in the future. It's been more than 15 years since the city started planning the facility. But despite the delays, there's still optimism it'll get over the finish line. I mean, I will say that we and the city of Calgary have had very positive conversations with both levels of government on this project. The federal government did not respond to a request for comment. But in a statement, the province says it's reviewing funding requests for Budget 2027 and it's committed to expanding access to sport and recreation. Brendan Coulter, CBC News, Calgary.