Masich Place Coming Soon!

Jul 18, 2018 | 3:35 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The City is anticipating a soft-opening of Masich Place stadium shortly after the August Long weekend. The upgrades were announced back in February 2016. The Prince George Track and Field Club had some concerns about the project. Club members did a walk-about with the City on Monday and identified three concerns.  

“We need to have weather-proof storage and, unfortunately, because of the way the stadium was designed years ago, there are a million holes in the stadium and we’ve got storage under the seating. So they’re working on that for us,” explains Elena Thomas, President of the Club. “The other issue we had was in the shot put area. The sizing of the gravel is too big.”

The third issue was around the throwing area.

“There’s a bit of a swale in it because unfortunately, the throwing section is not at the same height as the landing sector.”

“There were some issues that the Track and Field Club had concerns about and I think those were alleviated through some discussion and consultation,” says Gina Layte Liston, Director for Public Works. “For the opening of Masich, those items should be clarified and fixed.” 

The funds for the project came, in part, from grants and the City’s 2017 Capital Expenditure program. Initially, that was $4.375 million. But the final tally is closer to $4.8 million. 

“That [$4.375 million] did not include items that the City wanted to do as part of the stadium as a whole. So that’s where you’re seeing that approximate $4.8 million,” explains Layte Liston. “So that included painting the grandstands, there was some drainage and some paving works that were done. Those were in addition to the grant that was put in to the government.”

While the Track and Field Club had wanted to get into the facility sometime this season, Thomas understands Mother Nature was not helpful.

“They couldn’t do the lining and they couldn’t pour the throws and high jump area,” says Thomas. “I guess there’s an asphalt base and until that base has been at a certain temperature for a certain number of days and it off-gases, they can’t seal it with the rubber until it’s done that.

The City is also looking to have scheduled usage of the track, “in part to accommodate those who wish to use the track on a drop-in basis.”