Early planning underway for new rec centre in Leduc

LEDUC -- Preliminary planning for a new recreation facility in Leduc is now underway.

The goal of the new "West Campus Project" is to expand recreational opportunities in Leduc by creating a new facility on the west side of the City. According to Leduc staff, this is necessary in order to meet the demands of a diverse, growing population and to take pressure off the Leduc Recreation Centre. 

Currently, the project is in the "amenity prioritization" stage, which will see Council determine which amenities should be included in each phase of the building's construction. This comes after the completion of a recent needs assessment laid out which amenities would be the top priorities for the new recreation centre.

"By bringing together the preliminary amenity rankings from the needs assessment with key development and financial considerations, we revisited and refined the overall prioritization for west campus," said Project Manager Jackie Kamlah. "For amenities identified as top priorities, the data shows that current demand is not being met, and that existing inventory will not adequately respond to future growth or demographic shifts."

To meet these demands, several amenities are being proposed as high priority for the new rec centre -- a field house, gymnasium, and multi-purpose program spaces. Kamlah adds that a twin arena should also be considered for the new west campus facility. 

"A twin arena would include two ice surfaces, spectator seating, flex rooms and storage," said Kamlah. "Engagement shows strong support for this amenity as it consistently scores as a high priority. Adding two ice surfaces would help address existing demand, as our four current arenas are operating at 98 per cent utilization and user groups are already relying heavily on other facilities in the region to conduct their programming."

Also proposed for the new facility is a 25 metre 10-lane competitive pool and dive tank. This amenity would allow for swimming lessons, leisure, and would include therapeutic pools, spray and play features, spectator seating for competitions, and storage. Cole Newman -- Chair of the Leduc Youth Council -- spoke in favour of prioritizing a new aquatic centre.

"Our pool in the Leduc Rec Centre here on the east side is at capacity a lot," said Newman. "I think having an aquatic centre -- especially on day one of that opening -- would fill a need." 

The "West Campus Project" is expected to be undertaken in three phases once all preliminary work has been completed. Leduc City Council will now be working to determine which amenities should be included in phase one over the next several weeks, with a decision deadline tentatively set for May 4, 2026. Following their decision, the next step for the new rec facility will be concept design and site planning, which is slated for September.