The long-term future of sports and recreation in Windsor is scheduled to be before City Council Monday night.
In what is their last scheduled meeting of 2019, councillors will be asked to sign off on the 20-year master plan for the city's recreation department. Representatives from Monteith Brown Planning Consultants are set to make a presentation to council.
The master plan includes recommendations to improve or reconfigure several facilities in the city, with Adie Knox Arena being one of them. The consultants have recommended removing the pool and the ice from the arena to make it available year-round.
"The city should operate the arena as a dedicated year-round dry-floor venue for lacrosse, ball hockey, and other appropriate activities while constructing a gymnasium, fitness centre and other spaces conducive for use by community partners," read the master plan report. "To facilitate expansion and reconfiguration opportunities, architectural and engineering studies will need to be completed."
There had been discussion five years ago about removing the pool from Adie Knox, but that was shelved.
The report also recommends placing more of a community-use approach to the Windsor International Aquatic and Training Centre, placing a walking route at the WFCU Centre, and opening up portions of historic Mackenzie Hall to address the needs of residents in west Windsor and Olde Sandwich Towne.
One short-term recommendation, as listed in the report, includes empowering the Windsor-Essex school boards to consider reciprocal arrangements for the use of city recreational facilities. Another is performing upgrades at Forest Glade Arena and Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex and establishing a community hub in the south end, namely Ward 9.
The last time the city's recreational master plan got an update was 1989.
The entire master plan draft can be read in its entirety on the city's official website.
