A diverse group of people gathered last week and came up with a future vision for the Al McIntosh Loggers Sports Grounds.
The grounds on Loggers Lane are the central attraction every August long weekend. A company called Sea to Sky Entertainment is interested in leasing the District of Squamish (DOS) owned land and creating an attraction to draw more tourists.
A lease agreement between Squamish Days organizers and the DOS expired and was not renewed.
Stu McNish, the main driving force behind the initiative to make improvements at the grounds, brought together Squamish Days officials with representatives from the arts, the Test of Metal mountain bike festival and other stakeholder organizations. McNish gathered the stakeholders in a room with a team of designers to discuss what is good about the current site and what needs to be done to increase visits throughout the year.
The design creation discussions started at 9 a.m. on Friday (Feb. 4) at the Howe Sound Inn. After four and a half hours of talk and idea generation, the designers took all they heard and came up with a drawing of what the grounds might look like after capital improvements take place at the site.
Architect Rick Hurlbert of West Vancouver worked with two other architects to take the stakeholders through what resembled a mini-charrette process.
In doing advance work before the meeting, Hurlbert said his team sensed the grounds are very important to the community.
"We want to continue to foster that sense of community," said Hurlbert.
The stakeholders identified their connection to the grounds and what they believed the site needs but currently doesn't have.
Artist Glenn Greensides was at the meeting and he shared his vision of how his log book park can work as an attraction at the site.
Brian Marchant, a leader in the arts community, outlined his belief that the site should be made available for the arts community and designed to work as a place to put on large and small performances.
Cliff Miller, the Test of Metal race director and president of the Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association, said the Loggers Sports Grounds could become a meeting place for mountain bike riders.
Hurlbert recommended maintaining the current seating and competition areas. He suggested the site needs a ceremonial gateway or main entrance with between 6,000 and 7,500 square feet of dedicated commercial space with some of the space accessible from inside the secure grounds and accessible from a main parking lot.
The concept was shaped through the meeting by the 25 people who participated. It was determined the grounds need to be larger to accommodate the future vision. The new concept envisions the existing grounds, a gateway entrance, a forestry museum and the log book park.
Key to the vision is the annual loggers sports show continuing along with the Test of Metal continuing to finish at the site.
McNish said the next step is to take the idea to local officials for feedback.
