Squamish residents don't need Doc Brown or a DeLorean to travel back in time.
No, all they need to do is enter the Brennan Park Recreation Centre and they'll immediately get transported back to 1990.
I almost expect to see children playing with pogs and listening to the Spice Girls upon entering the building.
I'm sure the facility was suitable for its time but that time has long since passed, which is why I was taken aback by the fact that the proposal for a community weight room and fitness facility was already thrown out the window by district council.
Nearly every other community centre I've ever been to has at least some type of gym or fitness centre and Brennan Park is severely lacking in that department. Right now, there is one step master, one treadmill and an elliptical trainer located on the deck of the swimming pool. Doesn't sound too appealing, does it?
The $750,000 sports legacy grant is intended to go toward sport and recreational facilities that will leave a lasting impression on the community. What better way than by creating something that almost everyone could potentially use?
As a sports reporter, I've covered almost every sport imaginable in this town. While I don't discount the sailing club's proposal or the paddling clubhouse expansion, I think it's pretty obvious that an upgrade to Brennan Park would make a more broad impact than either of those two proposals. The interest in paddling and sailing is intense but its overall scope is far less than the number of people that could conceivably use the proposed fitness facility.
I like the idea of the Squamish Legacy Sports Park but is there really enough interest in those sports? I think it would be a mistake to push this kind of facility onto the town. Let's hope that elected leaders base their decision on what's best for the community as a whole and not on any sort of personal preferences.
The grant is supposed to impact as many people as possible and having the three aforementioned proposals still alive and the fitness facility idea dead doesn't seem right.
The one proposal that I do think has some legs, though, is the multipurpose turf arena. I've been told dozens of times that Squamish is a soccer town; head to the Brennan Park fields on any given Saturday and you will see the proof. Whether it's the men's league, youth soccer or the many camps that come to town, I think that proposal would make a huge positive impact and affect a large number of Squamish residents.
In the meantime, fitness enthusiasts will have little choice other than to hop on the treadmill on the pool deck and convince themselves it is indeed the year 2011.
