New Edmonton soccer dome project gets $1.5M from province

Alberta is spending $3 million to help build a new soccer dome and expand the Edmonton Ski Club. CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti reports.

A local youth soccer association has received $1.5 million from the provincial government to build a dome in west Edmonton.

The Edmonton Minor Soccer Association (EMSA) will put the funding toward a new multisport turf facility at the existing EMSA outdoor fields near Secord.

EMSA is eager to build a new dome because there are only two other indoor facilities with non-boarded fields in the Edmonton Soccer Dome and Viktoria Soccer Club.

“Currently, the indoor season, we run 15 to 16,000 athletes through our program. We’re always looking for indoor facilities,” said Jay Ruptash, EMSA’s vice president.

“We use the Scottish dome here as much as possible, and it’s bursting with the amount of non-boarded games we play here, and there’s always a need for more for non-boarded. We’ve had to lessen our non-boarded and push them back to a boarded facility because we don’t have the space right now.”

The City of Edmonton has three boarded facilities, with more in the surrounding area.

Funding for Edmonton Ski Club

The province also announced $1.5 million for the Edmonton Ski Club, located in Gallagher Park.

The club will use the funding to build a new and modern lodge for skiers and snowboarders.