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Outdoor exercise equipment considered for Bob Dailey

A new outdoor exercise park at Bob Dailey Stadium could be in the works this year if all goes to plan.
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Outdoor exercise equipment

A new outdoor exercise park at Bob Dailey Stadium could be in the works this year if all goes to plan, Parks and Recreation Scott Kenny said.

The workout area would be located in the grassy area between the stadium and Glenwood Centre. It would be comprised of several pieces of workout equipment designed to use body weight as resistance.

“It would be a good fit for the stadium,” Kenny said.

The project was penciled into this year’s budget and would encompass a special surface, equipment and labour.

If the project goes ahead then preliminary work would start this fall and the main part of the project would be completed in spring 2014, he said.

The idea was first on parks and rec’s radar two years ago after lobbying by some residents as well as the Alberni Valley Track Club, which uses the area extensively.

The club has donated $10,000 towards the initiative. That, combined with $60,000-$70,000 left over in the track repair budget will underwrite the project, Kenny said.

The track re-opened earlier in October after the surface was replaced.

Parksville and Langford are other districts which have similar facilities, he said.

There used to be an outdoor exercise circuit at the former figure-eight track in the trees behind Echo Aquatic Centre but it’s long been removed. “The equipment today would be a significant upgrade since those days,” Kenny said.

The Alberni Valley Track Club has been a big booster of the idea since the idea first came about, president Michelle Butt said.

“The track is our main training facility and our athletes would use it, definitely,” she said. “But we hope that a lot of other people would use it as well.”

Butt said she hopes doing the circuit outdoors would catch on with groups like the rugby, football club and swim clubs along with the high school.

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