The President of the Hanover Soccer Club appeared before city council Tuesday to outline the future needs of the Steinbach Soccer Park. Norm Anderson says there are currently 75 soccer teams and 770 players using the facility. He notes there are 1,200 people at the soccer park on any given night. Anderson says the biggest need right now is proper washroom facilities, adding that the four port-a-potties on site are not nearly sufficient. Anderson says they are also in need of change rooms.

"So we'd like to have somewhere that we could call our bathrooms, change rooms, maybe a

Norm Anderson addresses city council Tuesdayconcession area and a little office."

Beyond that, Anderson says Steinbach is getting to the point where it could use a full size, indoor, artificial turf soccer field with an air-supported dome.

"The base would be an artificial field, similar to the ones in Winnipeg. On top of that would go an air-supported dome. It would be a full-size soccer field, 70,000-plus square feet. That air-supported dome would have access to the parking lot via the change rooms/washroom facility that, when it (the dome) is not there, would work with the rest of the complex in the summer time."

He notes such domes cost about $800,000.00 plus the cost of the turf field. Anderson says an indoor soccer facility would also be available to other organizations for both sports and non-sports activities.

Mayor Chris Goertzen says council appreciates what the soccer club is proposing.

"It was really good to hear their passion for the future and what they'd like to see. It's going to be very good information for us as we move forward in our master plan process for recreation and culture. We look forward to using this information as we deliberate what we can afford and what we need as a city."