An outdoor sports complex spurned by the City of Whitehorse twice last year, is back on the Yukon Party’s agenda.

The project, featuring two artificial soccer turfs and a regulation size eight-lane rubberized running track is promised by the Yukon Party if they are reelected on Nov. 7.

“A sports facility of this caliber is overdue in Whitehorse and will give our young athletes the facilities they need to train and compete at a high level,” said Danny Macdonald, the Yukon Party’s Riverdale South candidate.

The running track could be a boon for the local athletics scene, who train on the undersize track at F.H. Collins. An outdoor rubber track surface would allow them to train on the same surface they race on Outside. They would also be able to break in cleats, which are used on those tracks and which they are unable to wear on the F.H. track.

The talk of proper soccer fields in Whitehorse has spanned decades, said Macdonald, who grew up in Whitehorse.

Artificial turf extends the playing season and is the material of choice for many fields in the south of the country.

It would also mean that local soccer players could train on level ground, without any hazards like sprinkler heads, gopher holes or dog feces.

In the 2014/15, budget, the Yukon Party earmarked $250,000 for the project.

The Yukon Soccer Association, Yukon Athletics and a handful of other organizations gathered to become the Yukon Outdoor Sports Complex Association, which Tony Gaw is the chair of.

Only the soccer association, athletics and an engineer from the original bid remain on the board.

A parcel of YG-owned land in Whistlebend was suggested and it went in front of city council for a rezoning application in April 2015.

After much debate, the vote resulted in a tie and was automatically denied.

“The kids are disappointed,” Gaw told The Star the morning after that vote.

With a new city council, the matter was brought back in December by Coun. Samson Hartland.

The proposed $8-million facility was once again defeated, 4-3.

“Truthfully, I don’t have any idea why it was turned down,” said Gaw.

Part of the proposal was that the facility would be leased to the Yukon Outdoor Sports Complex Association to run.

In the Yukon Party’s news release this week, announcing the project as a campaign promise, they said they would look at YG-owned land that would not require rezoning by the City of Whitehorse.

“It’s not location specific at this time,” said Macdonald, noting the YP would speak with stakeholders before deciding on where the project would be built.

Gaw thinks that they might be looking at education land, in which case the facility likely wouldn’t be leased to his association to manage and would instead be run by a department of the territorial government.

“I don’t think anything has changed really,” he said. “The Yukon Party has been adament all along that this is something that is needed.”

The Yukon NDP said they would work “with municipalities and communities to establish priorities for community recreational facilities.”

“Sports and recreation is important for all Yukoners,” said Yukon NDP leader Liz Hansen. “For too long the Yukon Party has decided what to build and where, without any regard for community needs.

“The business case for this proposed facility and how it will be financed was not shared with the public when they first attempted to push this through, and nothing new has been shared in this announcement.”

The Yukon Party also announced they would work with the Association of Yukon Communities to identify rural needs for recreational infrastructure improvements, including replacing the ice rink in Carmacks, the recreation centre in Beaver Creek and finishing the work at the Dawson rec centre on the artificial ice surface and the second floor renovations.

In her statement, Hansen criticized the Yukon Party for ignoring the needs of rural communities.

“Carmacks has been waiting for years for a new hockey rink so their youth can play hockey again, Carcross has long expressed a need for a community recreational centre in Carcross and Dawson City facilities are in need of upgrades,” she wrote. “Rural Yukon has been left behind.”

The Yukon Liberals aren’t opposed to the complex, but want to make sure there’s a solid plan in place as to what will fund the construction, who will manage it and if it is what the community wants.

“We understand the benefits of the complex, but we need to ensure we partner with the municipalities to maximize the benefits,” said Liberal Leader Sandy Silver this morning.

He noted that the city of Whitehorse has twice rejected the proposal.

“This is further evidence for the needs of evidence-based decision making,” he said.

The YP also promised to expand the Sport School program to Porter Creek Secondary School from F.H. Collins.

The Liberals would also be willing to expand the program, which was based on the Canada Sport School model used in B.C. to PCSS, if the desire is there.

“If this is what they want,” said Silver, “then sure, we’ll have that conversation.”