The Drumheller Soccer Club is ready to put the shovel to the ground to build a clubhouse and is only waiting to meet with a local county who has agreed to provide groundwork for free.

The soccer association has been in need for facilities at their field in the Hy Grade Industrial Park and hopes to construct a clubhouse with washrooms, change rooms, and a concession by the end of this year.

A clubhouse would add convenience to both the home teams and visitors, improve the association’s ability to host tournaments, keep spectators at the fields rather than leaving to use a business’ washrooms, and eliminate the cost of maintaining the existing port-a-potties. 

Over $100,000 has been raised by the club’s volunteers for construction costs, and for work to begin, the board is only waiting to meet with Starland County, who has agreed to provide the groundwork on the project in-kind.

“We have lots of people willing to volunteer their time and help in-kind… it’s awesome for us to have (Starland) as a partnership and have them involved in the project,” said board member, fundraising coordinator, and treasurer Marnee Chapin.

Work is expected to begin in July and the shell of the building to be complete later this year. A deposit has already been paid to the construction company. Interior work like plumbing and drywalling will likely be provided in-kind by association members. 

“The plan is to get it done while we have the weather on our side,” said Chapin.

The Drumheller Soccer Club is in a unique situation compared to other clubs in the Big Country Soccer Association.  The Drumheller club owns and is responsible for maintaining their fields and for project costs. Clubs such as Three Hills and Hanna play on town owned land, where the town is responsible for maintenance and construction costs for bathrooms.

 Plans are also in the works for constructing team shelters for teams playing in extreme weather conditions.

The association will be hosting their annual Yuk Yuks comedy fundraisier in November, their biggest annual income generator. Bottle drives and barbecues are also planned in the coming months. 

Hand Hills chuckwagon racer Colt Cosgrave captured his first Ponoka Stampede Championship on Sunday, July 3, taking home $50,000, a new GMC pickup truck, and the 2016 Ponoka championship crown.

Cosgrave won the dash for cash final heat at the Ponoka Stampede, one of the World Professional Chuckwagon Association’s most prestigious events on the pro tour, and his first championship win since Red Deer in 2006.

“It comes down to the horses and a little bit of luck. A couple guys hit some barrels and we stayed clean,” said Cosgrave.

In the championship heat, Cosgrave and outriders Chance Flad and Chad Cosgrave went penalty free in a 1:15.23 from barrel position two, beating out Codey McCurrach of Eckville, 31 one hundreths of a second behind Cosgrave.

He hopes his horses ran just as hard as they have all season in the upcoming Calgary Stampede WPCA competition which begins this Friday, July 8 until July 17.

“Calgary is the big one – it’s ten days, so if you can stay clean for ten days you got a real good shot at being there,” said Cosgrave. “You got to be fast and clean.”

Cosgrave placed second overall at the Ponoka Stampede last year. He placed 23 overall at the Calgary Stampede last year.