Black Diamond has reached an agreement with the Turner Valley Golf and Country Club to allow part of the mountain bike track planned for the 2023 Alberta Summer Games to be on golf course land.
Black Diamond and Okotoks are co-hosting the Games, with mountain bike races being held at Black Diamond. The Town has worked over the last year to find a location for the track and recently agreed to a five-year operating agreement with the golf course, at an annual cost of $3,000 to the town.
The agreement was approved during the June 1 council meeting and the track will be open to the public once it's built.
Sharlene Brown, CAO of Black Diamond, said the track will start and end at the pump track, down the utility line behind the arena and onto the golf course, returning along the escarpment near the beaver ponds oxbow.
As part of the agreement, the Town will construct and maintain the track, write and enforce a user code of conduct, and provide signage and insurance. Work is expected to be finished this summer and the Games will take place July 20-23, 2023.
Brown said this year's payment of $3,000 for use of the land will likely come from the parks operating reserve. Going forward, the amount will be included in the parks operating budget and could be paid as a tax-transfer, although those details are still being finalized.
The Town said when construction is complete, a grand opening celebration will be organized in conjunction with officials from the 2023 Summer Games.
The Town is also going ahead with the planned expansion of the pump track, and people can expect to see fencing go up around the track in preparation for the expansion.
