Approval of the Horse Creek Sports Park Master Plan has brought expanded recreational opportunities one step closer to reality.

Receiving the thumbs up from both town council and Rocky View Schools, the 128-acre parcel will include full-sized quad ball diamonds, soccer/rugby fields, bike facilities, outdoor rinks, a sports court, playground facilities with a central clubhouse facility and supporting infrastructure. It is located on what will soon be the northwest corner of Cochrane.

The bike facilities will be the first of their kind for Cochrane's thriving bike community and include a pump track, skills park and flow park.

Development of the quad diamonds will also add more ball diamonds to the community while helping clear the way to unfold plans for the 5th Ave. tri-site property.

The park's amenities will be phased in over time and are expected to be completed as funds become available. A significant portion of that will come from fundraising efforts by local sports groups.

The Horse Creek Sports Park is being developed on land originally purchased by Rocky View Schools. The school division will be retaining about 30 acres of land for a future high school. RVS collaborated with the town on the project. It also included vital input from the Cochrane Park and Recreation Committee and community user groups.

"Rocky View Schools is pleased to be collaborating with the Town of Cochrane in the development of this parcel of land that will result in overall infrastructure cost saving to our jurisdiction and the town," says RVS board chair Todd Brand. "The synergy of this project and the subsequent amenities will benefit the students and community of Cochrane for many years to come."

Councillor Tara McFadden, chair of the town's Park and Recreation Committee, says there was a need for a multi-purpose sports parks to serve vast recreational and sports pursuits of local residents.

"It's really great to have this opportunity to bring on a piece of land that serves that need," says McFadden. "One of the thing that makes this is a win is we were able to work with the Rocky View school board as partners in adding this new piece to the community. It's really been great to work with them."

The town's parks and recreation committee, largely formed of community members, played a significant role in creating the master plan.

"As a committee, we made sure we reached out on our delegation days to really understand the recreational needs and wants from the people of Cochrane and to make sure we included as much as possible in the park," says McFadden.

McFadden, who believes in empowering residents to be a real part of the decision-making process, says the volunteer committee members gave willingly of their time and expertise.

"This group has really been able to come on strong and be a part of that, so I'm very proud about that and the time and the experience they bring to the process."

Once final approvals are in place from both the town and RVS and the annexation is complete, the purchase of the land will be finalized, says Drew Hyndman, Cochrane's senior manager of planning services. He says the memorandum of understanding was for a purchase price of $1,575,560 plus GST.

Then the town will proceed with redesignation and subdivision applications throughout 2019 and expect to service the land in 2020. Only then can development commence, including the completion of town maintenance and transit facilities.

"It is a great opportunity for the community and something we are very excited about," says Hyndman.

Final approval of the annexation of the land from Rocky View County is expected on July 1.