A sports dome enables sports to be practised year-round. This allows community members to be more active during winter months and makes it possible for summer sports athletes to continue to train when outdoor fields are covered in snow.

The dome will be used for many sports, including soccer, golf, Canadian football, softball, pickleball, drone racing, etc., as well as for an open-ended list of activities like summer camps, special events, planetarium-style projections and walking clubs, to name but a few.

This particular site was chosen for a number of reasons, first of which is the availability of sufficient space. Also, the school is located in the city centre, making it convenient for residents from all parts of Greater Sudbury to access the facility on foot and by bike, bus or car. The dome will also be a major asset for the Moulin à fleur and Donovan neighbourhoods, providing local youngsters with a safe recreational location. The new all-season sports centre will be a vital recreational asset for residents of these neighbourhoods and improve the quality of their living space.

The cost of construction will be paid for by a private company while the Sudbury District Sports Club will pay for maintenance and recover costs from user fees paid by the community.

École secondaire du Sacré-Cœur currently has three operational outdoor fields, so the loss of one will have no impact on activities that currently take place on these fields. Also, the field that has been chosen for the dome is not currently used by sports and school leagues for official matches. To the contrary, adding all-season fields under the dome will increase participation in sports.

The dome will measure approximately 60 x 120 metres (200 x 400 feet).

Not at all. The ventilation system is silent and will in no way disturb the school’s students or residents of the neighbourhood.

In order to ensure the safety of students and staff at all times, there will be no direct access to the school from inside the dome.

A dome can provide a much larger space than a school gym. The artificial turf and the high ceiling on the playing fields also allow summer sports athletes to raise the quality of their game by practising in a space that is more like an outdoor field than a gymnasium.

Students from École secondaire du Sacré-Cœur and other CSC Nouvelon and Sudbury area schools will be able to use the sports dome during school hours. The sports dome will be open to the general public on weekends, as well as in the summer and after school, making it possible for families, kids and seniors to benefit from a facility that encourages health and well-being throughout the year. Sports clubs, school teams and leagues, organizations and individuals will also have opportunities to reserve the dome for their activities.

The CSC Nouvelon will take care of adding 73 new parking spots on the École secondaire du Sacré-Cœur grounds so that all dome users can park on-site. There will be a total of 201 parking spots.  Access to the dome will be at its southwest corner, behind the school, which means that traffic on Kathleen Street and in front of the school will be hardly affected.

Sacré-Cœur students will be able to access this high-level sports facility during school hours, which will improve physical education teaching and conditioning. This will be of direct benefit to students enrolled in the Specialist High Skills Major health and well-being stream. In addition, students from Sacré-Cœur and neighbouring CSC Nouvelon and other school board elementary and secondary schools will be able to access the dome between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. during the school year. This unheralded availability of artificial turf for Greater Sudbury students will raise the level of their athletic skills, and local sports leagues will be in a position to extend their season.

The dome will measure approximately 60 x 120 metres (200 x 400 feet).