Dominion Hawks Dream Field

In May 2021, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and Partner the Dominion Hawks Field Dream Society selected the Glenn Group/AWMG Architecture team to undertake an assignment for redevelopment of the 85-year-old park to become the most universally accessible park in Nova Scotia. Phase I included the overall design of the park and accessible baseball for Phase 1 and a splash pad and washroom canteen for Phase 2. The project includes a new canteen/washroom/gathering area structure, a splash pad, bocci ball, walking trail, scoreboard, bleachers, landscaping, signage, new fencing, services, parking, benches and a regulation baseball field with an artificial turf infield and lighting system. All components are accessible and meet the Rick Hansen Accessibility Accreditation requirements and exceed in many ways to ensure everyone can enjoy the space. The design reflects the local heritage of the space with a mural on the gathering space and future Membertou First Nations artwork.

The budget and graphic renderings Glenn Group produced was instrumental in obtaining substantial funds from the Toronto Blue Jays Foundation and a further $2,000,000 from the province. Both phases were tendered and awarded under budget.

This project will be the standard for accessibility by which all other provincial projects will be judged. It includes: seating opportunities every 30m; accessible dugouts, bases, infield, bocci, splash pad, canteen, washrooms, covered bleachers; inclusive communication panels for those with learning issues, picnic tables and wheelchair parking pads. Glenn Group worked very closely with the local community to ensure this project exceeded their expectations.

The primary challenges were separating the tender packages into phases to match available funding and improving the slopes for accessibility while maintaining adequate surface and subsurface drainage for the ballfield.