Campus, a 'one-stop shop for athletes,' is part of massive development planned in Comox Valley
BY CLEVE DHEENSAW Times Colonist sports staff
With files from CanWest News Service
A Florida-based sports-training academy that counts tennis stars Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Andre Agassi and Monica Seles among its graduates announced plans yesterday to open a school in the Comox Valley.
The IMG Academy, which hopes to open within five years, is to be part of the $1.5-billion Sage Hills development planned about 10 minutes south of Courtenay. Besides the sports academy, the proposed development would include a new University Canada West campus, village centre, hotel, theatre, 2,500 to 3,000 housing units, walkways along the Trent River and two golf courses. "And it will have to include an arena," said Dave Russell, president of Sage Hills Development, who spoke at a press conference at Kingfisher Resort in Courtenay.
The developers purchased the 2,080 acre property from Comox Timber Ltd. for an undisclosed price and hope to have their rezoning application completed by spring of 2009 in preparation for construction to begin by October of that year. No development application has yet been submitted to local governments.
The academy would offer all levels of training in hockey, skating, golf, tennis, soccer, basketball, baseball and mountain sports, the latter taking advantage of the proximity of Mount Washington. The plan is to have athletes live at the Comox Valley campus and attend either University Canada West or a planned private kindergarten to Grade 12 school to be operated by the university.
"It’s a one-stop shop for any athletes wishing to improve and take their game to the next level," said Ted Meekma, senior vice-president of IMG and director of IMG Academies. Former NHLer Ryan Walter is the senior sports consultant to Sage Hills.
Meekma said the company’s Bradenton, Fla., campus has 750 full-time boarding athletes from 80 countries in tennis, golf, soccer, baseball and basketball who do their academic studies at an accredited attached educational facility. Another 1,200 athletes attend summer programs at the academy, which began 30 years ago as a tennis school under legendary coach/teacher Nick Bollettieri.
The Comox Valley academy would be only the second IMG campus outside Bradenton — the first was in Dubai. The Island school could be up to the same size as the Florida academy, although that has yet to be determined.
"We are approached by developers all over the world and we didn’t expect to be doing [the company’s third academy] in North America, quite frankly," said Meekma, saying he was especially won over by being able to work with University Canada West.
Russell said the master plan for Sage Hills will be ready by June.
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