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City staff authorized the installation of a private soccer training facility at a publicly owned park in Manotick last fall without having the authority to do so, a former city councillor contends.

In November, the city’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services department allowed the Ottawa South United Soccer club to bulldoze one of the city’s grass fields at George Nelms Sports Park.

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The club was then allowed to install a private training facility for its players, complete with artificial turf and a reserved parking spot for the club’s president.

A locked and gated fence was erected around the facility, which is not available for public use.

The approval came after the City of Ottawa had earlier bought the same park from a group affiliated with OSU. The city paid $1.3 million, in cash, at the request of the sellers, who had acquired the land themselves back in 2006 for $250,000. By the time the city bought the land, soccer fields had been added to it.