A decision to move forward with plans for a $53-million sports and rec complex at Conestoga College has been delayed.

Thursday marked the public’s first chance to get a look at the proposed building – and many in attendance at Cambridge City Hall didn’t like that it took so long.

“We all want it to come here, but to make a decision behind closed doors (that) there’s only one option … that doesn’t seem (like) democracy to me,” Paul Langan, president of the Scorpions Volleyball Club, told CTV News.

Others in the crowd expressed concern about the proposed location of the facility, at the western edge of the city, or about how accessible it would be via transit.

As a result, councillors delayed making any decision to move ahead until later this month.

Coun. Frank Monteiro, who chairs the city’s task force on the issue, says the project wasn’t made public until this week due to concerns their interest in a property could drive up land values.

“It would be a miss if we didn’t go for it,” he said.

If approved, the 150,000-square-foot complex would include ice rinks, pools and a walking track.