New Artificial Turf Field Opens in Northeast Calgary – Calgary | The Canadian News

The new artificial grass field at the Genesis Center in Calgary officially opened on Sunday.

Financing for the $ 6 million project, which has been under construction since April, they came from the center, city and province.

According to the city, the field is the first of its kind in Northeast Calgary and will replace the southern natural grass field at the Genesis Center. The project also includes the rehabilitation of the natural grass field in the north.

“One of the best things we do here at the Genesis Center is we design all of our spaces to be multi-use, so this is a soccer field, this is a lacrosse field, whatever. We can play all kinds of things here, ”said Sherry King, executive director of the Genesis Center.

“We hope this is a legacy for our community to come out of the closet, be healthy, active and inclusive.

“Now we have this beautiful outdoor space where we can have more people here, have more active people, more people who know about things that they may never have seen or that they may not have been a part of before.”

The center chose artificial turf because it needed something that was “high level… for all kinds of sports”, tournaments and community events.

“It rained heavily about an hour ago, absolutely heavy, and right now, the field is completely dry. The great thing about an artificial grass pitch is that people can come here half an hour after it rains, so it really avoids the downtime you get with natural grass, ”King explained Sunday.

Coun. George Chahal said opening the field makes him smile.

“I am so happy to know that so many children in our community are going to have the same opportunities as children throughout the city,” he said.

“The youth in our community for too long have not had access to good quality athletic fields in Northeast Calgary.”