By Darren
Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex
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| Softball is a mainstay sport at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. |
For over 60
years, it has been the heart of Saskatoon’s amateur sports scene. Numerous
elite level athletes from many sports have graced the Gordie Sports Complex
Grounds including Gord Barwell, Erin Cumpstone, Dan Farthing, Logan Hofmann,
Catriona Le May Doan, Samantha Matheson, Devon McCullough, Dione Meier, Steve
Molnar, Jacki Nichol, Cliff Shaw and Larry Wruck.
Now under
the management of not for profit Gordie Howe Sports Complex Management Incorporated, the fabled complex aims to build off its glorious past.
“The Gordie
Howe Sports Complex is well-known across Canada and around the world,” said Bryan
Kosteroski, who is the chair of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex Management
Incorporated and Friends of the Bowl Foundation. “We have now raised the bar to
now have multiple more sports that will have the opportunities to bring in
those national and international sporting events.
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| Baseball is a staple at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. |
Gordie
Howe Sports Complex Management Incorporated officially took over the management
of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex on March 1, 2019.
Before the
non-profit came into existence, each sport was responsible for coordinating the
activities on the various facilities on the complex’s grounds like Saskatoon
Minor Football Field, the baseball and softball diamonds and the Clarence
Downey Speed Skating Oval in winter.
The City of
Saskatoon suggested it might help if there was a unified group that coordinated
everything that went on at the sports park. The complex hosts events and
training sessions for baseball, football, lacrosse, Nordic Skiing, rugby,
softball, speed skating, track and field and ultimate disk.
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| Football has a storied past at SMF Field. |
The idea of
having a unified group overseeing the operations at the Gordie Howe Sports
Complex was something the sporting groups that used the park thought was a good idea
and decided to run with.
Johnny
Marciniuk, who is the operations manager for the Gordie Howe Sports Complex
Management Incorporated, said their was a 90-day preparation period before the
non-profit took on operational responsibilities.
“It has
been exciting,” said Marciniuk. “We’ve been operating this for the last year
and a half almost, and people are getting the routines down.”
Marciniuk
said one of the learning curves involved the learning how work at all the
various facilities on the park’s grounds. Before, you had situations where a
group of people just worked the grounds of one facility like the softball
diamonds.
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| The Clarence Downey Oval creates great sights. |
“Virtually,
all of our employees are athletes or have been involved with various activities
either as administration or as a participant,” said Marciniuk. “Now those
people whether it is working the track or working the diamonds or working in
the Indoor Training Centre, there is lots of cross-training that was necessary
to train staff, and we’ve been very fortunate.
“You are
only as good as your staff, and we have some excellent people that assist us on
a day to day basis.”
Marciniuk
said user went through a learning process too, especially when it comes to the
Indoor Training Centre. He remembered sports like baseball and softball would
overbook for zone tryouts not realizing how much space the Indoor Training
Centre had.
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| Lacrosse groups enjoy the Indoor Training Centre. |
“We have
pitching lanes and batting cages. They started reducing their time a little bit
and gave opportunity for other activities to come in.”
Overall,
Kosteroski said the driving force behind having a unified not for profit group
oversee the operations of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex was that all the users
want to see each other succeed.
“The Gordie
Sports Complex is a family,” said Kosteroski. “Within our family, we have nine
sporting organizations who all are part of the overall complex theme.
“We have
representation from all sporting organizations who provide insight into the
operations. This is a total team effort with all organizations involved. There
is a board of directors that was developed with key people situated on the
board with representations from all sports organizations and also First Nations
representation and whatever needs we saw that were needed to move the complex
forward.
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| Rugby groups practice at the Indoor Training Centre. |
Under the
Gordie Howe Sports Complex Management Incorporated, it will be easier to
coordinate major events held on the complex grounds especially if that event
needs to utilize the track and field, baseball, softball or SMF Field all at
one time.
Kosteroski
said the potential for great things to happen at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex
is endless. He said the complex is looking forward to making new partnerships
with business in the future and is thankful and looking forward to continued
partnerships with businesses and organizations the complex has worked with in
the past.
“The Gordie
Howe Sports Complex will have a major impact with tourism dollars now and into
the future,” said Kosteroski. “That is a key role the complex will play for
business in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan.”
