As part of the Toronto plans for the Pan American Games, the University of Toronto back campus field project will see two synthetic turf fields installed. This will greatly improve playing time, quality of play and player safety for all levels of sport and recreation.
A Toronto city councillor has put forward a motion to designate the back campus field as a heritage site thereby condemning the plan that has been in place since 2009. This knee-jerk reaction threatens to cripple plans that will benefit the community on multiple levels.
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The vote is happening June 11 which leaves only a few short days to show the councillors of Toronto that should be supporting this venture instead of hindering it.
There are numerous benefits that the development of these facilities will bring to the city of Toronto. The following three only scratch the surface, but can give you an idea of how important this facility will be for the city:
The field in its current state can only be used a few short months of the year due to drainage and difficult upkeep conditions. Bringing in an artificial surface will triple the amount of time that this space can be used.
There is a serious lack of sporting facilities in Toronto. The addition of these multi-purpose fields will increase the amount of sport and recreation for students at U of T and those in the local community. This will transform a space used sporadically into one that will be of constant benefit to the health and lives of the people living in the city.
Leave a legacy from the Pan American Games of access and opportunity. In addition to community access, these facilities will provide a pathway to excellence for athletes who would otherwise have no facilities of international standard to compete or train in Toronto.
In this city there are many who have been able to compete at the highest level of sport, but only by leaving Toronto. There are many others who have had the talent and drive to achieve excellence, but not the support to find the necessary resources to travel to compete.
Increase the sense of community in the area by bringing people together through sport. Sport fosters positive values which extend across language, boundaries and culture. These facilities will provide a place for people to mobilize through recreation, increase collaboration amongst each other and continue the tradition of using the area for sport and recreation purposes.
This facility will prove to be a great asset to Toronto and we should not stand aside and let city councilors continue to flip flop on issues. This is good for the city and everyone should know that.
This is about creating a legacy for not only field hockey, but sport in general.
With that, we ask for your help! Please sign the petition and share this article with your friends, family, and social networks.