Georgian celebrates grand opening of new sports field at Barrie Campus

Sept. 14, 2016

What started as a field of dreams has turned into reality. Georgian College celebrated the grand opening of a new sports field on Sept. 13 with hundreds of staff, students, dignitaries, alumni and varsity athletes in attendance. The new facility is located on Nelson Street adjacent to the Barrie Campus.

The Georgian College Students’ Association (GCSA) led the charge to fund the $1.5-million sports field with money raised entirely by students. The donation is part of a 10-year, $7.2-million pledge by the GCSA to improve the student experience at all Georgian campuses.

The new FIFA-certified sports field will allow for more student events and expanded orientation activities to take place literally in Georgian’s backyard for years to come. The facility will guarantee top performance and a natural grass-like experience, which will match the calibre on which such tournaments as the Women’s World Cup have been played.

With the FIFA rating, the sports field can also be marketed as a practice facility for many FIFA teams. Students, community sports organizations, school boards and City of Barrie recreation groups will also use the multi-use field. This will reduce travel times and costs for groups who in the past had to go outside the region to use an artificial turf field.

GCSA President Avery Konda says the new field will not only help grow the college’s varsity program and attract more athletes, it will also transform the student experience at Georgian.

“This project isn’t just about creating a space for current students to enjoy, it’s about ensuring that future Georgian students have as full an experience as the one we’ll have,” says Konda. “It also literally opens the field up to different kinds of sports that can be played here at the college.”

Georgian varsity teams, intramural sports leagues and regional recreation groups will benefit from the sports field, which will primarily be used for soccer, rugby, lacrosse and football.

The sports field also features grandstands that can seat close to 500 people, an electronic scoreboard and LED lighting to accommodate night games.

Barrie Campus students have been without a sports field since 2010, when the previous site was needed for the college’s Sadlon Centre for Health, Wellness and Sciences.

The state-the-art Georgian College Sports Field was designed by Barrie-based Worldwide Turf Inc.