Yorkton's Century Field area, revamped in the late 90's in preparation for when Yorkton hosted the 2000 Saskatchewan Summer Games, is a wonderful area with a running track, football and soccer fields and tennis courts.
However it has lacked two key facilities for the past 14 years: Washrooms for patrons and changing rooms for the athletes that compete there.
But thanks to the efforts of Yorkton Minor Football (YMF), in conjunction with the Good Spirit School Division, 2014 will be the last year that Century Field will be without these much needed facilities.
"Basically what we're building here, bathrooms, changing rooms and a storage area, is a massive undertaking that is long overdue," said YMF president Roby Sharpe. "Before, when people needed to use the washroom or had to change they had to go to the school and sometimes it would be locked, especially if it was a weekend.
"Then they'd have to walk to the Kinsmen Arena or hop in their car to get to the closest gas station and that wasn't acceptable for us anymore."
In fact Sharpe said that he and his colleagues have been trying to get bathrooms and changing rooms built at Century Field for years, but for unknown reasons the idea, while there, simply never came to fruition. "It's been a dream of ours for about eight years or so but he just weren't able to get it done," laughed Sharpe. "Jason Farrell and I were laughing the other day because most of the people that were there with us when we started this project are now gone.
"Between myself, Jason Farrell and Darcy Zaharia we're the only ones left from the group that had started this project eight years ago."
Sharpe also mentioned that while it's YMF that is the main organization behind these new facilities, they will actually be for anyone that needs to use them, not just football. "This facility will be available for all kinds of sports and events," offered Sharpe, continuing, "whatever goes on in the area, at the school, on this field, within the community will benefit from this.
"It'll be accessible for soccer, football, track and field and even the local Tennis Club has gotten on board."
Completion on the project is tentatively set for Spring of 2015 in time for the 2015 SHSAA Track and Field Provincials, which will be held at Yorkton's Century Field and will see over one-thousand athletes compete.
