MOOSE JAW — The improvements to Elks Field at the Kinsmen Sports Complex didn’t take years to plan with a lot of political wrangling.
On the contrary. All it took was three groups working together.
The collaborative planning and meetings took only a few months.
But the final upgraded facility is expected to last for decades - as long as organizers can keep the league active and the kids busy.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Mayor Clive Tolley said about the partnership just after cutting the ribbon.
“The Kinsmen Club stepped up again. This facility is second to none. It’s awesome. We’re on the turf right now and the turf looks great,” Mayor Tolley said, adding “there’s a great crowd of people out here. The lighting has been replaced and it’s nice and light out here on a Friday evening. There’s been a lot of volunteer work done out here that’s been combined with our City staff.”
He said the partnerships the City has for upgrading or constructing new recreation facilities are highly important as the City cannot afford it all.
“It’s essential. It’s absolutely essential. As you know while each property owner was added $65 onto their tax bill to go to recreation facilities but that’s still not enough. We need partnerships. We need community groups. We need volunteers. Here is a great example of all three going together.”
For Bryan Boys president of the Kinsmen Moose Jaw Minor Football Association there was the realization that the group needed to help out and not simply ask the City to foot the bill.
“We like to do our part. We come with work. We come with money. We do what we can to get this stuff. We don’t just have our hands out,” Boys said.
“We know the community. We know the City has many things that need work…we want to put money towards it. We know it’s going to our kids…for us to give some money or work back it’s nothing to us because it’s important to what we’re trying to do here.”
The funding formula was $30,000 (over two years from Minor Football), $100,000 from the Kinsmen Club and the City $105,000.
The renovations include new steel siding on the concession and the tower, the bathrooms painted and upgraded, new LED lighting and the centrepiece the new score clock.
Boys said Minor Football is very thankful the City and Kinsmen who stepped up making the renovations and upgrades possible.
“It’s super important. You know our field has been here for many, many years and we haven’t done a lot of renovations since they put it up…it was time to rejuvenate this place. It’s like a brand new park now,” he said.
Boys said using steel siding, new aluminum bleachers and all the right products should see the field if maintained last for another 40 plus years.
“We love this field. We love being here so we are going to take really good care of it.”
It’s something he could not be more thankful for working with the City and the Kinsmen making it possible.
For Mayor Tolley it’s not just about a fancy rejuvenated facility but also the underlying character building of organized sports.
“If you’re involved in sport you burn off your energy. You go home at night and you have a nice sleep and you’re ready for the next day. If you don’t have sport you sometimes get into a little bit of trouble in life. So I think sport, team building, family are all essentials to create good citizens,” he said.
Asked if he thought team sports, like minor football built civic pride Mayor Tolley said “it’s awesome. There are 200 and some players in three divisions playing against other communities in southern Saskatchewan it’s just awesome.”
“This is character building for these children and their families. There is a great crowd of families, aunts and uncles, grandparents watching them play.”
Asked if could see minor football building the leaders of tomorrow - including a potential future mayor - Mayor Tolley replied “absolutely.”
“I played minor sport. I didn’t play football, I played baseball and I played hockey. You learn about teamwork. What you have to contribute and not just take. You learn about leadership. It’s an awesome opportunity to have a big positive imprint on our young people.”
He pointed to not just the players on the field but also kids out on a Friday evening throwing a football around with their parents at the game as another major positive.
It’s also something Boys sees as well.
“If you come out here on a Friday night you’ll see it’s a special place. You see so many parents with their kids who are running around the end zones. Football is a big deal there are a lot of great events for your kids,” Boys said.
Moose Jaw Kinsmen Club vice president Scott Paquin said helping fund the renovations was something the club looks for to help the community. Especially when it comes to kids.
“Opportunities like this are huge for us. Legacy projects are what we like to get involved in and this is one of the bigger ones done in the City,” Paquin said.
“It’s all about kids. The Kinsmen Minor Football uses this. The minor fastball girls use the ball diamonds, high schools, flag football so really it’s all about the kids,” he said.
“That’s what we do at the Kinsmen Club all our money goes back to kids.”
Paquin said the Kinsmen got involved as it’s part of giving back to the community.
“We were all born and raised right here in Moose Jaw and giving back to the kids is what we’re all about,” he said.
Paquin couldn’t say the exact number of hours the club put in to raise their share other than it was “a lot of hours…you know we have some money in the coffers so we got this one taken care of and off to the next.”
