A Bowl New World For Football In Toon-Town: A Pictoral Look

Audio Football Hilltops Top Stories

Dave’s Dis N’ Dat this week is dedicated to the amazing organizers, volunteers and visionaries in the Bridge City that are in the midst of a generational project.

To be honest throughout the summer I have taken the occasional sneak peak at Saskatoon Minor Football Field at Gordie Howe Bowl. To put it bluntly my mind does not work abstractly so it was hard for me to vision what the end project would be at the old Bowl.

On the eve of the facilities grand opening I had the opportunity to catch a sneak peak as the Saskatoon Hilltops headed out on the brand new turf for their second last practice of the week.

The turf, installed by the same company that has does almost all turf fields in Canada, the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and a number of Division 1 NCAA schools, is the biggest artificial surface installed in Canada. It is big enough to house 6 flag football games at a time.

SMF Field 1

It’s that shear size that is going to make this facility not just ideal for the Saskatoon Hilltops and Valkyries, who will call the facility home, Saskatoon Minor Football Field will also allow a generation of athletes to hone their skills in a safe and reliable environment.

SMF Field 2

The field isn’t just for youth! The surface can actually be rented out by a wide array of user groups from soccer teams, to hockey dry land training to marching bands.

SMF Field 3

Saskatoon Hilltop Past President Al Gibb was one of the driving forces behind the upgrades to the venue. He was on hand to see the team practice on Thursday night and the twinkle in his eye gave it away. He said, “it’s hard to believe we were meeting on this thing for two-and-a-half years and now to see this!”

The new scoreboard was lit and featured a video screen, a new sound system is on the way, the entire surface is surrounded by a paved walking area that will keep participants and spectators out of the mud unlike years past. It’s the attention to details such as these that will make the facility the gem of the Canadian Junior Football League. Especially the sharp looking media facility.

SMF Field 5

As mentioned above the Hilltops stepped onto the turf for the first time last night and to say that the players were in awe of the facility is a huge understatement. One of the members ran by the training staff shouting, “no more shin splints!”

SMF Field 6

Shortly after the Toppers were on the turf I had a chance to speak with Head Coach Tom Sargent. You can hear our entire conversation below. (Not hard to tell that he was grinning ear to ear!)

  1. Tom Sargent At SMF Field —

Saskatoon Minor Football Field officially opens tomorrow afternoon with the Saskatoon Hilltops taking on the Regina Thunder at 1pm. Following the game the celebration will continue for fans and donors alike.

The work isn’t done yet; a new dressing room/ meeting room facility will be built within the next year, new stands from the Saskatchewan Roughriders will arrive in 24-36 months and there is some minor landscaping work to be done. That all takes money which is why the Turf-It campaign continues. To find out more or to donate click here.

To wrap it up this week’s Dis N’ Dat, a big salute to all involved in the revitalization of Gordie Howe Bowl. A lot of blood sweat and tears have gone into a project that not only will allow current athletes to safely follow their dreams but also allow youngsters, such as my boys, who one day may benefit from that work and vision to follow their dreams!

 

 

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