Fort McMurray ready to host CFL at brand-new ‘field of dreams.’
FORT MCMURRAY — The festive feel at Shell Place stretched far across the revamped grounds of MacDonald Island, the cheers and eager squeals of children marking the occasion more than the occasion itself.
The cheers of some 2,300 school-aged children tend to do that. Their goal Friday morning, each armed with small pairs of scissors, was to cut the long, winding ribbon that marked the opening of SMS Equipment Stadium, where the Edmonton Eskimos will play the role of home team in Saturday’s 8 p.m. pre-season game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders (TSN, 630 CHED).
Maybe the kids were more excited about trying to set a world record — they fell a couple of thousand people short — but it set the tone for an exciting day. It also brought a two-year wait for the Eskimos and their Fort McMurray counterparts, who have been organizing this Northern Kickoff game to a close. Game day, in the form of the most northern Canadian Football League game, is here.
“The ability to open a spectacular sporting field is one thing, but to be able to host a CFL game right here, preseason with the Eskimos and Roughriders, we couldn’t ask for a better grand opening weekend,” said Melissa Blake, now in her fourth term as the mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
“We are beside ourselves excited about opening the facility,” added Mike Cachia, chair of the board of directors of the regional recreation corporation of Wood Buffalo.
For a community that often makes the news for negative reasons, Cachia is excited to showcase McMurray in a positive light through Saturday’s game and again June 27 for the Eskimos’ regularseason opener as guests to the home team, Toronto Argonauts.
“This is also going to give us a chance to showcase Fort McMurray and the region to the whole country because (Saturday) we’re on national television,” he said. “It’s absolutely stupendous. The plan couldn’t have come together any better.”
The two games will save some diehard football fans the standard four-hour trip south to get their fix, too.
“As a team, we’d always get on a bus at some point during the season to insist that we get the kids to a game, just to see what you work toward,” said Brendan Toner, coach of the Father Mercredi High School Trappers football team.
“To have it brought up to our backyard, to what I call a field of dreams, that to me is going to have that kid who is in peewee and Grade 4, up to that senior who’s deciding where to go to school next year, maybe he could play football at the next level. He’ll have that right in front of him.”
Blake sees the field and the other multi-sport facilities at MacDonald Island as something where the youth who so eagerly cheered and celebrated Friday can actively grow up.
“That’s the thing, it’s not for the big ticket events,” Blake said. “We’re glad to have them, but it really is a field that can be used for multiple purposes here in our own community. We have a men’s football team that will take full advantage of this field.
“The opportunities are endless and we want to make sure that the population here has everything at its disposal.”
With workers hustling in and out of the city, hotels are always in demand here, but Blake said there’s been an uptake in sports fans checking in for the weekend.
“We have a lot of tickets sold, but they’re not all local tickets,” she said of the 15,000-seat capacity SMS Stadium.
About 10,000 seats were added to the 5,000-seat structure that was built with the facility.
“We know the hotels and the restaurants and the business that surround (MacDonald Island) are probably going to benefit from tourists coming through this region,” Blake said. “For this community to welcome visitors, it’s something we love to do.”
Fort McMurray Minor Football players are working with the Eskimos and will take half of the funds raised through Saturday’s 50/50 ticket sales.
“We are beside ourselves excited about opening the facility.”
mike cachia