RUNNING OUT OF TIME
Only all-weather track in city nears the end
The track at Griffiths Stadium is quickly nearing the finish line of its life and in all likelihood will be demolished come next year, leaving the city without an all-weather track.
The cracked and torn oval, having been repaired so many times there are patches upon patches, is the only facility of its kind in the city and is used by a wide range of groups.
“It’s usable right now, but we have continued to patch it over the years and we are at the point that patching it isn’t going to do it anymore,” says Paul Rogel, the director of recreation services in kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan.
‘We are spending in the neighbourhood of $20,000 to $30,000 a year to fix that track and keep it operational for the community. Our consultants tell us you can’t patch it anymore. We keep putting layers over layers and you need to replace the track.”
As well, Rogel said the artificial turf at Griffiths Stadium is 10 years old and reaching the end of its life cycle, which means there will be renovations to it in the near future.
That likely means removing the track and moving the stands closer to the football field after next year’s football season is over.
The track is not only used by U of S Huskie athletes, but by many groups in the city and surrounding area. Elementary and high school athletics hold meets at the track, as do different school divisions in outlying areas.
In fact, there is someone training, working out or participating in an event at the track virtually every day there isn’t snow on the ground.
Todd Johnston, who is heading up a Hub City Track Council’s committee that is looking at options for a new track, said they are planning on next season being the last on that track.
“Hopefully we can get some land in the next little while and get some money to build a track next summer so that we can be on a new track for the next season,” said Johnston, who is also an assistant coach with the Huskies track team and the Saskatoon Track and Field Club.
“From Hub City’s (the governing body for track and field in Saskatoon) perspective we would prefer to be centrally located because kids can come from all parts of the city.
“I’m proposing that the university sign some type of long-term land lease with Hub City Track Council and build a track somewhere on campus,” said Johnston, adding, “We are willing to assume all of the costs of upkeep, maintenance, whatever. We just need dirt.”
A trio of longtime track and field enthusiasts (Dennis Beerling, Bob Reindl and Bob Fawcett) are heading to council on Monday to address councillors on the urgent need to find a place for a new track.
“I think the city has been hitch hiking on the university for years and the city could have put (a track) in years ago,” said Beerling, who has been involved in sports for more than 50 years and is in the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame.
“You have all surface tracks at Meadow Lake, Estevan, Yorkton, Swift Current, Moose Jaw and Regina. Yet the largest city in the province doesn’t have a track?”
Besides a place at the university, the track could be located at a number of spots in the city, including upgrading a high school track or maybe collaborating with the speedskating community to put in a track at the speedskating oval at Gordie Howe Park.
The city has a long-term plan that includes a new track, but that is years down the road and one is needed right away, said Fawcett.
“We are not representing any track clubs, but are going (to council) as concerned citizens and saying, ‘What are we going to do for track,’ ” Fawcett said.
“We can’t wait 10 years for a new track. We need to find a solution to this problem right away so we don’t have an interruption.”
Johnston said a new rubber track by itself would cost somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1.5 million.
“But obviously we’d like to have bleachers and change rooms and things like that.”
He said it would be nice to see the city help with some of the funding, but “the track community is definitely prepared to raise its own money to get this track built.”
“The reality is a city our size should have three or four tracks,” Johnston said.
The university’s Rogel said the U of S wants to be part of the solution to bring a new track to the city.
“We’ve had discussions with the track community, we’ve had discussions with the city,” Rogel said. “I think everyone is trying to figure out what the best long-term solution is for a track, and I don’t know that anyone has a clear plan right now.
“We’ve often said it really is a community track that is operated by the university. We want to part of the solution ... with the track community, the city, with everyone to figure out what the next step is,” he said.