Saville Sports Centre holds open house
Written By: Richard Cairney
2004-02-26
John Barry is all smiles as he walks through the newly opened Saville Sports Centre on the university's South Campus, and it isn't just because the $7 million, 175,000 square-foot building opened on time and on budget.An open house being held this Saturday will show off everything the new facility has to offer. The event kicks off with speeches by dignitaries at 12:15 p.m., and Edmonton philanthropist Bruce Saville, for whom the centre is named, throws a ceremonial "first rock" on the curling sheets at about 12:30 p.m. Olympic curler and silver medallist Kevin Martin, along with Aaron Skillen, manager of the centre, will serve as sweepers.
Afterward, ceremonial tennis court serves will be made by Dr. Mike Mahon, dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, along with Saville and Bears and Pandas tennis team captains Erik Flakstad and Kelsey Ross.
Housing curling and tennis facilities, a licensed, catered lounge area with capacity for 600, a gym and room for a new fitness facility, the Saville Centre has already proven itself. A major curling bonspiel opened the centre Jan. 2, featuring some of the strongest curling teams in the province and drawing huge crowds.
"It was packed here that weekend…it was a wonderful event to open with," said Barry, who is barely able to contain his excitement about the new centre. He's particularly happy for tennis players, who have long sought to have their air-supported "bubble" facility at Michener Park upgraded.
"I've been working on this for 15 years," Barry said of efforts to build the new tennis centre. The Saville Centre opened eight new indoor tennis courts in late January.
This week, the centre hosts the prestigious ITF Futures tennis tournament.
"What we've done with the building is taken all of the U of A curling and tennis programs from older, dilapidated buildings and replaced them with a new, state-of-the-art building."
The university's Balmoral Curling Club, which closed in December, is structurally sound. The Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation is still trying to determine a use for the building. And tenders to purchase the old air-support structure housing the Michener Park tennis facility are coming in now. When the 20-year-old structure is removed, its courts will remain in place.
"It's crazy to walk away from those nine courts," said Barry, assistant dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation. "And in the long term we'd like to develop another eight outdoor courts here. So once all that is done, the university will have 17 courts during the summer."
A gymnasium at one end of the curling rink has two volleyball courts, two basketball courts and four badminton courts. The wall separating the 9,000-square-foot gym from the 10 curling sheets is glass, allowing organizers to set up bleachers inside the gymnasium and add seating capacity during curling events.
The complex boasts the best ice-making equipment available and could easily host major curling bonspiels, he added.
And Martin has opened a pro shop on the main floor, a move which Barry says is a stamp of approval.
"To have an Olympic silver medallist who feels your facility is the kind of place he'd like to operate his business from lends us a certain profile," he said, adding he hopes Martin will help teach at the centre.
Both tennis and curling are taught as academic programs at the centre, to physical education and recreation students as well as education students. The new tennis courts make it possible to offer more classes to more students, Barry said.
During the summer the sheets of curling ice will be removed, allowing the space to be used for ball hockey, roller hockey, or for children's ice hockey camps.
"We get a lot of demand for hockey camps for kids in August, so that's one possibility," he said. "But we might find there's also a lot of demand for curling camps, too. We'll have to wait and see."
The Saville Centre will host summer activity camps for children. "There is a wonderful opportunity for staff members to put their kids in these camps," Barry added.
Original: ExpressNews