December 10, 2009

St. James Rods look to score with upgrades to facility

St. James Rods look to score with upgrades to facility

The St. James Rods Football Club is inching closer to the goal line on its drive for an upgraded scoreboard and practice field.

The Rods recently received a $65,000 community incentive grant from the Assiniboia community committee. The funding will be used to help fund Phase 3 of a major redevelopment of the club’s Silver Avenue facility.

The club is already nearly halfway to its fundraising goal of $237,589 for the third phase of the project.

The first two phases of redevelopment have already been completed. They included included widening a practice area and doubling the size of a clubhouse at a cost of over $500,000.

“We’re now concentrating on the exterior part, which is addressing the needs around the field and practice field,” said club president Laura Shea.

“It’s a collection of outside things including new bleachers, and taking out two baseball diamonds on the south side which will give our players more space to practice.”

The Rods were founded in 1946 as the Fort Rouge Rods. The organization is the longest continuously operated minor football club in Canada. It moved to its current location at Legion Field at Rutland Street and Silver in 1991.

Shea said the upgrades are needed as a result of a steady increase in registrations the past few years. A total of 275 players between the ages of seven and 22 suited up for the Rods this past season.

Rods officials hope work on Phase 3 of the redevelopment will begin next spring and be completed by the fall of 2010.

Rob Berkowits, executive director of Football Manitoba, said that the upgrades to the Rods’ facility are welcome news for the entire football community.

“There is often a shortage of proper facilities and the fact that this expansion is going on is benefiting all of football because now we can have them host other activities,” he said.

Berkowits said the Rods’ field often serves as a home-away-from-home for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers when they can’t practice at Canad Inns Stadium. It’s also an ideal location for events such as provincial team tryouts, he said.

“Any improvements that can be made for that facility will draw that much more attention and attraction to members of the community who wish to use the facility to its fullest,” Berkowits said.

Shea said the improvements will not result in increased registration fees for players. She said the club wants to keep registration fees as low as possible to make the game accessible to as many players as possible.

Interest in minor football has grown exponentially in Manitoba in recent years, according to Berkowits.

More than 9,000 players were registered with 14 clubs across the province this past year. Flag football has experienced one of the biggest increases in registrations, Berkowits said.

The fourth and final phase of the redevelopment is a proposed expansion of the facility’s parking lot. The project isn’t scheduled to take place until at least 2013.