Six lanes of cement at the Grant Park recreation complex will soon be history.
“The track is going to get redone,” city councillor for River Heights-Fort Garry John Orlikow said. “We are going to be adding to the Grant Park rec-plex so we are going to be making a track that’s universal for all.”
Rubberizing the Grant Park track is part of the City of Winnipeg’s preliminary multi-year budget that was tabled last week.
It’s allocating $897,000 to the Winnipeg School Division for the upgrade as the track sits on school division land. Grant Park High School principal Jamie Hutchison is welcoming the addition.
“We are excited about our inclusion support folks getting out there doing their physiotherapy and occupational therapy. Utilizing the track, I know our phys ed folks are extremely excited about that,” Hutchison said.
Prospective and experienced track and field athletes will also benefit from the track’s revitalization. It makes training feel more legitimate, Alanna Boudreau, executive director of Athletics Manitoba, said.
“I am running on the same thing the pros are running on and it just gives it a completely different experience for the athletes. It’s also more forgiving, it has that extra little cushion to it, it’s better for the athletes long-term,” Boudreau said.
Grant Park will join only a handful of other 400-metre rubberized tracks across Manitoba.
Coun. Brian Mayes, who was a part of securing the funding, is hoping its addition can help grow track and field.
“You don’t need a $200 stick or racket, you just need some running shoes to come out here on the track,” Mayes said.
Mayes and Orlikow hope to see the track rubberized within the next two years to enrich the lives of residents, students and athletes in the Grant Park neighbourhood.
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