The City of Calgary celebrates the grand opening of New Brighton Athletic Park, a new recreation hub in southeast Calgary

Today, The City of Calgary is celebrating the grand opening of New Brighton Athletic Park. Construction of the park began in 2014 with funding from the Government of Alberta’s Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI). The park is part of The City’s commitment to provide great public spaces where Calgarians can connect and be active.

“Our government is committed to moving our province forward, and ensuring municipalities have the resources they need to build stronger, more dynamic communities for Alberta families. We are proud to invest in infrastructure, such as the New Brighton Athletic Park, which provides opportunities for recreation and sports, enhances quality of life, and brings members of the community together,” says Danielle Larivee, Minister of Municipal Affairs.

The completed park features four rectangular natural turf fields, one natural turf baseball diamond, player change rooms and public washrooms. Playgrounds for children aged two to 12, unstructured activity spaces, and a skatepark currently under construction, make this an important and needed sport and recreation hub in southeast Calgary.

“As Calgary continues to grow and change, so do Calgarians’ needs,” says Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi. “Quality public sport and recreation spaces are important for fostering cultural diversity, encouraging active, healthy lifestyles, and stimulating the local economy.”

The investment is supported by the 10-year Strategic Plan for Sport Facility Development & Enhancement, which identifies outdoor athletic parks as a priority for facility development to help meet demand. In 2010, the Recreation Amenity Gap Analysis (RAGA) further identified the need for additional sport and recreation infrastructure in southeast Calgary.

This project was made possible by MSI funding ($13.5 million) with additional funding from The City ($3.5 million). The MSI is the provincial government’s key initiative to strengthen the municipal sector and provides significant funding to municipalities for their infrastructure priorities, which also helps to create jobs and boost the economy.

“The progress we are seeing on major public investments in southeast Calgary is truly exciting”, says Ward 12 Councillor Shane Keating, “facilities like the New Brighton Athletic Park, Remington YMCA in Quarry Park and the new recreation facility being constructed in Seton are tremendous assets to one of the fastest growing areas in the entire province”.

The new athletic park also features public art by local Alberta artist, Craig Le Blanc. The City’s Public Art Policy allocates one per cent of capital spending for projects over $1 million to public art development. The public art budget for New Brighton Athletic Park was $100,000.

For more information, please visit: calgary.ca/recreationprojects

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