One week has passed since the official opening of the artificial turf field at Ed Eggerer Athletic Park. The Calgary Gators (Alberta Football League) will host this year’s CMFL National Championship game tomorrow. The Gators will take on the GTA All-Stars in the Saturday game.
"This is considered semi-pro, so it's a very high-level brand of football, and it is a national championship," said Christopher Glass, Head Coach of the George McDougall Mustangs and one of the strongest proponents of building the turf field. "We have a team travelling from Toronto, bringing their friends and family into our city to play this game."
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Glass said that this game is a sign of things to come for Airdrie's sports tourism.
"It's been something I've talked about for a long time, and not less than a week after we open the field, the theory has been proven because we get the national men's national championship football game moved from Calgary to us here in Airdrie," Glass added.
The future of the artificial turf field is all the more important to Glass, as last week's opening and the first game were emotional for him for many reasons.
"Last Friday was one of those days I'll never forget. It started with the initial opening ceremony, which my family was at, and seeing my one-and-a-half-year-old son pick up a football and start running across the field is pretty darn cool."
Glass estimates that 2,000 attendees were in the stands, cheering for the local teams. Two high schools played that evening, christening the field; Bert Church faced off against Cochrane, while George McDougall took on W.H. Croxford.
"We've worked a long time to bring that field to Airdrie, and thank you to the city council for making it happen... Seeing people having to park at the arena because there were so many cars and two great football games that came down to the last minute of each one was a pretty special thing."
According to the City of Airdrie, the city chose to fund the project mainly through the Canada Community Building Fund, using $5.6 million of the grant for the artificial turf field project. Contributions of $300,000 from the Alberta Community Partnership program and $277,500 from Rocky View County through a Community Recreation and Culture Funding Grant also contributed to the project.
The artificial turf field is also expected to attract local sports tournaments.
"Included in the project are upgraded field lighting and press box improvements. The project is estimated to add 615 hours of playable prime time to the field’s use."
This Saturday's game is one week after the official opening ceremonies for the new artificial turf field. Tickets for the game can be purchased online.
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