Sporting Events At Irving Oil Field House Are A Win For The Saint John Economy
SAINT JOHN – More than 340 athletes from the ages of eight to 80 from across the Maritimes competed at the N.B. Indoor Track and Field Championships and University Invitational last weekend at the new Irving Oil Field House in east Saint John.
Since it opened late last fall, the new facility has become a critical piece of the local sports and fitness scene, with nearly 70 different local groups doing activities there, including soccer, pickle ball, and even a play to be staged there in May.
But the field house is also hosting large events that bring people in from outside the community that lifts the economy as a whole, filling the hotels and restaurants in the area too.
The track events last weekend were a prime example of ones that otherwise wouldn’t have come to the city, says Bill MacMackin, president of the Field House board of directors.
“None of these events came to Saint John in the past,” says MacMackin. “There was nowhere to put them.”
There has been much debate of late over the costs of running large sports and entertainment facilities like TD Station and the Canada Games Aquatic Centre. MacMackin says those publicly owned facilities and ones like the Field House, which is operated by a non-profit organization, can create economic opportunities for the city as well.
“We want to turn some of the focus back toward what they generate in terms of impact and return on investment for the community,” says MacMackin.
MacMackin says the local groups and regular members are an important component of the success of the facility but so are the larger regional and national events.
“There’s always been a sports tourism aspect to the business plan that’s critical to its success and sustainability,” said MacMackin.
In the development phase, MacMackin visited more than 60 similar facilities around the world but he was still surprised by the breadth of events that could be hosted at the field house.
In the spring, for example, Badminton New Brunswick will host a tournament there, which will involve temporarily removing the turf to accommodate nine courts.
“Events like that never hit our radar back when we were doing the business plan,” says MacMackin. “We were looking at field sports like soccer. Soccer NB, local clubs and other field sports are making lots of use of the facility. Then once you take out the turf, you have a wide-open gymnasium space you can do all kinds of things in.”
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Victoria Clarke, executive director of Discover Saint John, says events like the 2018 Canada 55+ Games are a huge boost to the local economy. She’s excited to have another community asset that’s a draw for national and regional sports events.
“In March, I’ll be going to the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance annual conference, and part of it is speed-dating with all the national sports organizations,” says Clarke. “Now I can say we have this asset and here are things we’ve already booked that show its capability. We have a straight line to economic impact on that.”
The facility has been busy with events since it opened late last fall. Just weeks after it opened, it hosted its first track meet with about 150 athletes, coach education events, a soccer tournament over the Christmas break and a sports awards event.
It also had outside organizations getting their first look that could lead to future bookings – from meetings with Athletics Canada, the National Track and Field Association to a site visit by Soccer Canada before it was even open.
The Saint John YMCA is in charge of operating the facility and president and CEO Shilo Boucher says Ys across the country recognize this is a unique asset.
“It’s getting excitement from across Canada and they want to come and see what it’s all about and whether it’s a model they want to look at for their communities,” says Boucher.
The field house has some big events locked in for the next year. The Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Track and Field Championships will take place there later this month – a “500-room event” for the hotel business, says MacMackin.
A year from now, the facility will host the Canadian U Sports Track and Field Championships, a “700-room event” over four days, he says.
There is also potential for other large events on the horizon in sports like Ultimate frisbee and karate.
“The Field House is busting outside of the parameters of what we were going to go for,” says Clarke.
MacMackin says the facility is already booming with events now and expects it will become even busier in the future.
“Those are the events we have hitting the radar now, less than four months into our business life,” says MacMackin. “It’s definitely having an impact on that part of town and the rest of the city.”
This story was sponsored by Discover Saint John.