Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Sports Centre greeted with enthusiasm
- Published on January 19th, 2011
- Elisabeth Faure
If the amount of curious locals at this weekend’s Open House is any indicator, CDN/NDG’s new sports centre won’t have trouble attracting people. The Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Sports Centre, located in Benny Park (at 6445 Monkland Ave.), saw people turning up in big numbers to check out the brand-new $15 million facility. The centre features two swimming pools, gymnasium, weight room, café, and a green roof.
“I’ve been living in NDG for twenty years, and it’s nice to finally have something within walking distance of the house,” said Dina Bennett. During the open house, her five-year-old daughter happily tore around the gymnasium, while her older brother, aged seven, looked on from the bleachers. Kids took over the gym for the afternoon, playing ball and tag. “We’re meeting all these other little kids ... just having fun,” Bennett said.
Visitors to the centre ran the gamut from families with newborn babies to students, and seniors. “There’s something for everyone here - including us in the over-50 crowd, said Jim Sullivan, relaxing with friends in the centre’s café area. Sullivan lives next door and said he’s looking forward to to using the two pools.
The facility will offer a variety of different 8-week fitness classes, including mini-tennis, tae kwon do, mommy-baby dancing and stroller workouts. CDN/NDG residents can register online from January 17th at www.inscriptionsndg.ca - non-residents must wait until the 18th. Prices range from $30 - $120 per session.
Both the pool and the weight room will be open to the public for free at designated times (the weight room also offers one-to-twelve month memberships, starting from $40 for a month).
“Reaction has been 99.99 per cent positive,” said Loyola city councillor Susan Clarke. Clarke admitted some people were unhappy with the small size of the weight room (one young woman was overheard calling it, “ridiculous”). But she says with a budget of only $15 million, “we had to make choices.”
The biggest choice involved whether to have a larger weight room or add a second pool, heated to a higher temperature than the six-lane, 25-metre pool next to it. The centre chose the second pool. “Talking with most of the people here today, they agree with that choice,” said Clarke, noting the smaller pool will be excellent for children’s swim lessons and senior aqua-fit classes.
The centre’s development was not without controversy. Originally slated to open on vacant space in Benny Farm, the project was moved to the park next door.-
The centre’s development was not without controversy. Originally slated to open on vacant space in Benny Farm (a post-WWII social housing development), the project was moved to the park next door. The loss of park space angered some residents. “(Borough Mayor) Michael Applebaum took an awful lot of heat during the whole process of building this facility,” Clarke admits.
But bad feelings appeared to have eased at the weekends preview. Renata Jsek, a mother of two who lives 15 minutes from the centre was initially disappointed with the centre’s location. “For sure, we were not happy when we saw the park being reduced.” But seeing the finished building appears to have changed her mind. “I think it’s a nice place. I would love to come here.”
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