Gordon Bell Students Deserve Their Own Soccer Field

The redevelopment of the former site used by a car dealership into a soccer field to benefit the high school students of Gordon Bell is likely to start at the beginning of spring or summer of 2011. This property located on Portage Avenue was acquired by the Winnipeg School Division from Canada Post. This acquisition was the result of an extensive lobbying campaign by community activists and the students & graduates of Gordon Bell High School.


Even before the construction of this new site will come into view, there will be a good deal of planning and design involved. Not to forget, budget constraints which will predict the final outcome of the project will be a vital issue. Just like in any major project, constant deliberations and consultations are expected. I believe that what makes any major project good and successful are transparency and a good exchange of communication. There’s no foolproof way to avoid conflicts in any undertaking but as long as this proposed project is handled well by the respective parties, the project will come into fruition.

There have been different opinions and views regarding this proposed project but frankly, I am happy that such an endeavour is underway. As a parent, I am excited for the students of Gordon Bell High School as well as their families, who will eventually have the opportunity to be involved in sports and make useful of their time on its grounds. Such a facility will encourage a lot of these young people to be involved in sports and it could even be a precursor to better education and personal development. Contrary to what others say that Gordon Bell High School doesn’t deserve to have its own facility, well I believe that this school truly deserves to have such a sports facility that they can call their own. The children in this school deserve to have such a facility, while their counterparts in other areas of Winnipeg have an equally or better facilities and programs than this school has ever had.  Personally, I don’t mind so much whether the design of this proposed soccer field doesn’t come close to an Olympic-sized soccer field  -what’s important is the fact that the school division is giving something back to their students, their families and the community in general. In this case, a vision to improve the education and well-being of students at Gordon Bell High School is taken into consideration; definitely a thing to be gleeful about.

To read the article on Gordon Bell High School's proposed soccer field, please click here.

Photo credits: WAYNE.GLOWACKI@FREEPRESS.MB.CA from http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/