Transforming downtown into a sports paradise for local youth

“We’re going to have three basketball courts on Central Ave., a football field down 9^th Street, two soccer fields , a kids zone for the little ones, and a hockey rink in the Plaza88 parking lot along with booths representing the different organizations and clubs.”

One of the highlights of the day will be a hockey game played between members of the Prince Albert Police Service and Prince Albert Fire Department.

The day will also feature guest appearances by the Prince Albert Raiders, local teams, and your favorite mascots. There will be speakers throughout the day that are local athletes as well as the special guest speaker, Greg Hendricks, who is an NFL chaplain for the 49ers.

“We are so excited to have Greg Hendricks, chaplain of the 49ers, joining us for the day,” said Meghan Mayer, who is helping organize the event. “We have the Raiders; we have different sports organizations. We’ve got lots of different highlighted guests.”

“He’s (Hendricks) going to be there all day, speaking and hanging out with the kids,” added Manson. “He’s going to take pictures with people and then he’s going to give a presentation to cap things off at the end of the day to talk about how sports and his faith have transformed his life”

So why hold such a massive event for the city in the first place? Mayer and Manson said they wanted to give back to the youth in Prince Albert and not only show them the different sports in the city, but let them know that they matter.

“It’s all about the kids and providing them an opportunity to play sports,” said Manson. “To come out for a fun day, to get a good experience and to also highlight the opportunities in their city.”

“I think sometimes when you’re a youth, you think that you’re alone or that nobody sees you and this is something that is pointing to them saying that there’s a whole community from different businesses and different walks of life that are coming together to celebrate them,” added Mayer.

“I’ve heard so many stories from so many people on how sports have helped them in their life, that it was something that saved them when they were going through hard times.”

The event will also highlight downtown Prince Albert as the streets around Plaza 88 will be used for those attending and playing the different sports. Mayer said she’s in love with the city and the downtown and hopes this helps bring vibrancy to the area.

“I think that if we can turn the positivity around for our downtown and bring people downtown that we can see some big, positive changes,” she said.

“I think our downtown is underrated and it has a lot of potential to thrive,” added Manson “So we want to do something for the downtown area as well.”

An event of this magnitude requires a lot of work from volunteers in the community, which the coordinators are still looking for.

“Last years event was such a success and we want to build off of that. We’ve added more local clubs, another soccer field, space for younger kids to play, and we are expecting attendance to rise since people now have seen just how impactful and fun this event is,” said Manson. “We are so thankful to everyone who made our inaugural event such a success by sponsoring, volunteering, or by showing up and participating in the fun!”

(Submitted photo)

Sports on Central is a community event funded by the community! A big thank you to Access Tire, the Car Guys at Mann-Northway, Tash’s Flooring, Markit Signs, and Sask Lotteries for already joining the team as platinum sponsors. The event is still looking for sponsorship so if you would like to get involved in this way please reach out to sportsoncentral@gmail.com

Sports on Central has reached out to many local sports organizations and would love to hear from other groups interested in joining Sports on Central. You can find all the details and how to volunteer or get involved at its official website, or follow them on their social media channels.

https://www.facebook.com/SportsonCentral

https://www.instagram.com/sportsoncentral/

https://www.tiktok.com/@sportsoncentral

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Transforming downtown into a sports paradise for local youth

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