While the lack of sports facilities is felt in the highly frequented sector of the Saint-Léonard sports complex, the borough wishes to proceed with the redevelopment of the natural soccer field already present. The construction of a basketball court with lighting is also being considered.
Located near the complex, students from Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry high school make up most of the attendance at these facilities.
The educational center brings together more than 2,800 students as well as a major Sports-Studies program, as many users of these multisport facilities located in the heart of Saint-Léonard.
With these new developments, the Borough explains that they could thus benefit from a better offer of these infrastructures during school and extracurricular hours, in addition to offering additional spaces for free sports.
“The north-south repositioning of the soccer field, the creation of a path, the development of a new basketball court and the installation of a lighting system will allow this area, currently partitioned, to be more visible and safer for everyone. ”
Extract from a press release from the Saint-Léonard borough.
In parallel, Saint-Léonard Soccer Association, with more than 1,800 members, regularly expressed its need for soccer fields in order to continue its development and its ever-growing programming.
The Club basketball St-Léonard as well as the Maison de jeunes de Saint-Léonard could also extend their summer activities such as day camps and other sporting events such as Inter Parcs competitions and street games.
Strategic planning
A meeting had previously taken place with representatives of the secondary school, the borough and the Montreal Police Department (SPVM) in order to discuss in particular the issues caused by the location of this area.
As a result of this, it was determined that sports infrastructures and additional amenities would help to increase the number of visitors to the area and make it safer.
The natural soccer field would therefore be repositioned along a north-south axis, and the future basketball court would emerge near it.
The new developments of these two sports arenas would unclog the existing arena of the central synthetic soccer field.
They would also provide a space for young people to practice basketball, another sport that is increasingly popular in Saint-Léonard.
Funding
The cost estimate for these two developments totals nearly $ 675,000.
The submission of these two projects is part of the City of Montreal’s Outdoor Sports Facilities Program (PISE).
This allows the boroughs to benefit from a financial contribution from the City and to carry out projects in the parks and green spaces of their territory.
For the period 2022-2025, the financial assistance provided for under the PISE is $ 56.1 million for all the boroughs of Montreal concerned.
Financial assistance from the City would correspond to a maximum of 80% of eligible costs. The rest of the operating and programming costs will be entirely assumed by the Borough of Saint-Léonard.
