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The Tsuut’ina Seven Chiefs Sportsplex had its official opening over the long weekend, and members of the nation’s council are inviting the public from inside and outside the reserve to visit the new sports recreation mega-project.
The $55.6-million sports centre has some impressive facilities, including a 2,000-seat hockey arena, a second arena with seating for 500 and a state-of-the-art gym, which is open to the public.
There is also an outdoor rink and the 5,000-seat Chief Jim Starlight Centre, which is a multi-use gymnasium for basketball, volleyball and badminton, as well as track and field. But that space will also be used for community events like powwows, graduations and trade shows, said Council Member LeeRoy Meguinis.
“It can’t just be a hockey arena and gym floor,” Meguinis said, stressing the importance of the building to the nation’s 1,000 youth. “It’s giving our people the opportunity that is right in their own backyard so they don’t have to travel.”
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The sportsplex took more than two years to build and project manager Brendon Crane said the centre ends a five-year void in the community after the old facility was torn down to make way for the new complex.
He said the sportsplex will act as a home base for the nation and help ensure a bright future for generations to come.
“The community has been driving past this for the past 2½ years, seeing it from the ground up, and now they can come in and enjoy it,” Crane said, adding the community now has an accessible recreation centre within reserve limits while still being inclusive to the rest of Calgary.
“I think that’s kind of the mandate for this, to have open doors,” Crane said. “We want to share this with other First Nations and, of course, the city of Calgary.”
The facility is the second major project to open in the Tsuut’ina Nation in less than a year.
The unveiling of the sportsplex follows the opening of the Tsuut’ina Cultural Museum last summer and Chief Lee Crowchild said the new facility builds on the successes of the projects like the Grey Eagle Casino.
The new arenas could help Calgary hockey associations struggling with a lack of available ice after the city ordered a temporary closure of Jack Setters Arena due to safety concerns over snow accumulation and the collapse of the Fairview Arena roof last year.
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Meguinis said the nation has been approached by some “major teams” in Calgary that want to use the new facility, some even with a desire for the sportsplex to be their home arena.
And while Crowchild said the centre will help “build bridges and tear down walls” between Calgary and the nation, Meguinis said talks with teams outside the nation will be on hold for at least a year so the Tsuut’ina community can start rebuilding its Seven Chiefs men’s hockey team.
“What we’ve told them is, ‘Let Tsuu’tina enjoy their building.’ We didn’t close talks. We will be sitting at the table in the near future,” he said, adding the rinks have also been visited by staff from both the Calgary Hitmen and the Calgary Flames.
“We’re not here to compete with Calgary,” Meguinis said. “We welcome Calgary to come and try our facility … we want life-long relationships.”
The Seven Chiefs Sportsplex is located at 19 Bullhead Rd. on the Tsuut’ina Nation, across from the administration building.
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