Championships pause construction at Gordie Howe Sports Complex

A recent halt to construction at the new Gordie Howe Sports Complex is no cause for concern, according to the group’s fundraising chairperson.

A section of construction next to the new track and field at the Clarence Downey Speed Skating Oval has been overtaken by weeds and grass as multiple weeks of inactivity begin to show.

While many people in the baseball and softball communities speculated what a lack of construction during peak summer hours could mean for the ever-changing Gordie Howe Sports Complex, Friends of the Bowl chairperson Bryan Kosteroski said construction will resume once activity in the area slows down.

“We’re just maneuvering different things right now,” Kosteroski said. “We’re hosting some major events here with three Canadian championships in softball, we’re hosting a major event as SMF Field this weekend, and (there’s) also the baseball westerns coming in.

We’re taking about a three week lull in construction, so we can accommodate all the visitors from across Canada here to the complex.”

Friends of the Bowl Foundation, the not-for-profit corporation that is fundraising the necessary money needed for the expansive project, has spent roughly $44 million of the $66 million needed to finish the project that includes upgrades and additions to SMF Field, Joe Gallagher Field, Bob Van Impe Stadium, Cairns Field, Leakos Field, Clarence Downey Skating Oval, Gordie Howe Kinsmen Arena and the new Sports Training and Development Centre.

Kosteroski said work is still ongoing to raise the remaining funds needed to finish the final phase of construction.

“Our fundraising campaign team is out and about getting some more dollars for us, so we can start again this fall,” he said. “Our capital campaign is going hard. We need another $20-million to finish this thing off.”