Servicing a growing community

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This article was published 23/04/2019 (2570 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

No neighbourhood in northeast Winnipeg is growing as quickly as West Transcona, which provides opportunity and poses challenges for Park City West Community Centre.

“We’ll be absorbing all that new area behind Costco, and the new apartments and housing going in,” said club president Mike Purdy.

The centre, which was built in the early 1980s and is located at 115 Sanford Fleming Rd., is home to three outdoor ice rinks, ball diamonds, soccer pitches, a gym, hall, an outdoor splash pad, two tennis courts, and an outdoor basketball court.

“That was a really good add for the club,” Purdy said, noting there weren’t many outdoor tennis courts in the area. “They go 24-7 during the summertime.”

While soccer is likely Park City West’s biggest sport, hockey, ringette, hardball and softball also remain popular.

“We also have classes in the evening, we have zumba, boot camps, taekwondo, pilates and yoga through the winter,” Leila Dance, director of operations, added. “We do monthly preteen dances, we’re looking at doing movie nights.”

A day care rents gym space Monday to Friday. In the summer months, the centre offers a City-run drop-in program for youth.

“We had 350 kids come through over the course of the six weeks the program ran,” Dance said.
Like many other community centres, Park City West is run by a 13-member volunteer board of directors.

“We’ve been fortunate that we’ve had people step up,” Purdy said. “This year’s a little odd, because we have more vacant positions than we’re used to.”

Park City West receives operating grants from the City of Winnipeg, and the rest of its  funding comes from sports and rental fees.

Keeping sports equipment current alone costs thousands of dollars a year.

“Jerseys are a big thing, hockey, ringette, soccer,” Purdy said. “They’re not inexpensive, and they don’t last forever.”

Dance and three part-time staff members (they’re looking at hiring a fourth) keep the place running, while volunteers handle the rest.

“It’s always a challenge (getting volunteers),” Purdy admitted. “We struggle to get coaches, but its easier, because you can put all the parents in a room and tell them that if someone doesn’t step up to coach, their kids won’t get to play. It’s disheartening, sometimes.”

With an annual operating budget of just over $500,000, Purdy said Park City West is lucky to end up with a surplus at the end of each fiscal year.

“If we had $10,000 left at the end of the year, we’d be ecstatic,” he said.
“A lot of times we’re in a deficit position, $5,000 to $10,000 in the hole… We just want the kids to have a safe place to come and play with their friends.”