PRINCE GEORGE – The new Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre will draw and develop top athletes and increase physical activity in Northern B.C., Premier Gordon Campbell said today at the facility’s official opening.
“The Northern Sport Centre will bring together our best athletes and coaches from northern British Columbia under one roof,” said Campbell. “As we move closer to 2010, this facility will support the excellence we need to reach the top of the podium and brings us one step closer to achieving our goal to lead North America in healthy living and physical fitness.”
The 13,000-square-metre facility will house:
- A 2,000-square-metre, three-basketball-court gymnasium with seating for 2,000;
- A field house with room for two indoor soccer fields;
- An elevated, 280-metre indoor track;
- Offices for high-performance sport coaches; sport medicine and physiotherapy services; and,
- Weight and cardio equipment.
Of the $30.75-million cost to build the centre, the Province is providing $20.5 million, with additional funds from the City of Prince George and the University of Northern B.C.
“This new sports centre is another step towards ensuring UNBC remains one of the top small universities in Canada,” said Prince George-Mount Robson MLA Shirley Bond. “The Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre will help us to retain local athletes, as well as draw top talent from across North America to learn and compete at UNBC.”
“This facility will also give Prince George citizens a place to enjoy recreational facilities and further make B.C. a model for healthy living and physical fitness,” said Prince George-Omineca MLA John Rustad.
“The most important thing about the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre is that it is truly a community facility,” said Prince George North MLA Pat Bell. “Everyone from first-class university athletes to local families will benefit from being able to use this centre.”
The new centre will be the home of PacificSport Northern B.C., one of eight regional centres associated with the Canadian Sports Centre Pacific. PacificSport Northern B.C. is committed to providing educational and practical programs to athletes and coaches in northern B.C. that will assist them on their path to excellence.
Over 150 athletes are directly associated with the centre in Prince George and will be provided support and services at the facility through PacificSport. Several of B.C.’s Olympic and aspiring athletes attended the opening of the training facility.
“This facility is the product of an incredible partnership involving the city, the Province, the university, and the construction crews that actually built it,” said UNBC president Don Cozzetto. “But today is also about the future and new opportunities for athletes, students and all citizens of the North.”
For more information on the Charles Jago Sport Centre, visit www.unbc.ca/nsc/index.html.
