A new Edmonton-area indoor facility for sports including basketball, volleyball, pickleball and soccer is now open. The Center North opened its doors on Thursday in the southwest corner of St. Albert, close to Anthony Henday Drive and the city limit with Edmonton. Its 170,000 square feet of space includes 15 pickleball courts, 10 volleyball courts, six basketball courts and two soccer pitches. The facility is one of three run by The Centers, joining a pickleball-volleyball complex on Edmonton’s west end and a pickleball one on the south side. Michael Dingwall, chief executive officer of The Centers, said the new facility is helping meet the continually growing demand for space for several disciplines. “All sports right now, especially in a winter climate like in Edmonton, are seeing excessive demand for the court capacity that’s out there,” Dingwall told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday. “Opening up a 170,000-square-foot facility across all sports should help alleviate a lot of that demand and bring a lot of people here and alleviate demand at other locations as well.” The Centers North offers space for outside groups and organizes its own leagues and activities for different age groups. “We have individuals attending youth programmes. We have adult leagues. We have outside organisations renting courts, whether that’s small group teams, whether that’s private lessons, or large organizations,” Dingwall said. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Noah Rishaug
