The game of cricket is booming in Ottawa, and the city is eyeing a new site to build a full-sized outdoor regulation pitch for people to play on. Gaurav Arora, the president of the Ottawa Valley Cricket Association, says the popularity of the sport here has exploded since he began playing the sport more than a decade ago. “When I joined cricket in 2010, we had like around 18 or 20 teams. Right now, we have 42 teams and we don’t have enough grounds,” he said. Arora says the sport is so popular they have more than a dozen teams on a waitlist, but they have to rent out spaces and share grounds with other sports. “We have to have more grounds to accommodate more players,” he explains. So, the City of Ottawa is looking to build the areas first dedicated cricket pitch. “There has been a long-standing need to develop a full-size cricket pitch in Ottawa to meet the growing demands of the cricket sporting community,” the City of Ottawa said. “Beryl Gaffney Park has been identified as a prime site for this facility, as the park features an extensive open green space that can accommodate the required field dimensions and orientation of a full-size cricket pitch.” The proposed project would include a 100-metre by 125-metre pitch, with an additional 10 metres of level run out area around the pitch. The project would also add 22 new parking spaces to the area, for a total of 62 spaces, and relocate the existing gravel pathway that crosses the open space where the pitch would go, to connect with other pathways in the park. “We’re trying to provide an alternative where they can go have that opportunity to play the sport that they love and be inclusive,” explains Coun. David Brown. Arora says the park is the best location because it’s central to where many members live and where the demand for cricket is growing most. “This is quite central and easily accessible with the parking so that we are not disrupting with anything — that everything remains the same,” he explains. The area is a popular trail for off leash dog walking. April Walsh uses the trail and says she supports the need for a dedicated cricket area but says the number of parking spaces that are proposed still won’t be enough, especially in the summer. “I think the city should look at going to another area, looking at a larger parcel of land where they can put 2 or 3 fields and a clubhouse,” she explains. The city has launched a public consultation and says the public will continue to be able to use the park. With demand growing for cricket in Ottawa, Arora says it’s important to meet the need for the next generation. “Youth development is very important, and we cannot develop youth,” he explains. “Dedicated cricket grounds are very, very important.”
