A new high-performance cricket facility officially opened on Saturday in La Barrière Park. City officials joined members of the Manitoba Cricket Association (MCA) and community partners Saturday morning, to celebrate the launch of the cricket fields. The site is on city-owned land leased to the MCA. It now features three high-performance pitches, four practice nets, a batting cage, three shade structures and more than 100 newly planted trees. “As Winnipeg grows through immigration, the game of cricket is growing just as rapidly,” said Waverley West councillor Janice Lukes, in media release. “But cricket is more than just a game – in Winnipeg it’s a powerful bridge that brings diverse communities together through shared passion and friendly rivalry.” Ahad Khojazada is a member of the Manitoba Eagles Cricket Club, and said this opening means more opportunities. “There’s money involved, there’s sponsorship involved. 20 years back, we didn’t have that. Now, a local player can hope of playing in bigger leagues, playing for the country to represent. “It just makes me happy that we are where we dreamed of 20 years ago. I continue to hope and see it grow. That’s my dream – to see our Winnipeg team win the national level.” The project began in 2018 with a single pitch being built. Since the start, more than $1.1 million was funded from various sources. About $950,000 of the funding came from Lukes’ ward allocation. Other contributions came from councillors Markus Chambers of St. Norbert-Seine River, Brian Mayes of St. Vital, Devi Sharma of Old Kildonan, Matt Allard of St. Boniface, along with former councillors of St. James and Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood.
