By Mark Squibb
September 22, 2023 Edition
Councillor Bill Antle noted during this week’s city council meeting that work is continuing at the Team Gushue Baseball field in preparation for the 2025 Canada Summer Games, as the City received a shipment of 53 containers of clay and brick earlier this week.
Recreation Director Jason Collins said that preparing for the Games has been a joint effort by staff across all departments.
“We started yesterday clearing sand, and as councillor Antle referenced, a lot of clay has arrived, so hopefully that will start going down later this week,” said Collins. “Actually, someone was down from Baseball Canada the other day and they seemed very impressed with what was happening and with what the field is going to be like.”
Collins said an employee of Halifax Seed, the company supplying the clay, will visit Mount Pearl next week.
“They’re going to work with staff and work with our baseball association on building mounds and giving them some tips on how to maintain the clay, because it is very different than dealing with sand,” said Collins. “It’s certainly been a group effort, and I do think our staff are really enjoying the chance to build something. They’re really enjoying it, and so it’s great to see.”
The 2025 Games will mark the fourth time since their inception in 1967 that Newfoundland and Labrador have hosted them.
The province hosted the Summer Games in St. John’s in 1977 and in 1999, and the Winter Games in Corner Brook in 1999. The 2025 Canada Summer Games will be hosted by the City of St. John’s from August 8-24, 2025 with Mount Pearl, Conception Bay South, Paradise, and Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove also hosting some of the competitions.
