The Town of Halton Hills is one step closer to having its first cricket pitch.
During their meeting this week, local councillors endorsed the Halton Hills Cricket Club’s proposal to build a cricket pitch in Trafalgar Sports Park. The decision will be ratified at the March 3 council meeting.
The planned site for the pitch is between fields 8 and 9 at Trafalgar Sports Park. The pitch will be a strip of synthetic turf 20.12 metres long and 3.05 metres wide, the standard dimensions set by the International Cricket Council. Both soccer fields will be utilized for the remainder of the playing field.
The staff report noted that “fields 8 and 9 were originally designed to be multipurpose, including allowing for cricket.” Primarily used as soccer fields, they have also been utilized for lacrosse and flag football.
The two fields will still be available for other groups when not in use for cricket matches.
“This is a project that I believe will greatly benefit our youth and our community,” said cricket club president Sohail Sohaib during a presentation to council.
“Establishing a cricket ground in Halton Hills is not just about sport. It’s about investing in our youth, fostering community spirit and embracing the cultural diversity that makes our community unique.”
The Halton Hills Cricket Club was established in 2021 and has more than 50 members. It has multiple teams competing in leagues in the GTA.
WIth its own pitch, Sohaib said the club hopes to create a 10-team league that would host more than 50 matches between mid-May and late September. It would also offer youth development clinics, and Sohaib said the club already has members that “played first-class cricket across Europe and Asia” to lead the clinics.
The cricket club has been using ball diamonds to play matches, including a tournament it hosted last September, but they're not ideal as they produce inconsistent bounces on deliveries due to uneven surfaces.
Following council approval, work could begin on Mar. 15 and be completed as early as Apr. 13. The estimated cost is $9,500, which the club is providing through fundraising. The club will also be responsible for any costs associated with maintaining the pitch.
Existing bleachers will be moved to the opposite sides of the fields so they're not in the cricket ground field of play. The Georgetown Soccer Club raised a concern that spectators and player benches are required to be on opposite sides of a field. The Town proposed that player benches could be moved to the area between the fields, and roll-away benches could be utilized to allow for their removal when the field is being used for cricket.
Sohaib was asked about the club’s current and future needs for pitches.
“For now, one pitch would be enough,” he said, “but rest assured in a couple of years after this is a massive success, I’ll be back here again showing my appreciation and asking for another pitch or two.”
“This is really thrilling to see this is here after a lot of years of us hearing about the growth of cricket in Halton Hills and requests that have come up in the past,” noted Councillor Clark Somerville.