Great people make great projects.
Never have those words resonated more so than at the grand opening of the Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field on June 18.
After five years in the making and roughly $2 million later, the dream finally became a reality as the red ribbon was cut and the field was officially opened, despite having been used by football, soccer, and rugby teams throughout this past year.
The Town of Cochrane, the Rocky View school board, community members and every level of government contributed to this labour of love, but three men, Cameron Cote, Dean Lang, and Paul McLean, were the architects and founders of this quest to give Cochrane athletes a viable turf field option.
“About five years ago, we raised our first $25,000 from the Bow River Campground, and we thought, ‘only $1,750,000 left to go,’” McLean reflected. “We worked tirelessly and worked with good partners in both the town and the municipality. A window started to open and we knew we could get this accomplished.”
McLean credits a fundraiser he and his group had at Cochrane Toyota two years ago as the turning point when things started to begin accelerating.
“It was probably one of the largest sports parties in the town’s history,” he said. “There were hundreds of people there and dignitaries such as (then Calgary Stampeders head coach) John Hufnagel. It exemplified that this community was in the game and ready to get things done.
“We raised a quarter-of-a-million dollars, and that was when we started getting recognition from the media.”
Originally when first looking at turf options, McLean, who works as a business consultant and has coached football at the minor levels with the Cochrane Lions and the other founders, had contemplated installing McMahon Stadium’s old turf at Legacy but after much debate decided against it.
“No different than in sports, there’s hurdles you have to overcome in life,” he said. “We just kept persevering and wouldn’t let go. We looked at the option of buying McMahon’s old turf, but after doing the numbers we worked a bit harder at bringing a brand new turf in and getting across the finish line.”
From a personal standpoint, McLean decided to get involved in the project after coaching football, and becoming frustrated with the lack of quality fields his teams played on.
“When I was the head coach of the bantam football team, the thing that really woke me up was we were playing on fields which weren’t very good in many aspects,” he said. “That’s why I decided to take on this initiative.”
The success of the project is extra sweet for McLean as well, considering his son, who is now in high school, can continue to use the field his father put so much of his time and soul into finishing.
“I’m very fortunate to still have (my son) play on this field,” McLean said. “We wanted to give athletes a quality, professional place to play, which could extend the season for all field sports.”
Furthermore, the name Legacy itself seems more than fitting considering many of those people who made it all possible probably won’t ever play on the field itself but did it out of a dream of making Cochrane a better place to play sports for their children and grandchildren.
“It’s very fitting,” McLean said of the name. “We tossed a couple of names around with Spray Lake, and Legacy really kicked.
“We felt it would be a legacy not just for us, but for all those who contributed. We have a town with a field that was installed like CFL ones at McMahon and other stadiums. No other town around here can say that.”
Despite all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the grand opening, McLean and his partners are still not done with the field, and are already looking to do upgrades.
“We want to raise another $100,000,” he said. “We hope that we can raise half of that through the community from personal and corporate donations as well as to continue working with all levels of government.
“It took the hard work and dedication of many people to get here, and it will continue to do so.”
