If you need to paint an accurate picture of just how much growth we’re seeing in many areas of Western Canada, go for a drive.
I actually commute every day from Airdrie to the University of Calgary for work and, most days, it takes me through a new Calgary community called Livingston.
It’s hard to fathom how this whole area used to be nothing but farmland and now it’s home to hundreds of people already with more homes still popping up every day.
As I was commuting in on Centre Street from the north a few weeks ago, something caught my eye: a baseball field.
It’s not done yet, but the fence is up, the sod is out and the shale was in a giant pile in the infield waiting to be spread out.
It looks like it’ll be a really nice addition to Calgary’s crop of fields, which I’ve said have lagged behind in many respects over the years … and it’s not just baseball either.
The issue has taken centre stage with Sport Calgary’s new “Keep Calgary Playing” advocacy campaign, launched to encourage Calgarians to lobby for increased spending on the city’s sports system.
The numbers don’t lie and it’s something that we, in the baseball world, should be more vocal about as well.
KIDS ARE MISSING OUT
I was honestly floored when I saw the Sport Calgary data.
More than 57,000 documented waitlisted registrations and instances of unmet demand across numerous sports and recreational activities were identified in 2025-2026.
That’s 57,000+ people (add together the populations of Moose Jaw and Swift Current) who were told, “Thanks for your interest but we just don’t have space for you.”
A big part of this is obviously the number of new people in the community (an additional 273,000 since 2019) while the other part has been the city’s inability to build the services and facilities needed for those new residents, be it health care, education, and yes, even rec centres.
At best, those interested in sport are traveling to peripheral communities to get their sport on (which adds to the strain they’re already feeling) and, at worst, they’re just not playing.
Recreation and sport is a big piece of having a healthy society and we’re failing our communities, especially kids, if we’re not able to give them the opportunities they need to be active.
THE BLUE JAYS BUMP
Travel back in time with me, my friend, to the end of 2025.
I wrote a little opinion piece about the so-called “Blue Jays Bump” and how registrations for baseball would go up, highlighting a major need for coaches, umpires and other volunteers.
Really early on in that editorial, I pointed out that Baseball Alberta was already sounding the alarm about facilities, especially in the urban areas, and how they were being stretched thin.
Now with municipal governments starting up their four-year budget cycle conversations, everyone is hoping they aren’t forgotten and local sports organizations have clearly done their homework.
As another example, Sport Edmonton has released its “Speak 4 Sport” campaign to advocate for sport and recreation in their next four-year budget cycle.
Similar to Calgary’s campaign, it highlights population growth, how many participants are trying to get into sport, and the funding gap that exists.
It’s not just the major cities either. After my editorial, I received a few notes from people in small communities around both Alberta and Saskatchewan saying they were feeling the post-pandemic pinch, adding any jump in registration would make it difficult to get everyone onto a diamond.
With some baseball associations reporting 30 per cent increases heading into 2026, it’s a very real example of the infrastructure deficit that’s possible in both provinces if communities weren’t forward-thinking enough.
NOT JUST GOVERNMENT CASH
“But Joe, there’s only one taxpayer.”
That was a line I heard a lot of when I was a talk show host in Calgary doing my best to advocate for the values of sport.
At the time, the debate was raging on about the new arena, but I brought it back to the grassroots as well, after I had conversations with city planners about their challenges in staying ahead of population jumps while keeping budgets in line.
And I will agree that we can’t break the bank on sport and rec amenities, especially in the midst of an affordability crisis.
However, I don’t think it’s smart of us to keep pushing the issue off year after year hoping for some extra dollar bills to fall from imaginary money trees.
I believe the answer lies in getting creative with how we fund these kinds of projects.
One term that used to be pretty prevalent in the news cycle but has seemingly gone astray is “P3” – public-private partnership.
Once floated as a possible remedy for the lack of schools in Alberta, these kinds of partnerships have already been used to build some multi-sport/multi-use facilities. Maybe we need to give these baseball organizations (and sports organizations in general) the knowledge and tools to approach potential partners with game plans to get those private partners on board.
The other thing I think we, as a society, need to start thinking about is how to work together on major sports initiatives.
Whether it’s the ongoing development at Pogadl Park in Sylvan Lake, which is the home of Gulls Stadium but will also host football and soccer fields as well, or the new $10-million sports dome in Drayton Valley, it is possible to get these things done.
It’s just a matter of having the vision to get it done and being willing to work together for our communities.
Just like with schools, hospitals and other services, recreation services should be a key part of being thoughtful in growing healthy communities. Think of it as an investment in our future and not as some “nice to have” that we can keep passing the buck on.
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