Gordie Howe Sports Complex Teams Up with Tarkett Sports to Create One of Canada’s Most Impressive Community Sports Centers

One of Canada’s largest, most ambitious and popular, year-round, community sports complexes is receiving a massive upgrade; setting itself up as a leading example for communities worldwide.

The improvements will elevate the Gordie Howe Sports Complex, in Saskatoon, to a legendary level of public amenities and extend a strong relationship with the Tarkett Sports family - FieldTurf, Beynon Sports & Playteck Enterprises. Included in the upgrade will be a conversion to premium FieldTurf surfaces (including Canada’s first outdoor FieldTurf CORE sports field); adding a winter speed skating oval that converts into a summer outdoor Beynon track by Playteck Enterprises; plus, new indoor and outdoor baseball and softball diamonds, and much more.

“Our history with the Saskatoon sports community goes back to 2005 when we first installed our playing fields at the SaskTel Soccer Centre. Over the years, this relationship has continued to grow and in 2014 we were delighted to build our first FieldTurf Revolution field at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex,” said Eric Daliere, President, Tarkett Sports. “Led by the Friends of the Bowl, this community is leveraging the combined strengths of our Tarkett family by utilizing the unique features in every product we offer; from the debut of our CORE system to the use of FieldTurf Armour to create a winter speed skating track on top of an outdoor Beynon IAAF certified athletic running track - this is a dream project for us.”

Strong community support spearheaded by the visionary leaders of the Friends of the Bowl has experienced significant financial donations from multiple donors and has been encouraged by a supportive Saskatoon City Council.

“Whereas our Mission with the ‘Friends of the Bowl’ is to improve all sporting facilities within the Gordie Howe Sports Complex for the benefit of all citizens of Saskatoon, we are thrilled to be partnering with FieldTurf, Beynon Sports, Playteck Enterprises and its various product lines to ensure that we have the very best of sports surfaces in all areas to be used by all for many years to come,” stated Bryan Kostersoski, Chairperson.

In total, multiple sporting activities will be featured at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex, including football (tackle, flag and touch), soccer, softball, baseball, speed skating, cross-country skiing, track and field, ultimate frisbee, hockey, rugby and lacrosse.

Upgrading the existing facilities at the complex will continue to allow the hosting of future national and international sports championships, now in even more activities than ever before.

Details of newly added features include:

• Canada’s first outdoor FieldTurf CORE system. The world’s first multi-layer, dual-polymer turf fiber will debut at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.
• New, indoor, 60,000 square foot multi-sport training center featuring Beynon Sports PolyTurf flooring for weightlifting spaces and general areas, plus indoor FieldTurf fields for softball/baseball infield diamonds.
• New Beynon Sports BSS 2000 track and field surface built to Class II IAAF certification standards will be one of the largest and most prestigious athletic facilities across Canada. This unique, 400-meter track with all associated field events as well, will convert to a speed skating oval for use by the skating community throughout the winter months.
• Two all-weather, year-round, outdoor FieldTurf baseball infields.
• Batting cages, both indoor and outdoor.

The complex was originally created as part of an existing city park and renamed and expanded to honor “Mr. Hockey”, the legendary Gordie Howe, a native son of Saskatoon. From 1946 to 1980, Howe played twenty-six seasons in the National Hockey League and six seasons in the World Hockey Association; his first 25 seasons were spent with the Detroit Red Wings. The support of the Howe family with this city complex continues to this day. Construction on the new additions to the complex begin in April and scheduled for completion by late 2018.

More about the products slated for the Gordie Howe Sports Complex:

FieldTurf CORE is the world’s first multi-layer dual-polymer fiber. Engineered as the premier system, CORE is designed to deliver a more realistic, textured, grass-like shape with optimal durability and resilience. The system is constructed to deliver the highest fiber performance and resiliency available on the market. CORE is designed to provide elite high schools, high level collegiate programs and professional teams with a system that exceeds even FieldTurf’s current industry-leading products.

Beynon Sports BSS 2000 This Olympic-caliber track system is designed to deliver safe daily training and still be exceptionally fast on race day. The track features a force reduction layer of high performance butyl rubber and full-depth color polyurethane, finished with Beynon’s specialized Hobart Texture™, engineered to eliminate the EPDM granule migration found in traditional embedded track systems.

Beynon Sports PolyTurf Plus is a seamless sports flooring option, manufactured by Beynon Sports. This polyurethane pad and pour system is formulated for superior durability, precise game line markings, and fast installation. PolyTurf Plus Pad and Pour is also GREENGUARD Gold certified, representing a higher standard of indoor air quality. It is an excellent solution for schools and physical training areas.

FieldTurf Armour Designed to minimize wear and damage to your track & field surface. FieldTurf Armour protects against surface abrasion, surface and base compaction and contamination of the turf and the infill, as a result of event attendee traffic.

About FieldTurf

When it comes to artificial turf sports fields, FieldTurf is the most trusted brand in the industry. Whether its football, soccer, baseball or any other sport, FieldTurf fields provide athletes with the safety and performance they need to perform at their best, while giving field owners the durability they want to maximize the value of their investment. FieldTurf is the world leader in artificial turf with over 20,000 installations worldwide.

About Beynon Sport & Playteck

Beynon Sports, the leader in track surfacing, is represented in Canada by Playteck Enterprises. Playteck has been installing, innovating and transforming the Canadian track market over the last 30 years. Alongside their nation leading 5 Class II IAAF certified tracks, Playteck is the trusted supplier of University of Alberta, the University of Guelph, University of Victoria, Canada Games Center at the University of Prince Edward Island, Foothills Athletic Park in Calgary and countless University and College projects in Canada.

About Tarkett

Tarkett is a global leader in innovative and sustainable solutions for flooring and sports surfaces. Offering a wide range of products including vinyl, linoleum, carpet, rubber, wood & laminate, synthetic turf and athletic tracks, the Group serves customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. With 12,000 employees and 34 industrial sites, Tarkett sells 1.3 million square meters of flooring every day, for hospitals, schools, housing, hotels, offices, stores and sports fields. Committed to sustainable development, the Group has implemented an eco-innovation strategy and promotes circular economy. Tarkett is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A, ticker TKTT, ISIN: FR0004188670). www.tarkett.com