SHAWINIGAN - The Montreal Impact Foundation, in collaboration with the City of Shawinigan, proudly inaugurated on Thursday the parc Paul-André-Potvin multisport mini-field in Shawinigan, in the Mauricie region.
The product of more than a full year of diligent work by the Foundation, the City and its multiple partners, the mini-field is the first of its kind to be unveiled by the Foundation outside the Greater Montreal Area and the third overall, after the ones built at parc Champdoré, in Saint-Michel (in 2018), and parc Joe-Beef, in Pointe-Saint-Charles (in 2019).
“The Foundation is always proud to be able to offer a multisport mini-field to various youth communities and their families throughout Quebec. It is precisely through facilities such as this that the Foundation aims to continue to foster social inclusion by providing a safe place for youth to have fun, stay active and discover their passion for sports. I would also like to thank the City of Shawinigan for its invaluable collaboration in this endeavour, which allowed us to fully realize our vision. Secondly, we are pleased to announce the Foundation's next chapter, including the intention to build a mini-field in Laval in 2022, followed by the confirmation of a fifth pitch in Dolbeau-Mistassini, Lac-Saint-Jean, in 2023, in a brand-new park," said Foundation President Carmie Frassetti Saputo.
“It is a privilege for Shawinigan to be the first city outside Montreal to receive a multi-sport mini-field from the Montreal Impact Foundation. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire organization for its donation,” explained Michel Angers, Mayor of Shawinigan. “This addition to parc Paul-André-Potvin is a plus for our citizens and it complements the tennis and splash pads that are already there. It's a great sports destination for everyone,” he added.
The field will serve a variety of summer sports activities with the park officially open to the public as of today, September 9.
In attendance to mark the occasion were CF Montréal Academy Director Patrick Leduc, Academy Development Director of External Programs Marinos Papageorgopoulos, U13 Club Academy coach Romain Girard, as well as four players from CF Montréal’s first team. Among them were goalkeeper Sebastian Breza, defenders Zachary Brault-Guillard and Zorhan Bassong, as well as midfielder Mathieu Choinière, who all played a few mini-games with local youths from Jacques-Plante Elementary School.
The Foundation assumed all costs related to construction of the field, which amounted to more than $300,000, including the installation of the surface, goals, and a fence delimiting the playing area.
