Fall Construction: Field House, Health and Wellness Complex
The most significant recreational facility ever built for Winnipeg’s inner city community is
going to add academic and research opportunities on campus, offer more choices for UWinnipeg students and athletes, and create a safe place for neighbourhood children to blossom. Construction begins this summer with doors set to open in Fall 2014. The new Field House is made possible by a $15 million capital investment from the Province of
Manitoba. The City of Winnipeg has also taken a leadership role with a
$2 million dollar commitment.
The new Field House, Health and Wellness Complex will be connected via skywalk to an
upgraded Duckworth Centre and Bill Wedlake Fitness Centre, forming a full city block
devoted to physical activity and health and wellness on Spence Street.
The Field House will feature three indoor, year-round fields for soccer, flag football,
ultimate, baseball, and track and field, as well as cultural and community events. It will
also include a large multi-use artificial turf field, a sprint track, a practice gym, a multi-
events room, retail and office space, and a studio for activities such as dance and yoga.
The new Health and Wellness Centre will offer an expanded athletic therapy clinic,
primary health care, chiropractic treatment, x-ray facilities, and nutrition and obesity
programs that will be open to the inner city community.
A unique coalition of eighteen youth-serving agencies in Winnipeg is offering input and
advice to UWinnipeg as the new Field House takes shape. Groups such as the Boys and
Girls Clubs, Rossbrook House, Spence Neighbourhood Association, Magnus Eliason
Recreation Centre, and West Broadway Centre are partnering with UWinnipeg to provide
more recreational opportunities to inner city youth.
As an immigrant himself from Jamaica, Ken Opaleke is passionate about helping inner city
area youth achieve their potential.
“It will be phenomenal to have a new Field House a
stone’s throw from our neighbourhood, a place that kids can walk to and be empowered
to come together as a unit on a team,” said Opaleke, a youth outreach worker with the
West Broadway