Edmonton GO Centre Sport Facilities

Creating a Canadian first and best: a multi-use model for others

By design, the GO Community Centre will be open, inviting and friendly, creating a warm atmosphere where patrons feel welcomed and included. The multi-functional design will allow basketball players, volleyball players and gymnasts ample opportunity to share the same space to play, practice and showcase their talents.

Research reported in City of Edmonton’s Recreation Facility Master Plan found that the most significant trend in facilities is the shift from single-purpose buildings to multi-purpose facilities — versatile spaces with flexible programming. In addition to volleyball, basketball and gymnastics, the GO Centre will play host to sports like badminton, futsal, dance and martial arts in the versatile spaces being created.

Public and community-based facilities such as the GO Centre do not currently exist in Canada. The Centre’s progress and achievement is being closely monitored by groups across Canada. Cannon Design, the architectural company commissioned to assess building functionality and optimize the use of space within the Centre, confirms that there is interest in this Centre as a model upon which future developments will be based.

What makes the GO Centre unique is that the three sports in our partnership — basketball, volleyball and gymnastics — are not represented in traditional multi-sport complexes. These sports attract individuals (specifically youth and children), rather than teams. In addition, disadvantaged youth gravitate towards sports such as these, which are easy to get involved in and inexpensive to play.