Montreal North, hometown of 3 NBA stars, still waiting for promised sports centre
Posted August 13, 2022 2:07 pm.
Last Updated August 13, 2022 6:59 pm.
Montreal North may the hometown of three NBA players but the borough does not have a sports and recreational centre, despite it being a top priority during the municipal government’s re-election campaign.
That’s something that has to change, says a community organizer.
“There is no huge movie theatres. There is no shopping malls. There is no subway stations,” said Sacha-Wilky Merazil.
“So I think if we have the opportunity, we need to build a sports centre. that will be something good for all the youth who came from eastern Montreal and particularly Montreal North.”
Youth in the borough can play basketball on public courts, in school gymnasiums or rented spaces – otherwise they are forced to play outside the community.
That is preventing some young athletes from realizing their potential, believes Merazil, like the three NBA players from Montreal North: Lugentz Dort, Chris Boucher and newly drafted Bennedict Mathurin.
“We have a lot of athletic youth, we have a lot of athletes that wants to go to the NBA or to the NFL or name it and they can’t,” said Merazil.
‘Inspiration’ to see Montrealers in NBA
Quicy Guerrier, a Team Canada basketball from Montreal’s east end, says seeing Montrealers in the NBA is an inspiration. But he adds not everyone will have those opportunities.
“It’s an inspiration for everybody, you know, coming from nothing,” said Guerrier. “And now to be able to play at the highest level, and then to make money.
“There’s a lot of talent in Montreal. It’s just that sometimes they can’t, they’re not able to show it because they don’t have the funds or they don’t, you know, they don’t have the opportunity to go somewhere else.”
Merazil says the lack of sports centre in Montreal has been an issue for quite some time, saying he’s been waiting since he was in middle school.
“Right now our youth don’t have all the tools to reach to reach their goals, their potential,” he said.
Unfulfilled election promise
Five different potential locations for a sports facility have been selected in the past years. The most recent location proposed is the Garon Arena.
The project is estimated to cost $77 million.
It appeared to be in motion after Mayor Valérie Plante vowed to make the construction of a sports facility in the borough a top priority during the 2021 fall election. But no funds were allocated for the project in the city’s 2022 budget.
In a statement, Christine Black, the Mayor of Montreal North, said: “Almost 86,000 people live the borough. Right now… we rely on equipment located in public schools to offer basic services to our population.
“Nowhere else in Quebec will you find such a large population without basic sport infrastructures like here in Montreal North. Yet the need is greater than everywhere else.”
Budget 2022 Projet Mtl vient de voter contre notre amendement d’allouer les sommes pour réaliser le centre sportif à #MontréalNord Ce même parti qui disait que le projet était «en haut de sa liste» de priorités! Je venais pourtant de lui réitérer les besoins criants????????#polmtl pic.twitter.com/lDJLeZKycB
— Christine Black (@cblackmairesse) January 20, 2022
For Merazil, not having a sports centre can lead to bigger issues. He points to the rise in gun violence in the borough as a result of youth not being able to channel their energy into more healthy avenues.
“Playing a sport is really important for the kids, for the children, because when they have a hobby, when they have an activity, when they have something to do, like they are more focused and they know that they have something that they like, something that they are good in,” said Merazil.
