Vauxhall facility on track to open this fall

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

While the Vauxhall Jets are in the midst of a busy spring schedule, this fall will bring something completely new to the program. The new community facility has started construction and is on track to be completed by the time they regroup for the 2026-27 season this fall.

“It’s slow, but he shell is up, and the concrete for the kind of common area — where the community weight room and such is — is all poured, and they’re starting to frame in there as well. So, things are starting to move slowly, but you know, it’s a process, and it’ll be ready to go sometime in the early fall,” explained Les McTavish, head coach of the Jets.

One hurdle this spring and summer is the availability of turf. Despite this small inconvenience, it isn’t expected to set anything back from the original plan.

“We’re a little bit, a little bit at the mercy of the turf company. So, the turf company, FieldTurf, is also the supplier for the World Cup of Soccer. Their summer gets a little crazy, and it depends on when the turf and the netting fit into installation, as far as when it’ll officially be open. But we’re fully anticipating it being open for our winter season,” added McTavish.

The facility will no doubt be used for part of their spring seasons moving forward as well. The Jets have been experiencing some frosty temperatures the last few weeks, and having an indoor facility will be a huge boost. While it won’t be big enough for games, it will provide a great haven to get some baseball reps in when the weather outside is too cold.

“We’re certainly looking forward to it, especially over the last couple of weeks, where we’ve been fighting tough weather. You know, it sure would have been nice to just jump inside and not miss a beat,” stated McTavish. “It’s only 80 by 132, which is still close to double what we’re used to, but it’s not big enough for games.”

Another factor of the new facility will be on the recruitment side. While McTavish doesn’t think using the Vauxhall Community Hall was a deterrent in the past, having a facility dedicated to baseball will only bring positives.

 “I don’t necessarily think it’s a recruiting tool. I think it’s a recruiting asset, meaning that nobody can now use the indoor facility that we’ve used for 19 years or 20 years, against us. It’s a really nice facility for a community of our size. It’s a long ways away from the type of facility some of these programs have, but it’ll certainly be something that we’re going to be very proud of and excited to move into,” added McTavish.

To keep up to date on the Jets, visit vauxhallbaseball.com/