18-07-2025
Province to help fund North Bay's first cricket pitch
Cricket players in North Bay are celebrating as the province has come through with funding to help build a cricket pitch in the city.
After years of prodding and pushing from the local cricket club, North Bay is getting its first cricket pitch.
For years, cricket player and North Bay Cricket Club president Romy Ghumman has been asking city officials to build a cricket pitch.
North Bay Cricket Club
Members of the North Bay Cricket Club were on hand to hear Thursday's announcement.
(Eric Taschner/CTV News)
Softball cricket players would often have to use parks, uneven ground, or even roads and empty parking lots to play.
'For the hard ball, we don't have any dedicated space,' Ghumman said.
'So, we travel outside every weekend. So even last weekend we went to Timmins for a tournament.'
The sport has grown in popularity in tandem with the city's growing East Indian community.
'They worship cricket'
'Back in India, they say they worship cricket more than their own religion,' laughed team captain Vasudevan Kaarudaiar.
The club approached city council, which eventually approved the construction of a new cricket pitch, but it was dependent on funding support.
Now, the Ontario government has stepped in to help. Through the province-wide $200 million Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund (CSRIF), an application was submitted and approved.
NB cricket
Funding of $1.6 million from the province will help build a cricket pitch in North Bay.
(Eric Taschner/CTV News)
'That means that the application was done properly,' North Bay Mayor Peter Chirico said.
'The application was done right to be able to showcase our community.'
The province is chipping in more than $1.6 million to get the pitch built. Ontario's Minister of Sport, Neil Lumsden, was on hand Thursday to dish out the money.
'When you talk about people coming together outside of sport, they really are becoming a team no matter what the challenges,' Lumsden told reporters.
'This is a great example of people that are passionate and understand the benefit and the growth of the sport.'
Lumsden knows all too well about the passion cricket players have for the game. Growing up, he played cricket in Toronto when attending a private school before turning to pro football.
'The draw that it has, the uniqueness of it. It is a fabulous sport,' he said.
'Sport drives the economy and sport hosting drives the economy.'
North Bay cricket
After years of prodding and pushing from the local cricket club, North Bay is getting its first cricket pitch. The province is chipping in more than $1.6 million to get the pitch built.
(Eric Taschner/CTV News)
Potential cricket hub
The cricket club sees the potential to turn North Bay into a hub and for hosting tournaments because of the city's central location. Teams can come from farther north and from down south to play.
When Kaarudaiar moved to North Bay from India in 2016, he said there 'were 12 or 13 people playing cricket' in the city.
'But over the years, with more and more immigration happening, we have lots of players here,' he said,
The pitch will be located at the Steve Omischl Sports Complex and will meet regulation size standards. Three potential sites at the sportsplex have been chosen.
The city said design work is expected to take place this winter, with construction targeted for the spring.
While there's a little bit more waiting to go for the city's 120 cricket players, Ghumman said he can't wait for the first bowl.
'It feels like a dream coming true,' he said.
'We've been fighting for this for a long time.'
