The Spray Lake Sawmills Legacy Field had its official showcase Saturday June 18, the ribbon was cut, and the town now has a state of the art facility with new bleachers and lights.

The field had previously been used during Cochrane High’s run to Provincials, but Saturday was the first time the field was completely finished, and could be celebrated by those who put in the hard work to complete it.

A project five years in the running, it took every level of government, the Rocky View school board, the Town of Cochrane, and the community to get the Legacy Field funded, and make the three founders’ dreams a reality.

Cam Cote, Dean Lang, and Paul McLean were the driving force behind the turf becoming a legitimate option for Cochrane minor sports and youth athletes.

Dean Lang, one of the founding members of the field said it was quite the journey from their first meeting to the final ribbon cutting.

“2011 was our first meeting, and we knew that Cochrane needed something like this.” he says. “There were a lot of road blocks, but we were smart enough to see those roadblocks, and we just kept pursuing it, and eventually we got it built.”

Lang also shares it’s very important for young athletes to get out and become more physically active, and with the field’s ability to be used year round, that is a high possibility.

“You can get more play time. You can get on earlier (in the year) and you don’t have to wait for the snow to melt. I understand the grass is very sensitive, which is why the town doesn’t let teams on the fields. So with this, you can play on it year round and hopefully more youths will start playing sports and get off the couch. That’s our goal as founders.”

Not only will the turf be used for football, but for other sports such as soccer, lacrosse and rugby.