The Saskatoon Hilltops stepped foot on their newly turfed field Saturday for the first time ever.
The all-new Gordie Howe Bowl, which has been renamed Saskatoon Minor Football Field, was equipped with brand new artificial turf, a new scoreboard, a revamped sound system and new lighting over the summer. Saturday marked the field’s grand opening with a regular season junior football game between the Hilltops and the Regina Thunder.
The field is home to the Hilltops as well as the Saskatoon Valkyries and several high school and minor football teams.
The upgrades were part of the Friends of the Bowl Foundation’s efforts to improve the field’s rundown grass — many in Saskatoon’s football community considered the old grass unsafe, especially turning the winter months.
Millions of dollars in donations and months of construction went into the renovations. The bowl foundation plans to add a 12,000-square-foot clubhouse, a ticket booth and an entrance plaza to the field by 2015.
The entire project is estimated to cost around $11 million.
The Hilltops fell 26-25 to the Thunder despite leading 25-6 in the fourth quarter.
