Redeemer University has announced plans to make its soccer facilities widely available for community use and to ensure their financial viability.

The university is retaining Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame member John McGrane, of JP Consulting, to manage the indoor and outdoor facilities. McGrane, who is also vice-chair of the Hamilton Forge soccer club, will be tasked with ensuring that community users, including youth soccer organizations, have access to the facilities, while also seeing to it that the facility needs of Redeemer’s students and varsity teams are met. McGrane has already prepared a draft business plan to ensure that the facilities generate sufficient revenue to be financially sustainable.

According to Ed Bosveld, Redeemer’s Vice-President of Administration and Finance, the new arrangement will allow Redeemer to focus fully on its primary mission of delivering a high-quality Christian university education and allow the soccer facilities to become a thriving, sustainable resource for Redeemer athletes and the local soccer community. “John McGrane has an incredible amount of soccer expertise, both on and off the field, and we are pleased that he is willing to work with us to expand facility access and improve sustainability.”

Tom Walsh is the President of Hamilton Soccer, an extension of Canada Soccer and Ontario Soccer and the governing body for soccer in Hamilton, Brantford, and Paris. Walsh notes that “for many years, the soccer community in Hamilton and the surrounding area has enjoyed playing soccer in the world-class dome at Redeemer University. Hamilton Soccer would like to congratulate Redeemer University for their commitment to continuing to support the development of the game we love in an incredible facility.”

Media contact:
Shanon McBride
Communications Manager
smcbride@redeemer.ca