Football Field Allocation in London Introduction We are here today to express our concern about the need of practice and game field allocation for football in the city of London. The London Falcons Football Club (LFFC) has taken the lead in this concern. Over the eight years of the Falcons’s existence, we have struggled to find a practice location. The LFFC, the London Minor Football Association (LMFA) and the London Silverbacks (LSB), all main players of community football in London, have come together to show the need for a location just for football. Each group has had some type of problems with field allocation. At this time there are no locations in London that have been dedicated to football. The London Minor group an established group since 1956 still does not have a field they can call their own. They do have a good working relationship with city staff and have been able to find practice locations throughout their history. London Minor games are played at the Summerside soccer complex. The London Falcons have only been allocated a football field once in its &year tenure. The Falcons utilized the fields at GA Wheable Centre for Adult Education in the summer season of 2007. Games are usually played at TD Waterhouse Stadium, alternate locations are arranged when this facility is used for other events. The London Silverbacks have struggled over the past 4 years trying to obtain some type of practice and game location. They have played games at TD Waterhouse Stadium but the field is not the correct dimensions. This past year TD Waterhouse was resurfaced and as a result the Silverbacks and the Falcons were left looking for fields for their home games. Both organizations struggled with locations. The Ontario Varsity Football League demands that teams provide game locations prior to our AGM. We did not meet this deadline last year and were able to avoid fines and possible suspension from the league. When the London Falcons began its program in 2000, London did not have any summer football for its young athletes. The LFFC filled a hole in the city of London when one is looking at football programs. London now has three additional levels of summer football, 14 and under, 16 and under and 19 and under.

The Falcons Story The LFFC began its inaugural season on a field behind Matthews Hall, a small area where one goal post was installed and a few small hills existed. St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School allowed us to use some facilities for water and washrooms. We worked with what we had understanding that we were new and had to prove we belonged among the other community teams. The Falcons played their home games at the old JW Little Stadium. That year we had 57 young athletes on a limited practice area. We were successful on and off the field winning the Ontario Championship. During our inaugural season we knew and understood that some within our community felt that this organization was a short-lived idea. We were in a new Ontario football xague and most assumed football was not on the rise. We knew better. At that time the league had 14 teams and was in its second year. Football was growing in our community. London Minor had grown and continued to grow. By 2002 the OVFL had grown as well. The Falcons had been moved from behind Matthews Hall to a grassy area west of the school off of Oxford Street. The original space that was allocated to us became a parking lot. Again, one goal post was put up and we made due with the space. TD Waterhouse Stadium was now available for games. The cost was low during the beginning years. The cost at the UWO stadium continued to grow each year. Within the first three years of operation the cost nearly doubled. We do receive gate receipts but

do not obtain any portion of the concessions. At times it has been a struggle with the parking authority as well. UWO will impose an event fee of $5 for parking. This is a substantial burden on our fan base. This problem in recent years has been alleviated for the Falcons teams but not for other organizations. By 2002 the Falcons had grown to 78 players from a tryout list of 95. We applied to Trillium for a possible grant to expand our organization to two teams. We obtained the grant and in 2003 we put ajunior team on the field. The OVFL had grown to 43 teams at two levels of play. Teams in this Ontario league went from Sault Ste. Marie to Ottawa. Quite amazing considering all the teams are nonprofit and run by volunteers. Within this time span the LMFA also had great growth going from 300 participants to over 450. Locations were revamped and others were moved. One location was moved from Hazleton Park to St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. Each time city staff did obtain a location. In the spring of 2003, the city of London did not allocate space west of Matthews Hall to us. This time we moved to the fields at Lucas Secondary School. This was a large area and suited us well. The Falcons organization paid for some improvements to Lucas fields and the football program. We had some conflict with other organizations because of an allocation error but we worked together and got through the year. 2003 was a good year for our program; we seemed to be getting more and more interest from athletes in our community. We had two teams and our new junior program worked hard on the field and was in the Ontario Championship. LMFA finals were now held at the UWO stadium. As 2004 rolled around, once again there was no space allocated to practice or play for the LFFC. Our list of players grew to 135 players. We would have to turn away another 70 potential players. Another Trillium Grant helped us move forward. Lucas was allocated to other community teams. We never received an answer as to why this occurred. Through our own efforts we made arrangements to practice at Mother Teresa Secondary School on a temporary basis. This school was just opening and we could utilize the field and store some of our equipment there. We paid for the space and helped them develop Mother Teresa’s football program by loaning them equipment. From the beginning this was to be a temporary fix. With the success of the LMFA ::,,:,organization and the London Falcons group a new team forged onto the London horizon. The London Silverbacks came to town. The Silverbacks entered the North American Football League (NAFL). The NAFL is the largest football league in North America. Right from the start the Silverbacks where not able to obtain field allocation. Since they played on a different sized field they would have to use duck-tape for out of bounds lines when they played their games at TD Waterhouse stadium. Various summer events where beginning to be held at TD Waterhouse stadium. Field allocation for games was once again a glaring problem. 3

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Throughout 2005 and 2006 the Falcons had many discussions with City of London staff to attempt to allocate Mother Teresa fields for the Falcons as a practice facility. Each time we attempted, city staff indicated they where not going to take this on. Each year we attempted to locate another spot. In the mean time the players, coaches and volunteers kept working on and off the field. We also won another Ontario Championship in 2005, this time defeating Ottawa in a great game at TD Waterhouse stadium. The score was 17-16; London stopped Ottawa at the two-yard line with 7 seconds left in the game. Our numbers continued to grow and so did the league. In 2005 we brought the Ontario Varsity Football League championship to London and it was very successful. We had good fan support, over 4,000 in attendance for the two games. As well three teams stayed overnight in London bringing additional dollars to ow city. Considering teams have approximately 60 coaches, players and volunteers this was good for the community. By this time London Minor had well over 600 young athletes in their program. We applied for our third Trillium Grant. We wanted to do a base study on the possibility of creating our won facility. We received a partial grant. Part of the monies was to study the possibility of building our own facility. A well needed addition to the City of London. The size of our program is still growing. We have recently formed an alliance with the London Minor Football Association.

This past summer season together we created the London Falcons Pee Wee Team. With three (3) teams and just over 200 athletes and over 50 volunteers our rogram is extremely substantial. This past season 348 athletes tried out for our three teams. The OVFL has ow grown to 66 teams all across Ontario. That would bring the number of participants in our summer footbalh league to approximately 3000. Fascinating growth and a great addition to the community of London and su er sports. In 2006, the Silverbacks were the frst Canadian team io win a Regional Championship and th first Canadian team to win a Conference Championship. The London Falcons are extremely proud to have on the Pee Wee OVFL championship as well as the Ontario Junior Championship in 2007. With 4 Ontari Championships in only 8 years of play the London Falcons program is proving to be an extremely viable organization that is only a benefit to the citizens of London. The LMFA continues to grow with well over 700 young athletes playing in their organization.

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demonstrated to be a potential to this, conversations with TD allocated to Falcons for our tryout and inform the league of our location for department has come up with a few

This past year brought many new challenges to London football. The loss of TD Waterhouse Stadium for home games because of the new turf installation has only emphasized the need for a practice and playing location for football. We have proven that football is growing exponentially and yet no such field has been allocated. This coming year has already time the Falcons do not have a location to practice. In addition have hinted that the same amount of time may not be ates. We have a league meeting on November 25” but cannot ver the years we have pointed out many locations. The city parks as well but nothing has been finalized.

Summary The London Falcons Footbal build a facility for London and preliminary plan is to have the land lease organization. The site would provide roo community complex. We will develop additional special events. LMFA, LS The London Minor group would still games at this football sight. We are 1 one National Football League size. football programs would ensure s recreational facility for the city.

Future Growth At this site we would continue multi-use facility. The proposed turf complex would be the only Ontario and the surrounding are regulation football field, a grass In addition, the complex can be sporting activities such as track the community valued services

e 10 to 15 acres of land so that we can ominence for football use. The erated by the London Falcons Football Club, a non-profit re growth, storage and change capacity and a future potential to be rented for other sporting events and C would utilize this location for all games and practices. arious areas for their practices but would play all their ing two lighted fields, one Canadian Football League and Id would be artificial turf. The affiliation with other . This would definitely fulfill the need for a sports and

350,000 in the community and surrounding area. We feel there is a definite need and appetite for our services. Historically; the lack of facilities for our program and other similar football programs in the area has stunted growth and expansion. We feel that development in many athletic programs including football have not grown to their full potential due to the lack of facilities. One of the challenges faced by the Falcons is providing space for young athletes wanting to be part of our football program. We have many young athletes from London and the surrounding area competing for limited space in our program. Due to our limited facility, we were forced to turn many away, Another challenge has been finding a link between the end of our playing season and spring tryouts. We have been working with other programs within our community to create a winter program to fulfill our year round program and provide opportunities to maintain athletes physical strength over the post season. Additional challenges include the need to maintain and sustain a safe and quality program for our young athletes. This project will ensure continual year round football programs in a safe and modern facility. We credit much of our success to the community support and loyal volunteers. In tum, we believe our greatest contribution to the community is providing young athletes an avenue to improve social and personal skills and community involvement through sport. We are an extension of other community-based programs such as London Minor Football Association and Thames Valley Regional Athletic association high school football league. We are the stepping stone group for organizations such as the University of Western Mustangs, London Beefeaters and the London Silverbacks. Not only is the youth benefiting but also many of the adult volunteers and fans are energized by the enthusiasm created by our community organization. We have had many comments on the positive influence we have had on the players and young volunteers involved with our program. Most of the comments revolve around how these young citizens are learning respect, restraint, tolerance and self-confidence. All of the members of the community team are growing to understand the importance of fulfilling a role in our society and learning to appreciate all members of our community. Football is growing in Ontario. In London alone, a number of football teams have been created or increased in the last 5 years. During that time the London Falcons have grown from one team to three teams competing in the Ontario Varsity Football League (OVFL). The OVFL itself has increased from 14 teams to 66 teams and from a single level of play to 3 graduated levels increasing the number of OVFL membership to over 3,000 young athletes. The London Falcons are part of this growing trend. However, with this surging growth we are forced to turn away about 100 athletes each year due to a lack of resources and facility. The London Minor Football Association has enjoyed significant growth within London and the surrounding area with a membership of 736 youths age 12 and under playing football. They as well turn away over 100 applicants each year. The Association has agreed in principal to move their office and scheduled games to our new facility. The London Silverbacks have expressed strong interest in relocating to the new facility. They too have enjoyed significant growth in their program and the same challenges of finding a way to keep the applicants they have to turn away for lack of resources and space. Our facility will be the only one of its kind in London and the surrounding area offering year round football. The very nature of our program and the facility itself promotes sports participation, physical activity and health awareness. We believe the community, as a whole would benefit from such a multi-use facility. There would numerous spin-off activities available to the complex year round. Community programs reliant on grass fields in the summer are ideal candidates for our artificial turf field in the late fall and early spring. Team Canada and Team Ontario have both expressed interest in holding their tryouts at our facility for the Junior Global Games held at the Super Bowl venue each year and the provincial Summer Football games respectively. The eventual construction of atrack field would attract track and field activities year round. With this facility, other special events throughout the year can be held. The opportunities available to us with such a facility are numerous. The community spin offs for all these events would be tremendous. Not only would there be financial gains, but an opportunity for citizen involvement and participation. Our future looks strong. We look forward to providing young adults with a good community program well into the future.

A Brief History Of The Three Groups London Minor Football Association The London Minor Football Association has been providing an opportunity to play organized football for thousands of young people since 1956. They are a nonprofit volunteer organization and operate with teams filled on a "first come first served" basis. In the past ten years they have dealt with limited space and have continuously turned away many interested young athletes. The league has expanded from the original four teams in one division to twenty-four teams and three divisions: Peewee, Atom and Tyke. Our Tyke division is our entry level and is full tackle, like the Atom and Peewee divisions. The ages are 7-9, with some 6 year olds. Atom is 10 and 11 years old, and Peewee is 12 and 13 years of age. Both Atom and Peewee divisions are full tackle football. At this time the LMFA's maximum registration is 736. Unlike several other Minor football leagues across the Province, London Minor does not impose a weight limit on players who are within the age range of their respective divisions. Their philosophy is to get as many children involved in the game as possible without penalizing some because they may be bigger than the average child. The great thing about football is that there is a position for everyone, big or small, slow or fast. London Silverbacks The London Silverbacks are entering their 4th season as part of the NAFL (the North American Football League). The NAFL is a men's semi-pro tackle league. The league has over 120 teams in North America. The Silverbacks is comprised of approximately 60 players, and 15 cheerleaders. One of only 2 Canadian teams in the league, the Silverbacks are focused on featuring and promoting Car talent. The team has entered the NAFL to ensure their players have the competition each week to reach their full potential. The organization has been bolstered by a myriad of experienced players including a good number of former professionals as well as those with extensive university backgrounds, generously contributing their time and knowledge whenever possible in both official and unofficial capacities. Many team members have moved up to various pro leagues including, most recently, the CFL. The roster has varied talent and age groups, from those fresh out of college and university to former pros and those who still love the game but have not been able to play for a number of years. Since their inception, the Silverbacks have achieved the following: First Canadian team to win a Regional Championship (2006) First Canadian team to win a Conference Championship (2006) Produced 20 NAFL League All-stars At least 1 player each season has advanced to football on a professional level Alan Lazar was the 1st Canadian All-star Coach at Disney's Wide World of Sports (2004) Approximately 80% of the players on the Silverbacks' roster are from the London area. Coaches, management and helpers are all volunteers. Every member is dedicated to ensuring not only a competitive team, but also an exciting and fun experience in the stands and successful fundraising events.

The Silverbacks are growing exponentially and have expanded player, volunteer and fan base two fold each year since the team's inception in March 2004. The Silverbacks have formed partnerships with key organizations, such as our recent affiliation with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), as well as becoming part of the London community through appearances and other programs. We believe this will help build stability and aid us in achieving and exceeding all of our goals.

London Falcons Football Club The London Falcons Football Club was established on February 17,2000. London's only community based amateur football program, for players 13 to 19 years of age has developed many football players. The London Falcons Football Club is a non-profit organization and is a member of the Ontario Varsity Football League. The OVFL consists of over 3000 of Ontario's finest football players. The league operates during the months of May, June, July, and part of August. The emphasis is on teaching skills and developing football fundamentals while playing at a competitive level. Our program has grown over the years. In ow first season 68 players tried out and 57 players made the team. In 2003 we started a junior varsity team for players 16 and under. This past year in conjunction with the London Minor Football Association we'began a Pee Wee team, we had 154 potential players try out. 348 young athletes from across London and the surrounding area wanted to be a part of the London Falcons family. The Falcons teams provided 202 youths, the opportunity to play and participate in a full season of football. The Falcons' mission is to teach and encourage fair play, good character, social responsibility and sportsmanship among young athletes. Our mission is to promote amateur football and the development of youth between the ages of 13 and 19. We encourage athletes to improve academically and athletically subsequently leading them to post secondary education.

London Falcons list of achievements: Ontario Varsity Football League champions 2000 Ontario Junior Varsity Football League champions 2005 Ontario Junior Varsity Football League champions 2007 Ontario Pee Wee Varsity Football League champions 2007 91 Falcons have moved on to play football at the university level many Falcons have moved on to play in the London Beefeaters and the London Silverbacks 2 Falcons have moved on to play professional football 27 Falcons have given back to the community by becoming coaches within the Falcons organization or LMFA or on high school teams many current Falcon players have donated time to help other community football teams at this time 4 former or present Falcons are head football coaches at local high schools The London Falcons have been to the Ontario junior varsity championship 3 times The London Falcons are the only team to win the Ontario league championship at all three levels The London Falcons are the only organization of its kind in the city of London and the immediate areas. The young athletes interested in pursuing summer physical activity, in particular football or any related activities, are now able to do so.