Cochrane is $200,000 closer to getting its artificial turf field.
More than 200 people attended the June 21 Turf Gala at Cochrane Toyota to raise funds for the facility slated for completion this fall at Bow Valley High School.
Pengrowth Energy was the big contributor, claiming a branded sponsorship for the facility with a $100,000 donation at the Gala, where attendees feasted on a game-day-worthy meal catered by Spolumbo’s of Calgary.
“Calgary Bantam Football Association provided $10,000, and the Stampeder Alumni through the Calgary Foundation provided $5,000 along with Harmony of Rocky View providing $5,000,” said Paul McLean, vice-president of Cochrane Lions Minor Football Society, which is spear-heading fundraising initiatives for Cochrane’s new turf park featuring the same FieldTurf Revolution surface installed this spring at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium. The all-weather, outdoor field will be used for football, soccer and rugby.
The event featured Calgary Stampeders players Rob Cote of Cochrane, quarterbacks Drew Tate and Bo Levi Mitchell, running back Jon Cornish and head coach John Hufnagel. The players had the jerseys auctioned off their backs as bidders purchased items donated for the event.
“In all we received approximately $30,000 in silent, live auction and numerous donations from $100 to $2,500,” McLean said. “More is expected to arrive and we will have a better indication of our total raised in the days to come.”
The Turf Association is still shy of the $1.6 million required to complete the project.
“We still have a number of sponsorship opportunities and still need to raise approximately $300,000-400,000,” McLean said. “The game is in progress, we are entering the fourth quarter and winning the game. However we can not let up if we are going to make this happen. The Gala is not the end of the promotion and fundraising for the field, but the start.”
All levels of field sponsorships are available, from $100 to $100,000. Bleacher seats, at $250 each, are proving to be popular.
“We will be at Walmart next weekend (June 28-29) to continue the sales and look forward to a great community promotion of these sponsorship opportunities,” McLean said.
