The Best Seats
In The House

Whether it be a new build or a renovation to an existing facility, when it comes to planning prospective seating, there is much to take into consideration. While to some, it might seem as easy as picking a number out of thin air in reality, that could not be further from the truth.

With the changing needs of many facilities, the question could be answered using a subtraction or an addition type of formula. With many stadiums, arenas and other locations opting for lower seat counts in hopes of a better spectator experience, the answer has progressed beyond the “go big or go home” mentality of not long ago.

As you prepare to plan seating for your new or existing location, here are a few key factors every planner should take into account before placing an order on new fixed seating.

The sounds of our local parks and recreational areas are often found by following the joyful shrieks and giggles of happy children. As more municipalities across Canada and the United States continue to allocate funding to these outdoor areas, their popularity is growing in tandem with said investment.

Heading to your local park or playground is the best way to appreciate these types of investments. The design and quality of the equipment found onsite has progressed a great deal from what was being installed just a few short years ago.

Today’s playgrounds and recreational areas are built with safety in mind. Outside of the equipment, however, much attention must be paid to the amenities located around these areas as well. Posts, columns, trash receptacles, planters and other site additions must also be taken into account when assessing the overall safety of the recreational area.

In a project that has been many years in the making, we are proud to announce our joint partnership with FIFA, the Barbados Football Association (BFA), C.O. Williams Construction and Musco Lighting.

The strategic partnership was formed to complete the upgrades to the BFA’s Wildey AstroTurf facility that will give it a completely new look.

Established in 1910, the BFA organizes, promotes and regulates football (soccer) activity on the island of Barbados, catering to over 17,000 players island-wide. Affiliated with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 1968, the BFA’s 21-member management team has been working diligently to move this project forward, despite delays.

Backed by over 60 years of clinical experience in the behavioral health and intellectual disabilities field, Grafton Integrated Health Network is a leader in care across the state of Virginia.

With six locations scattered across Old Dominion, Grafton specializes in serving preschool-aged children all the way up to K-12 and is the largest children’s residential provider in the entire state of Virginia.

Working with key stakeholders at the organization’s Berryville, Virginia location, our partners at Sparks@Play brought a unique project to our attention late this summer. Looking to add a motorized gym divider curtain to the gymnasium at the facility, Grafton approached our partners with a challenging project, which as it turned out, needed a highly specialized team to complete.

Image: @pickleballreviews | Instagram

When it comes to sports and athletic programming, don’t count out the quiet, yet growing game of pickleball. Designed and invented in the western United States, what was once a hobby to some is now a national pastime.

As more recreational centres, schools, clubs and senior living communities jump on the pickleball train, for those not yet initiated in the sport, there are a few things that need to be considered. Much like designing, planning and installing any new sport surface, arena or stadium, facility operators and planners must know the complete details of what it is they have been tasked to deliver. Especially if it is something as uncommon as the great sport of pickleball.

Playing host to its second hosting of the U-18 Baseball World Cup, Thunder Bay, Ontario lived up to the hype and so much more in last month’s tournament. Acting as the governing body for the sports of both baseball and softball, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) was established in 2013 when the International Softball Federation and the International Baseball Federation merged to form one singular regulatory committee.

As such, the newly formed confederation organizes a series of World Cup events held in various locations around the world to test the fortitude of baseball players worldwide. The host city selection process can be an arduous one for applicants as the governing body evaluates every aspect of the host city’s application.

Nestled along the Gaspé Peninsula in eastern Quebec lies the town of Matane.  Bordered by the eastern province of New Brunswick, this picturesque area of Quebec runs along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. 

The area was once a haven for fisheries, forestry and agriculture but has since become a tourist destination, attracting visitors from around the world. Home to a number of National Parks, the peninsula is an eco-tourist’s dream and is offers a unique opportunity to spot whales from within the province of Quebec.

One of our more recent projects gave us the opportunity to work in this unique landscape as we were awarded a tendered contract to provide Cégep de Matane with a new bank of telescopic bleachers. Providing students in the region with a pre-university and technical college, the school’s programming gives students the skills needed to continue in post-secondary education.

You’ve done your research, shopped around for the best pricing, and selected the right tennis posts and nets for your newly built tennis court or existing court. As you move closer to the day when you will be able to welcome new participants to your courts, the planning process begins with how to install these pieces of equipment.

While we do offer our installation services on nearly everything we sell or service, many of our products can be installed by the end user, including our new line of tennis nets. 

Officially sized and made with 1-3/4” square mesh braided solid core polyethylene, our tennis nets lead the industry and are relatively easy to install on your court.

If you already have your tennis posts on site, you won’t need much else to get started on the installation process.

Founded in the late 1800’s by Oxford University graduate George Penrose Woollcombe, Ashbury College in Ottawa’s premiere neighbourhood of Rockliffe Park was the site of one of our more recent projects.

The historic boarding school in Canada’s National Capital is now home to 170 students in its Junior School and 515 students in the Senior School, where it continues to shape young minds through academic, artistic and athletic development.

Located about an hour away from our headquarters, the school approached our team to supply and install four gym divider curtains for two of the three gymnasiums located on the 12-acre campus. 

As part of our custom netting department, we are proud to introduce windscreens as one of our newest product lines. Used to block the wind, sunshine, noise and/or debris, these finely netted screens can be found on baseball diamonds, tennis courts, municipal parks, recreation areas, golf courses, industrial sites and ski resorts.

While these screens can be extremely versatile for any location or facility, there is a bit of homework that needs to be done before selecting the right solution.

Available in a number of different configurations, buyers will first need to identify the right windscreen product to address their unique needs. Our windscreens are available in a number of different fabrics, lengths and configurations. Below we will break down our main products, giving you additional insight into the buying process before purchasing a screen.