One of our most recent projects brought us to beautiful Brampton, Ontario, a dynamic city known for its diverse communities and commitment to outdoor recreation. Nestled in the heart of this bustling suburb, Chris Gibson Park serves as a vital green space for residents of all ages that offers a variety of amenities, including a splash pad for summer fun, soccer fields, a leash-free dog park, and even a 1.5-mile loop trail perfect for casual walks or jogs. In addition to all those fantastic amenities, the city was in the process of creating a state-of-the-art softball and baseball diamond and tapped our team's expertise to help keep balls in play.

With hockey season officially in full swing, we recently completed a significant project at a beloved community rink in the heart of Canada’s capital. Given the volume of hockey games being played each and every year across the country, our team is always busy leading up to hockey season helping rinks ensure their spectator netting is in the best shape possible.

One of our more recent hockey-focused projects brought us to Tom Brown Arena, a community ice rink nestled in the vibrant Hintonburg neighborhood, just west of the city's downtown core. Opened in 1967 as part of Ottawa's network of recreational facilities, the arena has served as a vital gathering spot for decades, hosting ice hockey leagues, public skating sessions, figure skating programs, and community events in a facility that also includes a single NHL-sized ice pad.

Here at  Sport Systems, we pride ourselves on our expertise in installing high-quality netting barriers for municipalities, ball fields, soccer fields, golf courses and various other facilities across Canada. While we’re known for our top-notch new installations, we’re equally skilled at upgrading, repairing, and replacing existing netting systems to ensure safety and longevity.

Outdoor netting barriers are critical for protecting passersby, nearby vehicles, and surrounding areas from stray balls. However, these barriers face constant exposure to harsh elements like wind, UV rays, and flying debris, which can inevitably degrade them over time. Eventually, every netting system reaches the end of its lifespan, leaving facility managers with a choice: patch it up year after year or invest in a professional replacement for a lasting solution.

Nestled just north of Toronto, Richmond Hill, Ontario, is a vibrant city known for its blend of urban growth and green spaces. With a rich history dating back to its founding in the late 18th century, the city has grown into a bustling community that values its recreational facilities, like Crosby Park. This local gem, home to ball fields and community gatherings, recently faced a challenge that required a tailored solution to keep its visitors safe.

The City approached us earlier this year with a unique request: design and install a custom netting barrier at Crosby Park to prevent foul balls and home runs from reaching an adjacent parking lot. This wasn’t a straightforward task, as the site presented several challenges that demanded creativity and precision.

We’re fortunate to call Canada’s National Capital Region home for a variety of reasons, one of which being, the choice of professional sports. Depending on how long you’ve been in the area, you would know that it was something generations of residents long ago rallied around and eventually built. With CFL football and OHL hockey being long-standing traditions here in Ottawa, we eventually were awarded our own NHL team in the mid-1990s and have continued to expand on athletic offerings ever since.

Given the industry we serve, it’s truly a bonus that we are often called upon to help service and work alongside these prestigious organizations and when the call came in to help out one of Ottawa’s newest franchises, we were chomping at the bit.

With the bats officially swinging now in southern Ontario, this project came to fruition long before this year’s baseball season got underway. During the fall of 2023, the Municipality of North Middlesex reached out to us to help them keep balls in play at a couple of their local ball diamonds and we vigorously answered the call.

With the big bats dominating last year’s season, concerns were on the rise at both Parkhill Park and Ailsa Craig Community Park. With homes located nearby, balls were occasionally landing very close by or, in some cases, inside the yards and key stakeholders wanted to rectify the situation before someone got hurt. Add in the fact that these two ball diamonds were now also closely situated to new skateparks, the municipality wasted no time sourcing a solution to protect those users as well.

Nestled quietly in one of Ottawa’s western suburbs lies the   Amberwood Village Golf and Recreation Club. Situated on 50-acres land, the club is now made up of a challenging 9-hole golf course, a 60-foot heated outdoor swimming pool and 10 brand new pickleball courts.

While the golf course has always been abuzz with local golfers, it is the newly-minted pickleball courses that seem to have experienced the biggest amount of growth. Following the pandemic, the Club went through a number of improvements across all of their facilities, including the pool and pickleball courts. 

Along with the arrival of spring,  the last couple of months has brought plenty of growth. Along with the sprouting of flowers and the budding of trees, it also marks a time for the re-emergence of outdoor sports, including baseball.

Serving as home to the Ottawa Titans baseball team, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park has been a fixture of Canada’s capital since it was built back in 1992. Having served a number of teams over the years, it’s become a staple of summer baseball here in our fair city.

As one of the largest cities in North America, Toronto prides itself on both having a vibrant urban life and including some much needed greenspace within its city limits. With a number of large parks and places to get away from the hustle and bustle, not many can rival the peace and serenity that lies within the city’s East Don Trail.

Running through the Charles Sauriol Conservation Area of the Don River watershed, the trail makes a wonderful spot for a morning or afternoon stroll. The original trail was extended by 1.4 kilometers in 2020, leaving visitors and residents even more natural wonders to explore and enjoy. A new bridge was constructed as part of the expansion which now includes a variety of habitats including upland forests on the valley slopes, open meadows, young trees and a wetland.

Serving as home to the Carleton University Ravens hockey teams, one of our recent projects landed us at the $13 million Ice House located on the school’s Ottawa campus. Boasting two NHL-sized ice pads along with twelve amazing dressing rooms, this facility is considered one of the Ottawa area’s best ice hockey facilities. 

With regulations requiring safety netting in NHL and other rinks across North America coming into place over a decade ago, many rinks are still continuing to make improvements to spectator safety. As with many sports, hockey is played with a very high-speed projectile that is capable of doing serious damage once shot out of play.