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 3, 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. 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 footbalhB, 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 thF 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 Ontaria.. 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.