The mural on the exterior of White Buffalo Youth Lodge. Photo courtesy White Buffalo Youth Lodge, Facebook.
The City of Saskatoon is looking at plans to renew recreational opportunities in the city’s downtown core and one of the proposed plans involves the Saskatoon Tribal Council.
The says after consultations and feasibility studies with the STC and the YMCA, a renewed need for city centre recreation has been identified.
The city is now looking at two different plans to have this renewed focus come to fruition.
The first plan would be in partnership with the tribal council and would see a recreation centre built near the White Buffalo Youth Lodge and Princess Alexandra School.
The facility would aim to provide access to education, social, recreation and community programs for those living in the city centre.
STC Chief Felix Thomas says the White Buffalo Youth Lodge has become too small and outdated, and a new facility in the area is needed.
“We would be able to provide a better service for the each of the kids because right now the programming is disjointed,” says Thomas. “So I think combining White Buffalo with the new facility would allow us to better serve these children.”
The tribal chief also says the new facility helps them meet short-term and long-term goals of improving the health of Saskatoon families regardless of income or ethnicity.
“We hope that these people in the inner city would have access to a facility that would not only improve their mental health, but their physical health as well, and give them a place of belonging in the inner city.”
The other plan would see the city invest in a renewal of the YMCA facility already located downtown.
No word yet on how much these plans may cost, but Thomas projects it to cost anywhere from $15 million to $20 million. He says the cost will become more clear during the planning process.
Officials from all interested parties say they are working together on the planning of these projects to ensure the long-term strategy outlines the greatest benefit to the community.