Tara Jeffrey
The Sarnia Cricket Club is worried about the future of the sport locally following news it’s losing primary access to its longstanding home field.
Sarnia Council agreed this month to finalize a new lease agreement with the Lambton Kent District School Board, which owns the land near Bright’s Grove that’s been home to Sarnia’s only cricket pitch for 35 years.
The new lease requires that the field be open to other user groups in the community.
“They weren’t very forward in their plans, and we were not involved in the negotiations,” club vice president Daniel Ostojic said of the city’s Outdoor Working Group.
The group is responsible for the Outdoor Sports Field Allocation Policy — developed to support fair and equitable access to all publicly owned sports fields.
“This group failed us in delivering its mandate and living up to its mission statement — excluding us from the decision-making process,” Ostojic said.
The property is a five-acre plot beside Mike Weir Park and bound by Brigden Side Road and Lakeshore Road. It was leased to the City in 1986, and subsequently sub-leased to the cricket club in 1987.
The club has had first-right to use the facility, at no charge, and over the years has been the field’s sole user.
“Given that the lease was entered into over three decades ago, (the school board) wishes to enter into a new lease agreement with updated terms and conditions to reflect current and future use of the property,” a staff report noted.
“One of the terms included… is that the property be available for use by the whole community and not exclusively used by a single group or organization.”
The current agreement is not in line with the best interests of the community, staff noted, “as it creates an inequity among cricket clubs/groups within the city and does not allow the one cricket field in the city to be accessed by any other use.”
It isn’t the first time the club has been bumped from its home field, Ostojic said.
“The club was forcefully removed form Germain Park and Blackwell Park in the ‘70’s. This type of behaviour is familiar to us.”
Ostojic stressed the club has no problem sharing the field but felt excluded from the discussion.
“We just wouldn’t mind [the city] being open with us first,” he said.
The 40-member club has grown over the years, especially among newcomers and international students at Lambton College
Membership has increased since joining the United Friendly Cricket League in 2014, Ostojic said, pointing to championship titles in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
“Prior to this notice, the club planned to continue league play and use the groups, cooperating with Parks and Recreation for scheduling the pavilion for home games,” said Ostojic.
“Any limitations placed on the club’s access to the field will restrict our availability to offer the game and service the community, as laid out in our constitution.”
City staff said they are working with Lambton College to determine future needs for the sport within the city, including whether additional cricket fields are required.
“We will continue to work with the city and the school board,” Ostojic said. “Provided they’re interested to encourage more spaces for the game to be played.”