The past chair of the Lacombe Athletic Park Association (LAPA) says there will be additions to MEGlobal Athletic Park in the future.

But for now, Darren Berg says the non-profit’s new board of directors is charting a course for that to happen.

“We do intend to enlarge the park. It’s just a matter of priorities. Do we first add the track, do we first expand the fieldhouse. It’s all going to happen but we just got to decide what’s the most pressing need for the short-term,” Berg says.

More than 300 guests attended the ninth annual LAPA Gala on Saturday at the Lacombe Memorial Centre, a major fundraiser that Berg says generates about 20 per cent of the organization’s operating revenue.

LAPA is the organization that maintains and operates MEGlobal Athletic Park, which is accessible for free to the public when not being rented at cost to preferred users like Lacombe Composite High School, Lacombe and District Minor Football and the Central Alberta Buccaneers.

Last month, the Buccaneers announced they would be returning to Great Chief Park in Red Deer for the 2018 season after five years in Lacombe.

The football team played four regular season games and one playoff game in Lacombe last year.

Rentals from preferred users made up 5.1 per cent of LAPA’s revenues in 2017-18.

Berg says they retain a good relationship with the team, which could still hold practices in Lacombe, but adds that there’s plenty of demand for bookings.

“Any field time that they don’t take, we’ve got people lined up to take it,” he says.

“There’s more than enough need for two artificial turf fields here in central Alberta. Our park is fully-booked and I’m sure Great Chief Park has a waiting list. It’s great that Red Deer is finally getting what Lacombe has had for years.”

Fundraising for Adarius 4 Autism

Earlier that afternoon, LAPA hosted the Fan Event 4 Charity at Lacombe Centre Mall, an autograph signing by three CFL players: Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver Adarius Bowman, Saskatchewan Roughriders lineman Charleston Hughes and Calgary Stampeders lineman Quinn Smith.

They were collecting donations for Bowman’s charity, Adarius 4 Autism, which aims to support young people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The 32-year-old Adarius Bowman signing autographs at the Lacombe Centre Mall on March 3.

The three-time CFL All Star started the group last year and has partnered with Autism Edmonton to create the #GetToKnow project, a school program that helps students understand what it’s like to be autistic.

Activities included in the program teach students about challenges such as sensory sensitivity and how to communicate non-verbally.

It was during Bowman’s first stint with the Blue Bombers nearly 10 years ago when he met Oakley Ralph, the autistic daughter of teammate Brock Ralph.

He lived with the Ralph family and says he learned a lot about patience and empathy.

“If you live with somebody on the spectrum long enough, you will realize it’s not really them. It’s us. We put a lot of pressure on them trying to adapt to the way that we have been taught, when we need to just try and figure out the way that they understand and process everything,” Bowman says.

“The more and more you’re around somebody with autism, that’s when you realize the more we’re not paying attention to each other.”