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An aerial view shows the Woodlands High School sports field set to see major improvements.

A west Mississauga high school and the community surrounding it will soon have a new $5 million athletic field and running track thanks to another deal between the City of Mississauga and the public school board.

City councilors gave the green light Wednesday to a project that will see the outdated Woodlands High School sports field and track transformed into a new facility that will include a multi-purpose artificial turf field for football, field hockey, football, rugby and lacrosse.

The updated site, estimated to cost $5 million to $5.6 million, will also include lighting and an eight-lane track, city officials said.

Under a joint use and funding agreement between the city and the Peel District School Board, each partner will pay approximately $2.54 million to complete the work. Provincial grants are also expected to help fund the project.

Ward 6 County. Joe Horneck said a new field and track are badly needed at Erindale Station Road/McBride Avenue High School.

He explained that the ball started when two gym teachers and the school principal approached the town asking for help.

“They came to us and told us the land at the back of The Woodlands was in a terrible state. We can’t even use it; we go there and we rent a space in Huron Park to play sports.

The view from the school parking lot shows the current sports field in the distance.

Noting that similar cost-sharing agreements have already been reached between the city and local school boards in other parts of Mississauga, Horneck said the new facilities in his neighborhood “are really going to benefit the community…it’s going to be a great example of how the school, school boards and the city can work together.

Mayor Carolyn Parrish, who was closely involved in similar deals that brought new sports facilities to two Malton schools when she was a Ward 5 councilor, has given her full support to the latest shared-use facilities deal.

“It needs to be renovated. It’s the same old cinder path and same mess for years,” she said of the Woodlands facility, adding that such agreements between the city and school boards work well because “it is ultimately the same taxpayer. Children can use it during school hours and the community can use it after school hours. This is actually a dual objective; It’s a fantastic use of our money.

Parrish represented the Malton area of ​​Mississauga when two schools… Lincoln Alexander And Ascension of Our Lord secondary schools — benefited from the same type of cost-sharing agreement between the school boards and the city.

She said provincial grants helped fund both of those projects and she expects the same commitment to come from the province as part of The Woodlands deal.

In a report to councillors, Mississauga Community Services Commissioner Jodi Robillos supported the latest deal.

“The City has a long-standing partnership with the Peel District School Board to share facilities on municipal lands and vice versa,” she concluded in her report. “The city’s contribution to this project will ensure the community has access to improved athletic facilities that will provide residents with the opportunity to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.”

Robillos added that such joint use agreements with school boards “are an efficient way to provide park services such as all-season artificial turf athletics facilities.” This partnership will maximize available resources while meeting the recreational needs of the community.

The agreement will see both partners share costs related to the construction, maintenance and any repairs of the facility.

The project completion date has not yet been communicated.

The Woodlands High School has long needed improvements to its athletic field and track, school and city officials say.

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