London, ON - With many Western buildings and on-campus facilities re-opening over the past couple of weeks, the Western Mustangs are now able to showcase some of the recent improvements made to some of their spaces, during the temporary closures.

Steve Barry, Manager of Facilities with Western Sport and Recreation, gave us some insight and insider knowledge as to what updates have been made since Sport and Recreation closed their facility doors before the December break. Barry and his team have been hard at work with many updates and upgrades across the board – pun intended. 

The main focus of recent renovations and updates were to the Thompson Recreation and Athletic Centre (TRAC) facility. The TRAC was given a general refresh, but updates also included some much needed safety improvements. "The care and passion that the CUPE TRAC staff has for our facilities is evident in the incredible work they have done." says Barry about the recent updates.

A key component of this recent renovation was putting up a white mesh netting around the perimeter of the rink, installed by Riley Manufacturing. This net reaches 25 feet in height and spans 360 degrees, and protects the East bleachers, which were exposed prior to these recent updates. As the space is used for ice sports, track, recreation and more, these new measures will provide a greater sense of safety and protection for student athletes, avid sports fans, students, faculty and staff.

Updates also included extensive board repairs and painting: 

• For those who love to be on the ice, an exciting new update is that approximately half of the hockey boards were replaced around the rink. 
• The hallways leading to the TRAC dressing rooms, and the dressing rooms themselves have been updated with a fresh paint job. 
• The West bleachers that normally house fans were sanded and painted.
• Even more exciting, a special mural dedicated to the Western Mustangs is in the works for the middle section of these bleachers.  

A final piece of the recent renovation involved replacing the current 4-sided scoreboard, which dated back to 1975. "Because the scoreboard was original and many decades old, we no longer could find the appropriate light fixtures for the unit" Barry told us. It has now been replaced with a new 16-foot scoreboard on the North Wall of the facility, courtesy of work done by OES. This new scoreboard will be used for both recreation and sport programming, with hopes to preserve one side of the original scoreboard and relocate it to the South Wall. The Mustangs also anticipate energy cost savings with the new scoreboard.

Christine Stapleton, Director of Western Sport and Recreation, is very pleased with the updates and is even more thrilled to welcome students back to these new-and-improved facilities, within current guidelines. "These are much needed improvements from a cosmetic but also from a safety perspective, which we are very excited to now have in place. I am thankful to our CUPE team and Manager of Facilities for working hard to make these updates, along with Riley Manufacturing and OES, and for utilizing the time during our closures to complete this work," Stapleton said.

Beginning February 22, the phased re-opening of the TRAC began for jogging and skating - reservations and masks are required for use of the facilities; as well, limited in-person team training is taking place. 

For more information on operating hours and for frequently asked questions, visit: https://uwo.ca/campusrec/