Centennial Park is a large municipal park with many sports facilities,
/ref> maintained by the Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division of the city of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada.

History

The park was opened in 1967 for Canada's 100th birthday by the then-Borough of

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River, on the ...

and was part of the Hirons' dairy farm (the remaining part of the farm was sold for residential development in 1968). In 1976, the park was one of two venue sites for the

1976 Summer Paralympics The 1976 Summer Paralympics (), branded as Torontolympiad – 1976 Olympiad for the Physically Disabled, was the fifth Paralympic Games to be held. They were hosted by Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from 3 to 11 August 1976, marking the first time a ...

. In 1998, when the six municipalities constituting Metropolitan Toronto were amalgamated, the park was integrated into Toronto Parks and Recreation from the former City of Etobicoke Parks Department. This should not be confused with an identically named small city park in the east end of Toronto, on Centennial Road,

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, which was also inherited by the amalgamation. In 2015, the park hosted the

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the ea ...

cycling at the 2015 Pan American Games Cycling competitions at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto were held July 10 to 25, 2015 at four different venues. The BMX competitions took place at the Centennial Park Pan Am BMX Centre in Toronto, the mountain biking competitions happened ...

. After the Games, the BMX track became a legacy site for public use. In November 2022, the City of Toronto announced the closure of skiing and snowboarding activities at the park, citing declining use due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mechanical issues with the lifts. Reducing snow cover during winter months may also have factored into the decision, but were not directly mentioned by the city.

Earl Bales Park Earl Bales Park is a large park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The West Don River runs through it. It was named after Robert Earl Bales, a former reeve of the North York township. The park contains a ski centre, community centre, dog park, amphith ...

remains the only ski and snowboard centre in the city of Toronto.

Features

The park has a variety of features including: * Centennial Park Conservatory * Etobicoke Olympium, a large athletic centre that was built in 1975. * Centennial Hill was the site of a municipal dump and the south end was used as a transfer station. * Rob Ford Stadium, formerly Centennial Park Stadium, is a 3,500 seat capacity

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

that is primarily used for

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and occasionally for

kabaddi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In this game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to touch defenders and attempt to return within 30 ...

. * Centennial Park Arena 2 pads * In the mid to late 1970s there was a Motocross track at Centennial park, open for riding and also held Motocross races on Sundays. Mike Austin's MRAC Motorcycle Racing Association of Canada ran the races. * 8 lane polytan track and field facility * go-cart track * golf course 120 acres * picnic areas * 7 soccer fields * one baseball diamond * five softball diamonds * Designated Toboggan Hill * Splash Pad * Playground Equipment * Flying Circles * 2 Cricket Pitches * Disc Golf Course * Exercise Course (Kiwanis) * 7 acres marshland/wetlands * 11 acre man made pond * Centennial Park Pan Am BMX Centre

References

External links

The Etobicoke Creek Watershed
{{Parks and squares in Toronto Parks in Toronto Etobicoke Canadian Centennial

History

Features

See also

References

External links