McKay Park (Photo Courtesy Prina Atwal)

By Prina Atwal

JBS Foods Canada invests $475K to upgrade McKay Park in Brooks

Nov 29, 2022 | 1:27 PM

BROOKS, AB – JBS Foods Canada, one of the country’s largest beef companies, has invested $475,000 to upgrade McKay Park in Brooks, Alta in exchange for naming rights of the park for the next 25 years.

Coun. Mohammed Idriss, who worked closely with this project, says the upgrade was much needed.

“The park came to my attention first, last year, when I was talking to some residents who live in the neighbourhood,” he says.

“The issue is that, although the park is in a very good location and has great potential, for some reason it hasn’t been looked at, and it looked very bad, it was in a very bad shape. And people wanted to use it, people wanted to enjoy it, and they were disappointed.”

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The funds for the park’s revitalization were raised by JBS through their Hometown Strong program, a $2 million investment that was made in response to the pandemic and to support local initiatives.

“So we are going to build two new basketball courts, we are going to add a mini soccer field, there will be a gazebo, and a sitting area for picnics, covered area, there will also be small upgrades to the playground, and then there will be a pathway that connects all of these facilities together,” says Idriss.

Idriss adds that the McKay Park revitalization will also benefit the apartments on the outskirts of the park, as it will act like a backyard for those residents.

Lisa Tiffin, the city’s manager of community development, says she hopes the upgrade will contribute to improving the residents’ quality of life.

“City of Brooks has a really young population, right now, our average age is about 35 years old, and we have a lot of young families, and children within that population. Outdoor recreation and some free outdoor recreation is very important for the quality of life here.”

Tiffin adds that she is excited to see how the project will unfold.

Work is planned to start early next year and the project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2023.