Many sports teams from Providence University College will soon be playing their home games in Niverville.

President Kent Anderson says they have reached an agreement with Niverville so that their volleyball, basketball and futsal games will be played inside the newly constructed Community Resource and Recreation Centre (CRRC).

"We're excited to be able to partner in the construction and operation of this new community centre," says President Kent Anderson, standing outside the new facility. "This is going to be the home of the Providence Pilots."

Anderson says they were able to provide significant financial resources in order to fund construction of the facility. He notes they have provided a one-time contribution of $1.5 million. But will also be contributing through annual charges.

"It helps us because for us to build something like this on our campus would have cost considerably more," he says. "We are able to free up now our campus facilities for other things, for athletic training and other intramural stuff."

Anderson says with Providence playing in national leagues, there should be a lot of people from other provinces coming to Niverville to watch sports.

"Our teams play well and they are very competitive," he notes. "And so I expect there will be some enthusiasm and we will see good crowds."

According to Anderson, it will only be games that take place in Niverville. He notes all training will continue to happen on campus.

"We still have good facilities on campus, it's just not enough for the growing program that we're experiencing," he explains. "So we needed a place to play the games against competition from other schools and places, but training will happen on campus."

Meanwhile, Niverville Mayor Myron Dyck calls this a win-win scenario.

"It's very exciting," he says. "It gives Providence the opportunity to play in a brand new first rate facility. And to the residents of Niverville with the cash infusion coming on their donation and on their annual court usage fees, it just means that much less expense for the taxpayers of Niverville."

Dyck says the contract length can be up to 25 years.

"This will make them the largest donor to the CRRC," he shares. "And we welcome them and we are very excited and happy that they chose to invest in our community in this way."

Dyck says it has taken more than a year to get to this point. He notes part of that has been ensuring that there is not a fight for court time between Providence and residents of Niverville.

"We understand that the CRRC was first and foremost built and paid for by the residents of Niverville and so it should only be reasonable that they would have first go at the usage and so forth," he explains. "We hired a Rec Manager about a year and a half ago now and with one of the tasks being scheduling."

The Pilots will play their first games out of Niverville this fall. Dyck says he looks forward to welcoming them.

"That means opportunities for our businesses," he notes. "They will do their purchases of various amenities here in the community."