Then & Now
DID YOU KNOW? Fowler Athletic Park was only one suggested name for the facility. Others included Summer Games Athletic Park, Doug Gilbert Memorial Track, and Sir Winston Churchill Athletic Park.
Fowler Athletic Park Then & Now BY ROBERT MICHON
16 T8Nmagazine.com
TUCKED AWAY AT the edge of Brae-
1970s
side sits Fowler Athletic Park, with its track painted in that familiar, calming shade of blue. The track and field facility has been a staple of the St. Albert athletic community for almost 40 years, and while it’s been long beloved by local athletes, it may come as a surprise that it was once a destination for track stars from all over Alberta. And though it may be less busy than it was during its glory days, Fowler Athletic Park continues to serve as an essential facility for aspiring athletes.
Fowler Athletic Park wasn’t built just for locals; it was built for all Albertans to enjoy, as part of the 1979 Alberta Summer Games. At the time, the idea of a provincial sporting competition was relatively new, with the first games taking place five years earlier in Calgary. The games weren’t a proven success yet, and the impact it would have on host communities wasn’t entirely known. But St. Albert’s community leaders saw the games as an opportunity to feature our city on the provincial stage, and made a bid for St. Albert to act as the 1979 host. Former St. Albert mayor Dick Fowler took on the task of organizing the bid, and when it was successful, he became the chief
