tawâw, to experience Grande Prairie Indigenous cultures
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Go beyond the field in Grande Prairie
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For sports teams visiting Grande Prairie, making a weekend out of the trip allows for team building, fun and fresh legs on the field #GPTourism #exploreNWAB
Grande Prairie, Alberta — “Bus legs or a team with rubber legs, why have that coming into a game,” explains coach Mark Owens of the Mighty Peace Football Club. “Why not arrive the night before, have some fun and show up to the game rested?"
Grande Prairie tourism attractions come in all shapes and sizes, for those teams smart enough to make their visit to the big city a memorable one for all involved.
“I know for a lot of our teams, it’s the highlight of the season. There are a lot of places we go to with our schedule where you can’t do much, example you get a hotel pool you can’t dive in, but there are so many things to do here in the city—it’s why we love coming to Grande Prairie.”
WATCH: Beyond the Field with #GPTourism
For Coach Owens who's been coaching Peace River football teams for 21 years, he and his coaching colleagues make a point of making their Grande Prairie visit into an experience.
“The hotels in Grande Prairie bend over backwards to host us. They are always giving us great team rates, they will open up their banquet rooms so we can host a pizza party and most are located super close to the field,” explains Coach Owens.
When you really think about it, it makes good sense. How is your team expected to play super well when they walk off the bus, jump onto the field and then get on the bus and go back home.
Where is the chance to build comradery, where is the chance to get rid of those rubber legs, or the opportunity for parents to score some city time and experience #GPTourism’s extensive menu of options.
Round out your team's visit to Grande Prairie
Here are just a few of the many things to do while in town for your game, tournament or competition.
Visit Eastlink Centre
Connected to Lincoln Hanson Field and the Dave Barr Ice Rink, Eastlink Centre is also home to what Coach Owens' kids call “the dino pool”, a $110-million-dollar water amusement park including the “flowrider” indoor surf machine.
Eastlink Centre's FlowRider is a highlight for many sports teams visiting Grande Prairie.
Hunt for dinosaur bones
Why is the pool dinosaur themed? Because not 20 minutes from the Eastlink Centre is the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum. How about this for team building: load them all up into rafts and go hunt for dinosaur bones?!
Or organize through the Museum a “paleontologist for a day experience” and go spend time digging for bones at the world’s most concentrated bone sites, known as the River of Death.
Check out Grande Prairie City Centre
Grande Prairie’s City Centre, just went through a multi-million-dollar upgrade and is home to over 80 retailers, restaurants and hotels all waiting to make the most of your next Grande Prairie sports tourism experience.
Check out street art, live music and farmer's markets in Grande Prairie City Centre.
Hit the parks and trails
“We love all of the green space the City offers,” explains Coach Owens. Downtown is home to Muskoseepi Park, only one of 19 parks around the City, “anywhere you turn around you find a field to throw a ball around.”
Photo:
Paul Lavoie
Stretching the legs in one of Grande Prairie's 19 parks is a great way to get rid of bus legs or bleacher butt.
Bond with snow tubing
In winter months, hockey teams will find even more fun in addition to the list above, by heading to Nitehawk Year-Round Adventure Park. Snow tubing has become a serious concern in Grande Prairie since Nitehawk introduced the hit activity to their slopes a few years back. Plan a teambuilder night, when the snow tubing area becomes a dance party with DJ music and a light show!
After your day of adventure, no doubt your crew will be hungry. Coach Owens insisted on giving a special shout out to all of the city’s restaurants, including a few all you can eat buffets that go over super well with his teams.
“We make a big deal of it for our teams coming from Peace River, it’s a two-hour drive for us but why not make a weekend out of it, great hotels with all of the city’s attractions means we have the option of all kinds of things we like to do with the kids,” explains Coach Owens.
Take some of Coach Owens' recommendations and go beyond the field to make your next Grande Prairie sports experience something more than memorable. Your team’s performance on the field will only improve and everyone walks away with more smiles; isn’t that why you are in it in the first place?
When you go
Follow the suggestions in this article for a "Grande" getaway:
Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum
Nitehawk Year-Round Adventure Park
More things to do
The list of Grande Prairie’s things to do is long, just check out this listing of attractions on Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Association’s website.
Where to stay
Book your next trip using GPRTA's easy accommodations listings. For a central location close to everything, our ZenSeekers team enjoys the Sandman Hotel Grande Prairie, newly renovated for 2023.
Where to eat
Feed the team or treat yourself, there are so many options in Grande Prairie; check out this list of restaurant and dining options.
Share your #GPTourism adventures
Let us know what you find, include #GPTourism in your social media posts so you and your team might be featured on their social media.
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