CALGARY – Ward 6 City Council candidate John Pantazopoulos is pledging strong support for youth sports across Calgary, if elected this October.
A former volunteer coach for youth soccer and football, Pantazopoulos is focused on fair access, long-term planning, and building facilities that match the pace of Calgary’s growth.
“Calgary can’t keep duct-taping a broken system,” said Pantazopoulos. “We need to build a recreation future that matches the energy of our kids and the growth of our city.
That means long-term planning, smarter spending, and treating access to sport as a core part of building strong communities.”
A City Growing — But Falling Behind
Calgary’s public recreation system is aging and stretched thin.
According to city data, more than 70% of recreation facilities are over 35 years old — and 80% of Calgary’s population growth is taking place in new communities. That gap is creating growing waitlists, inconsistent access and rising pressure on a system built for a smaller city.
Pantazopoulos sees this as a moment for leadership. The City owns more than 200 recreation facilities or amenities and supports more than 50 local sport and recreation organizations — from grassroots groups to citywide associations.
Without smart investment, services will continue to fall further behind.
City Council recently approved a long-range strategy aimed at renewing and expanding public recreation services over the next 25 years.
Under this plan, the City would add 43 new athletic park fields and upgrade 11 more, bringing the total to 89 high-quality fields across the city — enough to meet 95% of Calgary’s long-term service standard. Fieldhouse access would also expand significantly, with 13 modern indoor facilities offering 2.5 times more bookable hours than today.
These upgrades would relieve the intense pressure on practice and game space, support league growth, and create new opportunities for year-round player development. For soccer families, clubs, and volunteers, this means shorter waitlists, better field conditions, and access to facilities in every quadrant of the city.
Other ambitious targets include increasing swimming lesson availability by 35% per capita, increasing ice sheets availability by 25%, and ensuring 86% of Calgarians live within five kilometres of an aquatic facility.
Pantazopoulos supports adding capacity for all youth sports. He believes future projects must reflect both fiscal discipline and long-term planning.
According to city data, modern multi-use facilities can be up to four times cheaper to operate than aging, single-use centres.
“I support investing in youth sports and the underlying infrastructure, but only if the implementation stays focused on value for money, access for all recreation activities, and results that are measurable,” he said. “This can’t turn into another unfocused capital plan.
We need to deliver real outcomes for Calgary families.”
He’s calling for:
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Stable, predictable funding models that reduce reliance on one-off decisions
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Stronger performance tracking, including waitlists, participation rates and satisfaction levels
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Transparent reporting to ensure public dollars deliver real results
Pantazopoulos is also committed to working alongside the many sport organizations tirelessly supporting youth and community recreation as the recreation needs of Calgarians are as diverse as the City itself.
If elected, he will:
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Invite input from sports and arts groups into the design and programming of new facilities
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Support scheduling coordination to reduce conflicts and maximize access for all Calgarians
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Support identifying and prioritizing city-owned land for new sport infrastructure projects
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Back programs that remove barriers for newcomers and low-income families
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Push for streamlined approvals to reduce red tape and accelerate project delivery to be on time and on budget.
“Team sports and youth arts programs build confidence, connection and community,” said Pantazopoulos. “We should be doing everything we can to support that as this helps build a better Calgary!”
