George Brown College (GBC) is upgrading and renovating its athletic facilities later this year, according to a report made by Student Life Manager Joe Stapleton at Tuesday’s Student Association Board of Directors (BoD) meeting.

Stapleton presented three projects to the BoD which will be implemented in the near future. These projects include changeroom and shower renovations at the St. James campus, a field enhancement partnership with the Toronto District School Board to obtain and refurbish a field to FIFA standards, and a remodeling of the Casa Loma Athletic Centre.

“I just wanted to share some exciting things that are happening with our athletics department to enhance the wellness of our students,” said Stapleton.

The college had previously waived fees that are directed to athletics because COVID-19 has restricted students’ access to those services. Stapleton emphasized that the decision to waive these fees will not be reversed.

“The decision that was made to not charge athletic fees, that’s not going to be reversed to now charge athletic fees for these projects, so these projects don’t impact fees at all,” said Stapleton.

Stapleton also says he hopes the renovations will upgrade the accessibility of the facilities and make them more gender inclusive, but he could not confirm.

“I don’t know, so I don’t want to answer one way or the other. I am going to assume and hope that that has been considered, but if not it’s definitely a conversation that needs to happen,” says Stapleton.