The names for Burnaby's two new covered sports boxes have been revealed.
The Confederation Park structure, located at 250 Willingdon Ave., has been named the Sohen Gill Sports Box, while the Riverway Sports Complex facility, at 8605 Nelson Ave., has been named the Jack Crosby Memorial Sports Box.
Gill was introduced to lacrosse at the age of eight when he joined some friends playing an outdoor game at Burnaby’s Confederation Park.
He soon showed a proclivity for scoring, and would become a prominent player with the Norburn junior team in 1961 that advanced to the Minto Cup — Canada's national junior men's lacrosse championship — falling to the Hastings Legionnaires in the final.
The Norburns proceeded to join the Inter-City Lacrosse League, which would become the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA), but only lasted one year before folding.
As a senior "A" rookie, Gill accumulated 19 goals and 16 assists over 31 games, then would play for Victoria, Vancouver and Coquitlam, with one other season in Burnaby in 1968, before retiring from the sport in 1969.
While he hung up the stick, Gill continued in the sport but this time as a volunteer, serving as coach and general manager of the Burnaby junior team from 1970 to 1972, then Burnaby’s senior "B" squad from 1972 to 1976.
He followed as the Coquitlam Adanacs’ general manager, with occasional coaching stints, from 1977 to 1986. On top of all that, he also spearheaded masters B.C. lacrosse. Gill became the commissioner of the WLA in 1987.
The city says it will host an official opening ceremony of the Sohen Gill Sports Box on Saturday, July 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Meanwhile, the city is updating the Jack Crosby Memorial Lacrosse Box as the Jack Crosby Memorial Sports Box.
Crosby organized and ran programs for Burnaby intermediate, junior, senior lacrosse teams and coached a PeeWee team for multiple years.
He was the General Manager for the Burnaby Cablevision from 1977 to 1979 and the Burnaby Lakers from 1988 to 2000, with each winning the Minto Cup in three straight years.
Crosby was an inductee to the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame as well as the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame.
An official opening ceremony for the Jack Crosby Memorial Sports Box is being planned for later this year.
The city says both sports boxes accommodate numerous programs including lacrosse, ball hockey, basketball, pickle ball, tai chi, special events, day camps and other uses.
Operational hours and program details are available online.
- with files from Dan Olson
