LSHOF cuts ribbon to permanent home

By Lethbridge Herald on April 4, 2022.

Herald photo by justin seward From left, Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame chair Dave McMurray , city manager Lloyd Brierley, acting mayor Belinda Crowson, project artist Collin Zipp and Hall of Fame board members Knud Peterson and Dori Johnson participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for LSHOF’s permanenet location at the ATB Centre on Monday.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

The Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame hosted a grand opening for its permanent location on Monday at the ATB Centre.

The permanent home comes after 37 years of moving around displays.

“It’s an absolutely great day,” said  Dave McMurray, LSHOF chair.

“After two years of having to postpone it and almost feeling like Groundhog Day, that ‘Oh another wave is coming through and oh we’re going to have to postpone it.’ It’s just such a relief to be able to finally celebrate its opening and have it with so many people here as well.”

McMurray added, “ It just allows fa place for people to come and it allows us some flexibility to be able to adapt.”

LSHOF allows visitors a tour of the inductees’ banners, interactive displays and a revamped webpage can be viewed.

“People can do nominations online, they can contact us,” he said.

“So, it’s a long time in coming. So it feels great.”

LSHOF is a place that people  can come and celebrate where Lethbridge has been in its sporting past and where it’s going , says McMurray.

“To be able to come through and to see you’ve got a write up there  because it does so much.It’s not just athletes , it’s builders, there’s people that have done special work to get in, in terms of behind the scenes,” he said.

The permanent location was made possible thanks to Lethbridge City Council voting in favour of including the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame in the new westside recreation centre in 2014, which is now known as the ATB Centre.

“As a historian of  sport and physical culture, my interest in and I vision for the Hall of Fame has been two-fold,” said Rob Kossuth, chair of LSHOF’s permanent site committee, who presented the permanent  plan site  to council in April 2014.

“First I see the hall as a site for honouring athletes, coaches and builders who have  demonstrated excellence in sport in the community and that is the primary goal of this organization. But second, what I see in here is the organization has a role in the community to celebrate not just Lethbridge’s sporting past and rich heritage, but a place of sport as a critical element to the history of this community.”

Mal Clewes was a 2010 inductee and orginal LSHOF board chair.

“Here we are 37 years later and as a result of the dedication of so many people in our community, the Hall of Fame is alive and well, and we now have a permanent facility,” said Clewes.

“Literally hundreds of people have stepped in over the years to serve on the board and volunteer to make this all happen and we’re extremely grateful.”

 LSHOF will host a banquet for its 2020 class inductees and the 2020 and 2021 Sports People of the Year on  May 6 after COVID delays.

The 2022 class will be honoured in the fall.