Nanaimo Gyro’s have a long standing history of building city parks in Nanaimo.
In fact, The Nanaimo Gyro Club provided the land for the first waterfront park in Nanaimo! Georgia Park, which connects to Maffeo-Sutton Park, was the original waterfront park in Nanaimo. In the 1970’s, the City of Nanaimo repurposed the area now known as Maffeo-Sutton Park. These two connecting parks are Nanaimo’s signature parkland overlooking our world famous harbour.
Read more about Nanaimo Gyro Parks:
Stevie Smith Bike Park
Gyro Playground #1 (1929) Comox Rd
Gyro Playground #2 Deverill Square
Gyro Playground #3 (1937) Pawson (Hospital) Park
Aside from the parks that bear our name, the Gyro Club has made significant donations to other parks:
In the summer of 1967, the Nanaimo Gyro Club built 3 tennis courts at the north-east corner of the Departure Bay Centennial Park. The courts, which were presented “To The Youth of the Area,” are still enjoyed today. One of the courts was converted to a multi-use court for box hockey and other sports.
Huddlestone Park in Lantzville
In the 1990’s, the Nanaimo Gyro Club provided the original playground equipment for Huddlestone Park in Lantzville. The addition of playground equipment transformed the park to local family destination.
In 1993 the Nanaimo Gyro Club committed over $25,000 to build the Bradshaw Playground on Newcastle Island Provincial Park. The playground was dedicated in honour of Gyro’s 1934 President Elmer P. Bradshaw.
Giovando Lookout on Newcastle Island
The Giovando Lookout is located at Nares Point on the north end of Newcastle Island. It offers breathtaking views of the north side of Departure Bay and Hammond Bay as well as the Georgia Strait. The Lookout was named in honour of Gyro’s 1946 President Dr. Lorenzo Giovando who was a prominent local doctor and Member of the Legislative Assembly.
Gyro Youth Sports Fields at Beban Park
In 1995, the Nanaimo Gyro Club, provided $50,000 to build the Gyro Youth Sports Fields at Beban Park. The four-field soccer and slo-pitch baseball facility opened for service in the summer of summer of 1996. The Gyro Youth Sports Fields resolved the shortage of soccer and T-Ball fields in City. The Gyro Youth Sports Fields were dedicated on March 16, 1996 coinciding with the Nanaimo Gyro Club’s 75th Anniversary (Black Diamond) installation weekend.
Merle Logan Field at Beban Park
In 2002, the Nanaimo Gyro Club donated $25,000 towards the building of the Merle Logan Field at Beban Park. The Merle Logan field is an all-weather artificial turf field which provides for year round play. The facility also includes stadium lighting, a field house and bleachers. The field opened on November 3, 2005.
In 2014, in partnership with the City of Nanaimo, the Gyro Club of Nanaimo donated and installed tennis blinds on the courts at Bowen Park. The Tennis Blinds are made of a green polyethylene mesh which is affixed to the perimeter fences of the courts to protect players from the sun and wind.