Lac-Simon’s New Sports Complex
Published on October 22, 2025
🏒 Lac-Simon’s New Sports Complex: A Dream Come True
For youth, families, athletes — and the whole region
On October 15, 2025, the Council of the Anishnabe Nation of Lac-Simon proudly inaugurated its brand-new multi-purpose sports complex, a $20 million community investment that fulfills a long-standing dream.
For many residents, this is truly a dream come true. The schedule is already nearly full, with high demand for open skate, hockey leagues, and broomball tournaments, showing just how essential this space is. Local families now enjoy the chance to play and train without traveling long distances, making sports more accessible and community-focused.
The complex includes an NHL-size rink, an indoor walking/running track, a restaurant, and a new gymnasium under construction nearby. It was designed to promote healthy lifestyles, encourage physical activity, and become a vibrant gathering place for all generations.
With a majority of residents under the age of 35, Lac-Simon is investing in its youth and its future. A sport-study program is also in development to support students academically and athletically.
The facility has already hosted a Montreal Canadiens Alumni game, and will soon become a venue for matches by Le Filon de l’Or-et-des-Bois, part of the Ligue de hockey préparatoire scolaire (LHPS), with six teams from M-12 to M-18 based at Le Transit, Le Tremplin, and Le Carrefour secondary schools.
It also helps address the ice-time shortage in neighbouring cities like Val-d’Or, Barraute and Senneterre.
Beyond sports, the complex is creating local jobs and boosting social economic development in Lac-Simon. It is open not only to neighbouring Anishnabe and Cree communities, but also to non-Indigenous populations, who are warmly welcomed to rent ice time, attend events.
This project is part of a broader movement of community development, alongside promising initiatives like Embio-Lac-Simon, which will soon begin building log homes near the current gas station, and the construction of a new gymnasium adjacent to the sports complex. These inspiring projects stimulate the local economy, strengthen community pride, and encourage young people to believe in their potential, and to dream big for their community.
✨ Congratulations to the community of Lac-Simon and all the partners behind this inspiring initiative that celebrates youth, health, and collective pride.
