By John Matisz

Since an original vision was crafted in his head 15 years ago, Tom Partalas has been on a mission to bring a state-of-the-art facility to the Forest City’s indoor soccer community. On Oct. 22, it will all come full circle with the official opening of the BMO Centre.

At the Rectory Street venue Wednesday (Oct.5), with a construction crew putting on finishing touches in the background, Partalas, 61, the president of the London Optimists, and director of marketing Greg Matthison, scan the playing surface from the second floor. The two digress about soccer’s place in London’s sports scene, insisting the timing couldn’t be better for the unveiling of such a top-notch facility.

“Opening something like the BMO Centre was the ultimate goal,” said Partalas, who Matthison calls “the godfather of soccer in London,” due to his decades upon decades of service developing the sport’s presence in the city.

From beginning a now-massive tournament named after his late friend John Henderson to creating a task force to bring London’s soccer fields up to standard at the turn of the century, Partalas has been a continual driving force behind the establishment of a respectable local soccer community. His position as president of the London Optimists includes overseeing the BMO Centre’s operations.

Though the London Optimist Sports Dome currently offers indoor soccer, the addition of the BMO Centre is met by ample requests, Partalas said.

“If I won the lottery, I used to say, we’re adding something like this to London. The demand was overwhelming,” he added. “We’ve had bookings (at the London Optimist Sports Dome) until 1 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.”

The aforementioned opening of the BMO Centre, Matthison said, will serve both as an unveiling and a community celebration. Members of the community will have the opportunity to not only view the 110,000 square-feet building but participate in a number of activities.

A free barbeque from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. will coincide with a handful of historic soccer games – the first set of matches ever on the newly installed turf. Highlighted by a Special Olympics match and police versus fire fighters challenge, the four mini soccer pitches will be utilized from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Children and adults will have the chance to enter a lottery to play in one of the historic first games on the unused BMO Centre playing surface.

Players from various high-level soccer clubs, including the University of Western Ontario, Fanshawe College, London City and Forest City London, will be on hand to show their support.

The BMO Centre will serve the London community as a multi-purpose venue, as field lacrosse enthusiasts will be accommodated on top of footy fans. A running and walking track runs along the perimeter of the building as well, adding a unique edge to the soccer-infused facility.

“The idea with the track is that seniors in the winter currently have no where to go,” Partalas said of the add-on, which runs 1,360 feet long. “As everyone knows, the winter is so long in Canada.”

In terms of logistics, Partalas said the London Optimist Sports Dome, erected in 2004, will house training and practices for the most part while the BMO Centre will play host to mainly games. League play in the new building will begin mid-October.

“The soccer scene in London is so strong, and with the (BMO Centre) it’s just going to enhance that,” Partalas concluded.

The deadline for entering the open house playing lottery is next Wednesday (Oct. 12), with results being posted Oct. 14.

For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.