THE END OF AN ERA

After serving as the heart of Ontario rugby for 58 years, Fletcher's Fields will be closing for good

- MARK COLLEY

For decades, Fletcher's Fields was the home to rugby in the GTA, like this 1974 match between a touring English team from Somerset and a local side.

Fletcher’s Fields was never the prettiest of places, but it always felt like home to Nathalie Bendavid.

She would fly down 19th Avenue in Markham, windows down and music blaring on the type of summer day that felt hot enough to melt skin. She’d spot the sun-washed green sign and turn into the dirt parking lot in front of the rugby pitches, slowing to a crawl to navigate the bumps and dips.

If she was there early enough, she could still smell the fresh-cut grass. And she wouldn’t leave until the sun disappeared behind the trees, spending the walk back to the car slapping away mosquitoes.

Bendavid, who represented Canada at the 2009 Rugby World Cup, spent decades at Fletcher’s, first playing there in 1997, then bringing her husband, later her kids and eventually the players she was coaching. She is one of thousands for whom Fletcher’s was home, the place to be on hot summer Saturdays with friends and family.

Nathalie Bendavid, a former Team Canada rugby player, has spent decades at Fletcher's Fields.

Now, Fletcher’s Fields is closing for good. The six-field facility, home to five GTA rugby clubs and Rugby Ontario, will host its final game in September, the final chapter in a 58-year history.

Fletcher’s is shutting down for a number of economic reasons, according to Steve Hall, its chair and president. It hasn’t seen a major renovation in three decades. Costs have grown in recent years, with an all-volunteer staff becoming part-time, then full-time. Revenue — some from the bar above the clubhouse — has waned as people drink less and leave sooner. COVID-19 delivered a big blow, too.