Mississauga’s Hershey Sportszone for the Soccer Lover

I love soccer, (football) and I don’t care if you are from the Middle East or white boy from Clarkson village in Mississauga if you love soccer the way I do, you will inevitably have spent more than a little time at the Hershey Sportszone. 

This large indoor sports complex also contains a state of the art gymnastics facility, basketball courts and a fully accredited fitness centre on the top Floor. However, once you step foot into this structure you will soon notice that the beautiful game dominates this facility on most nights.

As you walk in and look straight ahead you will notice the LCD screen which displays the team names and change rooms along with field number.  It appears “Super Arab Pita” and “Vicious & Delicious” will be facing off on this particular night.

As with any great soccer facility, the Hersey Sportszone has a soccer shop in which you can by the newest set of goalkeeper gloves, jerseys or Lionel Messi memorabilia. As you turn to your right you will notice the “Extra Time” lounge. With several large LCD screens, various beers on tap along with a kind and courteous staff you can get your drink with your team mates, or better yet, offer a pint to the guy you tripped in the penalty box in  the game just 30 minutes earlier.

As a father and dedicated family man I know that if I come home stinking of perspiration and  moldy old goalkeeping gloves I will swiftly get a kick in my soccer balls, so the lovely people at the Hershey Centre have provided shower facilities inside the change rooms.

 Now, if you have been playing soccer for as long as I have, you may recall that most showers associated with indoor soccer are reminiscent of a cross between a murder scene and a brothel. Luckily for you and I, these facilities are clean so you can get your lather on after a hard fought battle on the pitch.

Another bonus about the soccer facilities located here is that the pitch includes little rubber pellets, which, while annoying to get out of your kit after a game they certainly soften the blow if you fall onto the turf or slide across it.

I’m going to stray away from the soccer theme for a moment and touch upon the absolutely amazing gymnastics facility which is frequented by children and teens (for the most part) of both sexes from in and around the GTA. I wish I knew more than absolutely nothing about gymnastics, but if you are at all interested in it, you better do a couple of tumbles and back flips to the Sportszone.

There you have it, my review of the Hershey Sportszone. Now before you give me grief about not touching on the basketball courts and the fully equipped fitness centre located on the second floor, let me say that they are both great and well worth using.

However, this review is from my perspective and for me it’s all about soccer. When I was a young man all I cared about was two things in life, one playing this amazing sports with my best friends all day long and then at night writing my alias all over the place like a little hoodlum (more on that in a future article).  Soccer has always been a part of my life and will be my daughters as well and with any luck 10 years from now I will be sitting beside the pitch cheering on my daughter just like she does for me every Sunday evening.  

Map to the Hershey Sportszone>