EDMONTON – Fan Day is a Double E Training Camp staple, and the Green and Gold are adding a new wrinkle to the festivities this Saturday.
The Elks are broadening their reach in the Northern Alberta community by hosting Fan Day presented by Cooper Equipment Rentals at Emerald Hills Sports Pavilion in Sherwood Park. The location will be different, but all the best parts of Fan Day will remain.
Fans should expect all the usual activities: full team autograph session (including alumni like Gizmo Williams and A.J. Gass), food trucks, fun activities for the kids, and more. As for the players, for many this will be the first time they are able to interact face-to-face with the Green and Gold faithful.
“I’m excited for it,” Head Coach Mark Kilam said. “We’re heading out to Sherwood Park. I’ve never been out there, so that’ll be nice.”
When it comes to the action on the field, as usual the Elks will run a lot of their practice script with the offence taking on the defence – all to give fans the best viewing experience. Still, the priority is making sure the team gets their work in as they prepare for what should be a very exciting season of Double E football.
“It is still practice, but it’s very situationally based,” Kilam said. “We’re going to be in our full gear. It’ll be good to be in a different kind of atmosphere. They’re going to see energy. They’re going to see their favourite players making plays and hopefully we get a great turnout.”
Fan Day will be a bit of a throwback experience for many of the Elks players, one that probably harkens back to their early football playing days. Instead of the 50,000 green and gold seats that typically encircle their practices on Play Alberta field at Commonwealth Stadium, it will be a team bus ride to Sherwood Park to a much more intimate facility – all while dressed in their football gear.
“It should be good,” Kilam said. “It’ll be old school. It’s going to be like high school ball. We’re going to be in our lowers on the bus, carrying our helmets and our shoulder pads. It’s going to be awesome.”
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