VANCOUVER - The long awaited official opening of the Rashpal Dhillon UBC Track and Field Oval at the Point Grey UBC campus took place Wednesday afternoon during the UBC Pre-Jerome Open.

The celebration served to formally announce and recognize the enormous contribution of $1.1 million dollars from the Dhillon family's Richberry Farms towards this brand new facility at Thunderbird Park.

Special guests who attended the opening ceremonies include UBC athletic director Bob Philip and Peter Dhillon, son of Rashpal Dhillon, after whom the oval is named. Those individuals were part of a group that had the honour of cutting the ribbon to officially open the track and field facilities on the UBC campus.

"I'd like to start off by thanking the University of British Columbia for giving my family the honour and priviliege of having this beautiful oval named after my father," said Dhillon as he addressed the crowd that came to ceremonies. "It's quite appropriate that this oval is named after my father. I remember when I was a kid my mom and dad used to go out for walks around track fields or parks. This is a fitting memory for my father."

The elder Dhillon, who passed away in 2003, was a lifelong entrepreneur after immigrating to Canada from India as a young man. As well as undertaking a series of successful business ventures, he encountered the most success with his cranberry farm. His son, Peter, is actively involved in a number of sporting projects among many other philanthropic endeavors.

"This has been a long time coming," said Philip. "The T-Bird track and field teams are one of the biggest beneficiaries of finally having a track on campus but this is also a facility for the community."