Nearly 200 people erupted into cheering and jubilation Friday night as they learned Munro Park in North Sydney, N.S. had won the grand prize of $250,000.

“When we didn’t see a cameraman from TSN, we were thinking we didn’t win,” said Sandy Cantwell-Kerr with the Northside Soccer Association. “But then when he showed up we thought maybe we did. So we went up and down, and really when the announcement came it was incredible emotion.”

“I cried I was so excited.”

The park was part of the 2015 Kraft Project Play Competition, a project aimed to improve communities by building better places to play.

Event organizer Angela Hull says Munro Park has needed upgrades for quite a bit of time.

“The field is in very rough condition,” she said. “It’s quite bumpy and has had draining issues. The benches are old, the bleachers are old, we don’t have proper sized nets for our youth 12 players. So lots of upgrades can be made.

Hull says the money will also help with the lack of storage facilities and bathrooms on the property. But most of all, organizers are hoping the excitement will help attract more players to the local soccer association.

‘Recreation is so important to kids,” said Cantwell-Kerr. “We’re trying so hard to get them away from their screens and having great facilities helps them feel good when they’re out participating, not tripping over ruts when you’re out playing.”

With a population of just over 6,000, North Sydney was up against much larger centres, including St. John’s, N.L., London, Ont. and Salt Spring Island, B.C.

“I think being a small community helped in a lot of ways,” said Hull. “We have this sense of togetherness that maybe people don’t have in larger cities.”

The winner was chosen by online voting from the public. Cantwell-Kerr says she could feel the support from the community and abroad.

“It’s really got the community going,” she said. “I think even if we hadn’t of won, the community spirit that it brought out was really impressive and great to be a part of that.”

Though the official cheque presentation has yet to take place, the community is already dreaming about what the future holds for Munro Park.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.