A public rally is scheduled Friday to bring pressure on Canada Post to give up a parcel of land on Portage Avenue for a high school playing field.

The former car dealership site at 730 Portage, at Broadway, was purchased last February by Canada Post, which plans to build a letter-carrier sorting facility there.

But community groups now want the Crown corporation to continue looking for another suitable site so nearby Gordon Bell High School can use the area as green space and a sports field.

Signs have been posted on the vacant site as students, parents, and community supporters plan to hold a rally there Friday at 12:15 p.m.

"The inner city is so desperately in need of more green space and more recreation space for youth," the MP for the area, Pat Martin said. "We want kids to join teams not gangs, and we've got to put our money where our mouth is and develop some places where they can play those sports."

Martin has suggested Canada Post could locate the depot in a former Canada Safeway grocery store building at Ellice Avenue and Wall Street.

Canada Post has been amenable to the idea of relinquishing the Portage Avenue property but only if another suitable downtown location for the letter-carrier sorting depot can be found, said corporation spokesperson Kathryn Neal. So far, that has not happened.

"Time is getting short," said Neal, adding the post office contacted the provincial government and Winnipeg school division officials after buying the property and learning that community groups subsequently wanted the parcel to be used for green space for the school.

"We remain empathetic," Neal told CBC News. But the Crown corporation hasn't been able to find a suitable site for its depot in the downtown area. "If a piece of land was identified that met our requirements naturally we'd be open to that," said Neal.

Martin, a New Democrat, met Tuesday with Alberta Tory MP Rob Merrifield, a junior minister responsible for Canada Post in an effort to get him involved.