Mayor would be happy to talk to team about site
Brian Lewis
Province
The Vancouver Whitecaps have spent much time and money over the past few years trying to put their proposed downtown Vancouver stadium in the back of the net.
But shots to advance their cause have often been blocked by skilful regulatory goalkeeping at city hall.
So if this is the way Vancouver plays, as it has with past issues such as Wal-Mart, then the Whitecaps should look elsewhere.
Why not Surrey?
Assuming that the soccer world unfolds as many predict, and within a few years the Whitecaps graduate to the Major Soccer League where England mega-star David Beckham now resides, then they should consider the longer-term big picture.
It shows most regional growth over the next 30 to 40 years taking place south of the Fraser River and east into the Fraser Valley.
In effect, the Lower Mainland “core” is shifting south and east away from downtown Vancouver, where land costs and availability are prohibitive.
However, the Whitecaps already have major plans to build significant soccer infrastructure south of the Fraser.
The team is talking to Delta and Surrey about constructing a multi-million-dollar national training centre in either municipality.
As Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi explains in a document recently sent to the City of Surrey, the team proposes to build a six-field facility with a mix of artificial and grass surfaces that would include a clubhouse, a physiotherapy clinic, changing rooms and other technical facilities.
This proposal was sent to Surrey in response to a request by Coun. Tom Gill, who says the training centre should locate on the eastern end of the 120-hectare Tynehead Regional Park near 168th Street and 96th Ave.
Gill also admits he’s been “dumped on” by some environmentalists for wanting to put the soccer facility into a regional park and, naturally, the regional district would have to be involved before anything happened.
However, Lenarduzzi also tells me that Delta is a long way ahead of Surrey in this race.
“We’ve been talking to Delta over the last year about building the national training centre there and we’re near the point where something could happen,” he said.
Delta chief administrative officer George Harvie says his municipality already has a 13-hectare recreation-zoned park near Highway 91 and Highway 10 that could accommodate the training centre.
And the city could give the Whitecaps a favourable long-term lease similar to the deal it did with the Western Hockey League Vancouver Giants, whose training centre is also located in Delta.
So why not put both the national training facility and the stadium south of the river so they’d be close together for the mutual benefit of many in the soccer community?
Lenarduzzi says the Whitecaps’ stadium focus remains on the downtown waterfront, although he acknowledges that the region’s growth is in the Valley.
But others can see the benefits of locating the stadium in Surrey.
One site often mentioned is the industrial area at the north end of Scott Road which is also served by SkyTrain. The city, the province and the private sector all own property there and it was once the proposed site for Pacific National Exhibition relocation.
“That’s an ideal location for a soccer stadium,” Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts says, “and I’d certainly like to get into discussions with the Whitecaps organization about it.”
But convincing the Whitecaps to look south for their stadium location may require skills as exceptional as Beckham bending the ball.
If you have a story idea or noteworthy item about anything going on in the Fraser Valley, you can e-mail Brian at [email protected]