If things go according to plan, there could be a new $5 million covered facility, second turf field and fully equipped clubhouse at Brennan Park Recreation Centre by September 1.
The concept is for a dome-like facility, which would house an indoor field, an attached clubhouse with change rooms and a viewing area, and an additional turf field, according to a presentation to council by the proponents at the community development standing committee on March 3.
The plan is a Play Better and Academy Soccer proposal.
The new public sports facility would be managed and paid for by a foundation, under the umbrella of “Play Better,” a program that aims to have a more broad based access to sport.
“Sport culture is a little messed up right now, as far as my eyes can tell,” Play Better founder Willie Cromack told council in the presentation.
Through the Play Better program, young athletes choose a charity for their team, and then parents offer small financial rewards for achievements. The idea is to make the game more fun, youth more altruistic and parents more focused on the positive, according to Cromack.
“Instead of potentially earning a donut from dad for having scored a goal, the team earns a small micro-donation – equivalent to the price of a donut for the team’s charity,” he said.
Winning or losing is not the focus of each game when the Play Better program is implemented, Cromack explained, and that changes the culture around sport.
“It is quite challenging to yell at your kid if they might be raising money for cancer or the SPCA,” he said.
While ideally Squamish teams at the facilities would adopt Play Better, there would be no requirement for them to do so, Cromack said.
Play Better will also not change the look of the facilities. They would become “Squamish’s place to play,” Cromack said, and look like other fields and facilities under district control in Squamish.
Cromack said there would ideally be no liability to the community, as this would be taken care of by the foundation, which would own it.
The foundation would fund the facilities through its donations and the facilities maintenance would be funded through rent and user fees, the delegation told council.
For the plan, the delegation requested a transfer of title or long-term lease of seven acres of land at Brennan Park from the district, and help with amenities such as garbage cans and benches, as well as assistance in applying for grants and permits.
Though the Soccer Academy at Don Ross Secondary School would be involved in the project, with the goal of expanding the Academy Soccer program, the indoor facility would not be only for soccer, according to Squamish’s Tim O’Brien, who also presented at council.
“We want to fill the indoor facility and the field with all sports,” O’Brien said.
There could be minor hockey dry-land training in the facility, for example, O’Brien said. Schools would also be able to use the facilities for gym classes, he said.
While council members had some questions about the sustainability of the facilities and about the transfer of the land, most agreed it was a plan they could support.
“These types of creative ways of providing services to our community – because ultimately it is really about providing service to our community – I look forward to where the next step leads us,” Mayor Patricia Heintzman told the delegation.
Council recommended that district staff work with Play Better and Academy Soccer to discuss next steps.
