A new $32.5 million Whitecaps soccer development centre is to be built at the University of British Columbia’s Thunderbird Park, with the B.C. government covering half the cost.
The provincial government announced Thursday it will contribute up to $14.5 million toward the cost of the new facility. The Whitecaps FC soccer team will chip in $15 million. UBC will provide the land.
The National Soccer Development Centre (NSDC) will include a state-of-the-art field house and five new, refurbished or improved soccer fields – three of them grass fields, two of them artificial turf. The facility will become the Whitecaps’ new training centre, but 50% of the field time will be reserved for community use and will also be used by BC Soccer for player, coach and referee development.
“As we’ve seen in Europe, a training facility is a staple of any good club, and we’re now seeing in North America that MLS clubs are building their own training centres,” said Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi. “Today’s announcement is a huge step in the growth of our club.”
Whitecaps coach Martin Rennie added, “It’s a really important step for the club to have their own home base, where we can train out of on a regular basis.
“We’ve not had a training ground before, so this is the next big step that we can make in the development of the club. It’s also going to be an excellent initiative for soccer in British Columbia because it’s going to be a place where people from the community can play, as well as professionals.
“It gives us a chance to grow the game in this part of the world and across Canada, which is what we ultimately want to do.”
The Whitecaps FC will officially move to the club's new training grounds in spring 2013, when the first phase of the project is expected to be completed.
It is hoped the new centre will improve Vancouver’s chances of hosting the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, as well as other major competitions.
