As soccer’s popularity grows in Nova Scotia, so do calls for indoor fields

The growing popularity of soccer is fueling calls for more indoor turf fields in Nova Scotia.

Soccer Nova Scotia says the time is now to get more indoor turfs in Halifax as the game surges in popularity.

“We are past the critical point,” says Lindsay MacAskill, the organization’s executive director. “It’s becoming a year-round issue at this point.”

It’s an issue Lindsay McDonald, a mother of three, knows all too well. Her kids play soccer, hockey and flag football, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Those years are so pivotal for them to be involved with the sport,” McDonald says. “For the main barrier to be lack of fields is embarrassing, I’ll be honest.”

That lack of indoor fields means she’s forced to hit the road frequently.

“We’re finding ourselves travelling out to West Hants on a weekly basis for football practices,” she says. “We’re travelling to East Hands on a regular schedule for soccer games, over to East Coast Varsity as well.”

Halifax County United has seen a 50 per cent growth – or about 600 players – in the last three years.

But due to field availability, they’re forced to cap winter registration. Aside from East Coast Varsity, part of a private school in Dartmouth, the BMO Soccer Centre and its four fields are the only indoor spaces in the city.

“Everything’s booked up around the city, we’re all absolutely maxed out,” says Jamie McGinnis, Halifax County United Soccer Club’s executive director. “The fact that there’s that much demand is very special, and we should be trying to feed that.”

City councillor Janet Steele, whose district encompasses the soccer centre, says recreation space is important for the growing population and soccer is one of the more accessible sports.

“That’s another reason why I’m very supportive of expanding our capacity to support soccer across the city,” she says.

She’s awaiting a staff report that’s due in the summer following a presentation from Soccer Nova Scotia to city hall last fall.

That ask was for a dome to be built on one of the outdoor turfs outside the centre and, in the long run, a new fieldhouse entirely that wouldn’t just be for soccer, similar to the current facility.

Frisbee, baseball, softball, rugby and cricket are also played there.

MacAskill says they’d be seeking financial support from all three levels of government, and corporate contributions.

“The surge of soccer registrations and the more people renting from a soccer perspective here at BMO Soccer Center, the other sports are also feeling that impact,” says MacAskill.

The growing demand is one reason why the centre is forced to be open from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

“Sport is preventative medicine for our kids – kids especially – but all the way for adults; the physical health, mental health, the sense of belonging, those benefits are undeniable,” says McGinnis.

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