'Game changer': $1.5M all-weather sports fields coming to North Saanich
The dream of having "all-weather" sports fields on the Saanich Peninsula is one step closer to being realized.
Work is set to begin on an estimated $1.5 million project that will see two new turf soccer fields at North Saanich’s Blue Heron Park.
The Peninsula Soccer Association has been working to replace the current grass fields for more than 15 years.
The new turf fields will mean that the more than 900 members of the soccer association will no longer face cancelled practices or game times due to poor field conditions at the facility.
"It's a game changer for the Peninsula [club] because we haven’t had [an all-weather field] before, and now we will," said Peninsula Soccer Association acting president Dale West.
"It means you can play year-round, it means you can have programming that you don’t have to go elsewhere for," he said.
The soccer association has raised more than $600,000 towards the project and has received financial contributions from the Districts of North Saanich, Central Saanich and the Town of Sidney to complete the installation of the all-weather fields.
West says he expects the work on the turf fields to be completed in time for the start of the soccer season in September 2023.
He says the new fields will bring new opportunities for soccer programs and players from up and down the Saanich Peninsula.
"It's for the kids [and] it's going to give those kids an opportunity that the ones before them haven’t had," said West.
"It’s going to mean that anybody can play 24/7, 365 days of the year and going forward everyone in the community will have access to [the facility] and we’re excited that it is happening."
West says the group is continuing its fundraising efforts for other improvements to the facility. He says the association will need to purchase new soccer goals and nets in addition to new player benches.
"We’re definitely doing a lot more fundraising for the additional infrastructure, like the fencing and the benches," he said.
"We’ve got sponsorship packages that we are going to be sending out and we’re hoping for some provincial grant money."
For more information or to donate go to the Peninsula Soccer Association website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.
Woman, 18, killed by co-worker's vehicle on Highway 1 in Moose Jaw
Moose Jaw police say an 18-year-old woman who was at work has died from injuries she sustained in a collision with a vehicle being driven by her co-worker last Thursday.