Turf Troubles at Swangard

[Guest Jeffery S.]

The surface at Swangard was fine in July and August when I was there. They should water it before matches in the summer but that is another question, it gets a bit sticky and slow when dry. The areas around the goals are well kept. It drains correctly.

As said the real problem is that Burnaby has this stupid deal to let SFU play there, which is a slap in the face to the Whitecaps and one more reason to get onto the other side of Boundary Rd ASAP, whether Inner Harbour or False Creek.

[Richard]

Well there were huge swathes of the field covered with a thick layer of wet sand. When the ball landed it died, no bounce. Some players slipped and fell and even patches of turf were lifting. This is disgraceful. There is no justifiable reason for SFU to play any pointy ball games at Swangard. Greg Kerfoot and SFU itself have spent many millions of dollars adding new fields on the SFU campus and they have a magnificient new FieldTurf pitch at Terry Fox Field (their main field) with bleachers more than adequate to hold the number of supporters their football team draws. Plus for the U-20 WC Kerfoot contributed $1.2 million to upgrade Swangard including upgrades to the pitch, with a view to the Whitecaps benefitting in the long term. What was Burnaby Parks and Rec thinking!

[DarnCherry]

What were the Whitecaps thinking letting all of those kids play on it at halftime?

[tmcmurph]

quote:Originally posted by Krammerhead

What were the Whitecaps thinking letting all of those kids play on it at halftime?

The announcer on 1040 (I listened to it last night) was saying the same thing. Why were the grounds crew not out trying to do touch ups? Why were the kids on it trampling the little of what was left?

I think Burnaby Parks and Rec owe the Caps a major apology and refund. Boy do they need their own stadium and badly.

[Calgary Boomer]

So, the Whitecaps paid a huge sum to have the field turf put in at SFU's Terry Fox Field. They also paid to have the pitch put in for the U20's at Swangard. SFU kills the Swangard pitch for seasons to come.

And here's the capper...the feds were going to give SFU enough money to build a small stadium at the Terry Fox site...but they didn't use it in time, so they lost the grant.

BTW...SFU is scheduled to play at Swangard on Friday night.

[Blue and White Army]

According to the SFU Athletics site, they're actually due to play at Rotary out in Abbotsford.

[Richard]

One more pointy ball game at Swangard before the grass has recovered and that pitch will be toast for six months.

[SthMelbRed]

I think some of you are totally out to lunch on this issue. The fact of the matter is that Swangard Stadium is a municipal facility to be utilised as a community resource however the city deems to be best. The Whitecaps are a tenant, nothing more. They should be free to voice their concerns to the city but have to be content when told to piss off. They have no say in what other user groups should or shouldn't be allowed to rent out the facility.

If the Whitecaps paid their own money to upgrade the standard of the pitch for the U-20 WC, it was because they needed to do so to host an event there. They cannot, as tenants, then claim any greater rights to the facility because they did something out of self-interest.

I want the Whitecaps to get their own stadium in Gastown as much as anybody else here. However, until they do that, they won't, and shouldn't be, calling any shots on how and when the facility that they play out of is used.

[Richard]

The City of Burnaby normally jealously protects the pitch at Swangard and under normal circumstances would not have permitted SFU to play their pointy ball game but their excuse is that there was an unexpected downpour just as they game was to kick off and the people on the ground at the time did not stop the game as the city retains the right to do. Yes, the Whitecaps are merely tenants but Swangard would be lying unused most of the time with no rental income without them. The city has already commissioned a study to figure out what to do with the place and how to generate revenue from it once the Whitecaps move out, they are well aware that they need to take care of their principal tenant and they made a big mistake.

[SthMelbRed]

What mistake do you believe that they think they made? There was never going to be any meaningful, permanent expansion to Swangard. The Whitecaps need to move in order to achieve their goals for the future. That's a decision that they had to make and had nothing to do with anything the City of Burnaby did or did not do. The Whitecaps already get as good a deal as a public facility should give to public enterprise. The remit of Swangard Stadium is not to make money, but to provide a service to the wider community. It should never be handed over to a private enterprise as many of you seem to think should be done.

[tmcmurph]

quote:Originally posted by SthMelbRed

What mistake do you believe that they think they made? There was never going to be any meaningful, permanent expansion to Swangard. The Whitecaps need to move in order to achieve their goals for the future. That's a decision that they had to make and had nothing to do with anything the City of Burnaby did or did not do. The Whitecaps already get as good a deal as a public facility should give to public enterprise. The remit of Swangard Stadium is not to make money, but to provide a service to the wider community. It should never be handed over to a private enterprise as many of you seem to think should be done.

I don't think any of us are saying "hand it over to a private enterprise" but if you destroy the ability of your primary tenant to use the place you are just plain dumb. SFU football drew fans numbered in the dozens according to some (I don't know first hand because I wasn't there). For that you could hold the game on a high school field. To allow that knowing the potential for damage with your primary tenant already booked in for an important playoff game is just plain dumb.

I think we all agree on the "please get our own stadium soon" part.

[SthMelbRed]

As I said, the main function of Swangard Stadium isn't to make money, but to provide the community with a usable facility for a wide range of events. Like it or not, SFU football, junior football, youth soccer, high school and elementary school track meets, etc. fall within that mandate. In this environment, it's not about catering to one, large user group, but to best serve the community.

[DoyleG]

quote:Originally posted by tmcmurph

I don't think any of us are saying "hand it over to a private enterprise" but if you destroy the ability of your primary tenant to use the place you are just plain dumb. SFU football drew fans numbered in the dozens according to some (I don't know first hand because I wasn't there). For that you could hold the game on a high school field. To allow that knowing the potential for damage with your primary tenant already booked in for an important playoff game is just plain dumb.

I think we all agree on the "please get our own stadium soon" part.

The attendance for the SFU-UC game was reported as 750.