Playing sports in the cold and rain will become a thing of the past for many West Vancouver youth.
On Monday, District of West Vancouver council approved a development variance permit for construction of a 2,600-square-foot inflatable sports bubble near West Vancouver Secondary.
Non-profit community organization West Vancouver FC, in partnership with West Vancouver Secondary, will fund construction of the bubble, providing sports opportunities year-round for students during regular school hours and for the soccer club outside of school hours.
The sports bubble marks the first indoor turf in the district and will cost nearly $3 million to build. It will be located on an unused patch of gravel south of the currently-under-construction West Vancouver Place for Sports. The proposal also consists of relocating existing paths and retaining walls on the property and creating space for an outdoor practice field.
A development variance permit is used if a development proposal does not meet certain provisions of a zoning bylaw, subdivision bylaw or a land use contract, according to the district’s website.
West Vancouver FC president Ruth Burr gave a presentation to council Monday evening expressing the need for the structure after seeing many children and adults getting wet and miserable.
“Our Little Lions don’t have a lot of body fat and they get cold very quickly, very easily,” Burr said at the meeting. “Children that are soaking wet and miserable, lead to parents that are equally miserable. Just one really horrible session can turn a child off soccer for the rest of the season.”
The decision to build the sports bubble comes after the club had to start rethinking their programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Burr, adding that other organizations and sports groups have expressed interest in the use of the bubble if it is built, including Autism BC.
“Our neurodiverse players really struggle with extra sensory overload. Wind, rain and cold are especially difficult for children with sensory processing challenges, and we need to be able to provide them with an environment where they thrive,” Burr said during the meeting.
All council members were in support of the sports bubble. Coun. Christine Cassidy asked for details about the project such as construction start date, cost and size of the facility.
Burr said the club is working with a “well-established” foundation for funding of the basics of the bubble and then will seek additional funding for washrooms and turf.
Some West Vancouver residents voiced concerns around construction noise, traffic and parking, as the project will take roughly eight months to complete. One resident raised issues involving traffic along Kings Avenue during and after construction causing congestion, and where people will park if spaces are full. They suggested waiting a year or two to see how the traffic is and then expanding the facility.
A designated “drop-off and pick up only” zone is proposed in the existing parking lot to the east of the proposed bubble, the report states, while parking for the proposed facility would be accommodated in the other existing parking spaces on the site and the existing street parking in the immediate vicinity.
Construction is expected to start in March 2025.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
