More than a decade in the making, a plan to rebuild the track and field at West Vancouver Secondary has finally come to fruition.
On Tuesday afternoon, the refurbished facility was unveiled to the community for the first time.
In place of the old grass field and 70-year-old running track is a modern, artificial turf surface and six-lane track. But, as laying the new rubber track requires warmer weather, West Van District said that work won’t happen until next April or May.
Temporary markings for lanes, the finishing line and running race starting points have been painted on the asphalt so the track surface can be used in the meantime.
The project also includes new lighting for the field, as well as renovated washrooms and change facilities accessible outside of school hours to accommodate sports facility users.
The need for a new artificial turf field in the district was identified in 2011. Fundraising efforts for the West Vancouver Place for Sport started way back in 2015.
After a new council was elected in 2022, the district expanded the scope of the then-$9.5-million project in January 2023 to include a wider track, washrooms and public viewing areas. Council added additional funding to get a new estimate for the project.
In March 2023, the district received a large provincial grant along with other municipalities that could be used to pay for things like utilities, parks and recreational facilities. Council decided behind closed doors that the grant total of $8 million would go to completing the Place for Sport, said Mark Sager, mayor of West Vancouver.
Monday evening (Dec. 17), council voted to release the total budget of the expanded project: $17 million. That includes the provincial grant, $7.36 million from the district, $1.27 million through community fundraising, $250,000 from West Vancouver Schools and $125,000 from the Canada Community-Building Fund.
An additional $750,000 from the district has been approved to renovate the washrooms at West Vancouver Secondary.
Dubbed the Harry Jerome Oval, the new track has been named to honour the late, great sprinter who began his legendary athletic career on the North Shore.
Track will honour Harry Jerome's legacy of giving opportunities to youth in sport, says sister Valerie Jerome
While rubber was noticeably missing from the running surface, soccer players ran about the completed turf as elected officials gathered with members of the local sporting community on Tuesday to commemorate the long-awaited Place for Sport.
Sager said the field represents the pinnacle of modern sports infrastructure.
“It is built for FIFA standards, incorporating cutting edge technology, and it rivals some of the best fields used by the MLS, the CFL and the NFL teams,” he said. “Beneath its surface lies a shock pad designed to reduce injury risk, enhance player safety and ensuring the durability and longevity of this facility that will enable our athletes to train and compete at the highest levels.”
Before a large white tarp was pulled away to reveal plaques enshrining the project’s donors and namesake Harry Jerome, his sister and fellow Olympian Valerie Jerome spoke to the crowd, many of them high school students.
“It was here on these grounds at this track, more than 60 years ago, the Grade 11 student from North Vancouver, my late brother Harry Jerome, ran some of his earliest races in his astounding career of world-record-breaking performances,” she said.
“Although the world records are often seen as his legacy, Harry’s great legacy was his determination to provide more and better opportunities for all youth in sport, and there can be no greater example of that legacy than this upgraded and expanded new facility, the Harry Jerome Oval,” Valerie said.
Following his career as an athlete, Harry worked for the federal government's Fitness and Amateur Sport Directorate (now known as Sport Canada). There, he lobbied for better conditions for amateur and youth athletes across the country.
Speaking to the North Shore News, Valerie said that the facility in her brother’s name would foster athleticism not just in youth but in people of all ages and abilities.
“It’s nice to see a person of racial diversity changing our world, giving us heroes and people we can look up to who come in all sizes, shapes and colours,” she said.
Correction: This article has been amended to include the total cost breakdown of the Place for Sport project, which council voted on Monday night to make public.
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