There is a new big, red barn in Cloverdale Athletic Park.
Surrey United Soccer Club (SUSC) opened the new state-of-the-art training facility Sept. 22. SUSC plans to open the “Envision Financial Sport Centre” to the general public in October.
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke called the building “fabulous.” Locke, along with Vancouver Whitecaps legend Carl Valentine, and other VIPs, dignitaries, and City of Surrey reps participated in a grand opening ceremony inside the new training centre.
“This (facility) is so important for sport in Surrey and for youth in Surrey,” Mayor Locke said. “I’m so proud of Surrey United Soccer Club for bringing this all together. The city partnered with them and it was an amazing, amazing union. So, we are really excited for them.”
Locke said forming partnerships with local groups is one of the best ways to serve the interests and needs of local communities throughout the city.
“(They) worked so hard as an organization to put this together. It is very courageous of the club. It just shows you, Surrey is a soccer city.”
Jeff Clarke, SUSC sporting director, said his team put in an incredible amount of work to get the facility built, including having to navigate some hurdles before they got to the finish line, such as increased prices for products and problems surrounding tariffs on materials.
“I’m just really proud of the team and really happy we’re finally here.”
The facility is open to other sports. Right now SUSC is offering free lawn bowling to seniors. He said baseball and lacrosse will also use the facility.
COMMUNITY HUB
“We really want it to be a community hub—for enjoyment, for health, for introduction to sports,” Clarke explained. “We really want it to make a difference in the community.”
The facility has a mezzanine viewing area. It’s a place where parents can watch children play and also where parents can connect in a dry, warm environment—something Clarke says can be hard at times on the side of a soccer field in sideways rain in the middle of January.
“We want all the members to enjoy it,” he noted. “When the kids are enjoying their time down here. There’s a great viewing area that will become a social area. It’ll be an opportunity for people to meet each other. So I think it will also contribute to community building.”
And although SUSC was the driving force behind the sport centre, he said it belongs to everyone.
“We couldn’t have done it without the community,” Clarke added. “And that’s the small businesses, the members, the fundraising drives—there’s some real, real community sweat equity that went into this.”
Clarke said the biggest compliment the club has received is from the city through the trust the city put into SUSC to get the job done.
“It’s a huge project. There’s no precedent like it in the city and they took a leap of faith and we hope they’re proud of what we were able to produce.”
GREAT BENEFIT
Valentine said the new facility was “fantastic.” He said these types of buildings are a “great benefit” to the communities they are in.
“A facility like this offers kids more opportunities to play sports and to stay off the streets,” he said. “Giving kids opportunities to play with a facility like this is so great. And they’ve done such a wonderful job on it. It’s such a beautiful place.”
Valentine noted Surrey, as the fastest growing city in the province, needs centres like this to keep pace with growth and to offer more options for more people.
“Cities that are growing always need more facilities if kids are to be involved in sports,” he added. “An indoor facility like this just offers way more options to the community.”
Scott Wheatley, executive director of the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce, was also on hand for the ceremony. He called the new sport centre “amazing” and said it was “much-needed” for Cloverdale.
“Sport is so important to kids—especially kids that play multiple sports—it helps develop their minds and bodies and the whole concept of teamwork,” Wheatley noted. “It also keeps them out of trouble. So the more we can do like this, the better.”
Ali Wilkinson, SUSC president, was “thrilled” to see the kernel of an idea finally become manifest in concrete and steel and turf. She said the project is a legacy to both the club and the determination of its members.
“We are leaving the club, and the community, in a better place than it was when we got here,” she said. “So there’s benefit for us now, but this will benefit many, many kids who come and play here for years to come. And that’s what I’m most proud of.”
“We wanted it to be a landmark,” Clarke added. “We think it’s going to be. And we want to encourage everybody to come check it out.”
The parking lot will soon be completed along 64th Avenue. It will be roughed in (gravel) to begin with and paved at a later date. It will be available for use when the building opens in October.
To book the facility, visit the Surrey United Soccer Club website at surreyunitedsoccer.com.