Yukon News column from June 19, 2002, p. 52.
© Yukon News 2002, posted with permission.

the bull pen by Jillian Rogers
News Reporter

Soccer is the fastest-growing sport in the world.

And there's no doubt kicking the ball around has grown into the number-one sport in the Yukon, especially Whitehorse.

It's grown to the point where we no longer have the room to accommodate the dozens of indoor and outdoor teams in our makeshift facilities.

The answer seems so simple.

Build an indoor soccer centre and upgrade outdoor fields because the old ones are simply atrocious.

Now, I'm not a parent and I don't even play the sport—despite the concerted effort of coed organizers to coax me to join the league.

But our kids are getting hurt.

If it's not the hard-packed dirt and potholes on the outdoor fields, it's the obstacles jutting out of the walls in the gymnasiums where they play indoor soccer now.

What will it take to scrape up the money to build new facilities?

A serious injury?

Sarah Thompson, a 12-year-old who's been playing the sport for five years, fell and broke her arm on the field at Vanier last month.

Does that qualify as a serious injury?

Yukon Soccer Association president Dave Stockdale called the fields "outrageous" in a recent interview.

And in the past five years, indoor soccer has grown 60 per cent and exceeds minor hockey as the territory's favorite winter pastime.

It would cost around $5 million to build an indoor soccer facility, complete with two arenas, change rooms and a concession and another $200,000 annually for operating costs.

The feds just gave Whitehorse $20 million for the Canada Games—the most ever given to a host city.

Another $10 million has been pledged to cover the cost of operating the various facilities after the Games end.

Though indoor soccer isn't part of the CWG yet, it may very well be in 2007, and an indoor facility could be used for other sports included in the Games.

But the city hasn't yet decided how to use the cash from Ottawa.

"I've been discussing the funding contribution with the federal govemment and they're in the process of getting that put together," the city's director of operations, Mitch Moroziuk, said Tuesday.

"Until we get a signed agreement, we're not going to actually start hiring people to do any work.

"As with respect to getting input for the facilities themselves, there will be a whole input process during that phase. We haven't got that scheduled yet."

Minor Soccer executive member Doug Hitch is optimistic a soccer centre will be built in Whitehorse—someday.

But when?

In a plea last fall, Whitehorse Minor Soccer president Brian Gillen asked city council to be "creative" with its budget and with any CWG monies it receives.

The soccer centre was left out of the budget, pending getting CWG money from Ottawa.

"If we get the funding, it means a new soccer centre and a couple of new arenas," mayor Ernie Bourassa said after tabling the city's budget in December.

The proposed flexi-hall at the multiplex site on Hamilton Boulevard isn't of sufficient size to ease the demand for space. At best, it could house one soccer arena.

The floor-space design, as it stands now, is smaller than the gym at Porter Creek Secondary School.

But the soccer centre idea isn't just for soccer.

A wealth of other sports could pay to use the facility in the off-season, which is basically all summer.

Basketball, ultimate Frisbee and even events like dog shows and trade shows and even, maybe, the opening and closing ceremonies for the CWG could be held there.

The complex would have many uses, which would offset operating and maintenance costs, said Hitch.

"These centres are now popping up all over Canada, and whether they're public-private partnerships or not, they're usually a financial success," he said.

There are plenty of examples on the local soccer website www.yukonsoccer.yk.ca.

Some are old buildings converted into indoor pitches and some are brand new.

Whitehorse would settle for either. Or it could be part of the multiplex, with two or even three playing fields.

"We would just like to see something; we don't really care what or where," said Hitch.

Increased fees would not likely have an affect on the actual numbers because players would pay to use a top-notch facility.

In Red Deer, Alberta, the number of indoor players doubled after a centre was constructed there, said Hitch.

"All the cases in the South, that I know of, once the community moves from a gymnasium model to a soccer-centre model, there's a slight jump in participation in the first year and within two years, it doubles," said Hitch.

"It may not double here because we already have a lot of people playing, but there will be a big increase."

Also, in Red Deer, they tripled the soccer fees and still had an influx of players.

Hitch, who has been lobbying for a proper indoor facility since 1997, said the dangerous facilities we play on now prevent more people from signing up.

They also prohibit representative teams from getting the practice they need to compel effectively Outside.

"There's no women's league, and that could happen if they had better hours and bigger gyms," said Hitch.

"Our little (indoor) co-ed league only works because we changed the game radically because of the space," he added.

He and other local soccer fans have spent substantial amounts of money and time putting together feasibility and construction studies over the last few years.

These include statistics on users and costs, locations, and other possible uses for an indoor centre.

The most probable spot for such a centre would be beside FH Collins in Riverdale.

Though it wouldn't be the most cost-effective—rough numbers in the second report said it would cost a little more than $5 million to start from scratch—it is centrally located.

As well, a facility there could be incorporated into the school curriculum during the day, so the Education department might possibly help with operating costs.

If nothing else, Hitch and his colleagues from minor soccer and the Yukon Soccer Association have raised awareness of the situation—but what's next?

I'm sure there are plenty who are looking for an answer, including me.

Contact Jillian Rogers at jrogers@yukon-news.com

Posted 26 July 2002
D. Hitch