Coquitlam has renewed its commitment to providing top quality sports field facilities through the introduction of a draft Sports Field Strategy.
COQUITLAM, B.C., February 12, 2025 – Coquitlam has renewed its commitment to providing top quality sports field facilities through the introduction of a draft Sports Field Strategy.
This updated draft Strategy outlines plans to enhance and optimize field sport facilities while improving access over the next decade. It builds on the success of the 2013 – 2023 Sports Field Strategy, which saw significant achievements in field development, including the renewal of artificial turf fields, addition of new fields and renovation of grass fields.
A Decade of Sports Field Investment
Under the guidance of the last Sports Field Strategy, the City invested in sports fields across the community over the past decade, including:
- Five artificial turf fields renewed and one new artificial turf field built as planned (Town Centre North).
- One additional artificial turf field built beyond what was called for in the 2013 – 2023 strategy (Centennial).
- Two grass fields completed as planned (Mackin North and Hartley) and two others renewed (Victoria and Rochester parks).
- Three new fields built beyond the strategy (Smiling Creek, Burke Mountain Pioneer, and Cottonwood parks).
A Framework Founded in Research
The draft Strategy is founded on data around local trends and best practices, benchmarking of field provision standards compared to other communities in the region, an updated inventory of existing fields and use patterns, as well as direction from City plans and policies.
Additionally, development of the draft Strategy included community consultation with both sports field users and non-users to get a sense of broader community priorities via a public survey and discussions with key interest holders.
The draft Strategy combines all of these ideas to improve, maintain and optimize use of Coquitlam’s current fields.
Funding Needed to Support Field Inventory
As Coquitlam grows, the City will continue to plan for how best to fund the maintenance and development of sport fields to meet demand. With the addition of the new artificial turf field and grass field at the Burke Mountain Athletic Park, the City will have enough rectangular field capacity to meet the needs of current and future residents for the next decade. The draft Strategy will explore limitations for diamond field capacity and will also continue to monitor the sports field inventory in order to respond to changes in capacity and to plan for future growth.
The bulk of the draft Strategy will focus on asset renewal and replacement, and a core amount of funding has been allocated through the City’s sound financial planning which sets aside money annually into a field replacement reserve.
However, even with the reserve, there will be a funding gap to implement the full draft Strategy. As a result, similar to how other sport facilities such as pools and arenas are rented to community users regardless of age, the draft Strategy calls for an hourly rental fee for artificial turf field use for all users as well. A standard practise in regional municipalities, the new fees collected would help fund the maintenance and renewal of these high-performance facilities. The draft Strategy suggests that natural surface fields, such as grass and gravel, will remain free of charge for non-profit child and youth groups to use.
A Goal-Oriented Approach
The draft 2025 – 2035 Sports Field Strategy will provide a framework for decision-making around the management, maintenance and investment in Coquitlam’s sports fields. The draft Strategy includes five key objectives:
- Sustaining quality infrastructure
- Ensuring equity and access for all
- Providing diverse opportunities
- Fostering collaboration
- Using data-driven decision-making
The goals and actions outlined in the draft Strategy focus on optimizing the physical infrastructure and management of Coquitlam’s sports fields. These include prioritizing the renewal of existing artificial turf and grass fields, finding ways to enrich community benefit and user experience, as well as exploring regional partnerships to address field needs.
Next Steps
The draft 2025 – 2035 Sports Field Strategy will be presented to the Sports and Recreation Advisory Committee and field user groups in the coming weeks. Following this consultation, the Strategy will be refined and presented to City Council for adoption later this year.
Read a copy of the draft Strategy and sign-up for project updates at LetsTalkCoquitlam.ca/SportsFields.
Media contact:
Lanny Englund
General Manager, Parks, Recreation, Culture and Facilities
604-927-6300
PRCS_feedback@coquitlam.ca
We acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the name Coquitlam was derived from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (HUN-kuh-MEE-num) word kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (kwee-KWET-lum) meaning “Red Fish Up the River”. The City is honoured to be located on the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm traditional and ancestral lands, including those parts that were historically shared with the q̓ic̓əy̓ (kat-zee), and other Coast Salish Peoples.