Sport Field Strategy

We are pleased to announce the addition of a third phase of engagement for the Sport Field Strategy. This gives us two chances to hear your thoughts in 2023. We will come to you for Engagement Phase 2 in early spring to seek feedback on the draft strategy principles and directions. Your input will help us refine this work and guide the development of a draft implementation plan. The implementation plan will be the subject of Engagement Phase 3, scheduled for early summer. This additional touchpoint means we can integrate your feedback in all stages of the strategy development, and ensure the final document is a true reflection of the community we serve.

We are excited to share our new What We Heard Report. This report summarizes feedback we received through our first phase of engagement, which was conducted in winter 2021-2022. It includes the results of our public survey, hosted here on Shape Your City, along with results from other engagement activities. These activities included pop-up events, interviews, two targeted surveys, and meetings with our External Advisory Group. The feedback gathered during phase 1 engagement will help inform directions and priorities for the draft Sport Field Strategy, which is currently under development. Keep an eye on this page for upcoming engagement activities, including opportunities to provide input on draft strategy ideas.

Key themes from phase 1 engagement:

• Sport fields in Vancouver are highly valued public assets and used for a wide range of activities by a diversity of residents.
• Amenity upgrades and enhancements (e.g. washrooms, warm-up areas, spectator seating, etc.) are a key priority focus areas for both residents and user groups.
• Ensuring fields are accessible for both traditional and emerging uses is important and needs to be considered in capital planning and ongoing operations (e.g. allocation of field space and time).
• While the pandemic has been disruptive and presented challenges, there is an expectation that most sports groups will grow in the coming years.
• Activity preferences and trends are varied across the city and influenced by a number of factors, including the capacity of community organizations delivering the program(s), the availability of suitable sport fields, and demographics.
• A diversity of viewpoints exist on the types of sport fields that should be a priority for future investment. Demands for both basic neighbourhood-level fields and major “hub” facilities were expressed by various groups and residents across the city.
• Residents and user groups also hold a wide range of perspectives related to artificial turf based on health and environment considerations.
• Residents value opportunities for casual (“spontaneous”) play and want quality sports field surfaces available for these activities close to where they live.
• Residents across the city feel strongly that equity and accessibility, especially for youth, should be primary planning and investment considerations.

The Sport Field Strategy advisory group is an external entity that represents the interests of sport field user groups and stakeholders while also considering the needs of all residents. The advisory group is being engaged with throughout the process to provide input and feedback on the project as it develops. The group also supports connections between the project team, stakeholder communities, and the broader public as part of the community engagement and planning process for the Sport Field Strategy.

Thank you to all those who submitted an application to be a member of the Sport Field Strategy advisory group. Please click here to view the terms of reference.

In cooperation with the Vancouver School Board (VSB), the Park Board is developing a Sport Field Strategy to improve our outdoor fields, ball diamonds, and associated amenities.

The Sport Field Strategy builds on the recent Playing Field Upgrade project and addresses feedback from over 2000 people heard during that process, including the need for more synthetic turf fields across the city.

The Strategy is part of VanPlay - Vancouver's Parks and Recreation Services Master Plan, and was created with a goal to improve the quality, quantity, use and access of the city’s outdoor sports facilities and associated amenities.

The Sport Field Strategy will help us support a range of field users, including competitive athletes. It will focus on equitable delivery of high quality, safe and inclusive facilities. It will also ensure sustainable maintenance, administration, allocation and pricing of these facilities. The Sport Field Strategy will reflect the Park Board’s Mission to provide, preserve and advocate for parks and recreation to benefit all people, communities and the environment.

The Sport Field Strategy will:

• Undertake comprehensive community and stakeholder engagement, including forming a city-wide advisory group
• Explore and recommend innovative directions to meet city-wide sport field needs
• Review the condition and performance of existing Vancouver Park Board sport fields
• Identify optimum city-wide service levels and project future needs
• Propose priorities and phasing for replacing and renewing existing facilities
• Identify new facilities needed over the life of the strategy
• Assess surfacing options for sport fields, including environmental and human health impacts
• Develop a field use allocation policy

Sport fields include rectangular fields (for soccer, football, rugby, etc.), ball diamonds, and cricket pitches. They can have grass or synthetic turf; they can also be all-weather (gravel) surfaces. Vancouver sport fields are located at school sites and parks of various sizes. The project study area includes all Vancouver owned and managed parks as well as some VSB sites.