The president of Royal City Youth Soccer Club doesn’t want a proposal to transform Queen’s Park Stadium into a dedicated soccer venue to pit baseball against soccer.
Responding to a Record report, Guy Ciprian says his organization would not support the proposal to bring the Whitecaps farm team to the stadium if New West Baseball wasn’t accommodated elsewhere.
“If we felt they were going to be left with hardship and the kids were going to be hurt, we wouldn’t be supporting this USL (United Soccer Leagues) project,” Ciprian said.
The City of New Westminster is looking into the possibility of building a new baseball field either in Queen’s Park (behind the Queen’s Park Stadium) or in Upper Hume Park – a plan that doesn’t sit well with baseball supporters who want to remain in Queen’s Park and who question the costs related to bringing in a United Soccer Leagues (USL) PRO franchise.
But the city already has $1.2 to $2 million earmarked for Queen’s Park Stadium upgrades, according to Ciprian. (City staff couldn’t be reached at press time to confirm.)
“Now the city has a tenant that they can recoup their cost, whereas before it would be a taxpayer expenditure,” he said.
The Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the City of New Westminster signed a memorandum of understanding marking their intent to look into the feasibility of launching the team in New West.
The addition of the USL team will do a lot for soccer in the community, Ciprian said.
“It gives us a new soccer-only facility, which will not only heighten awareness of soccer in the city but it’s going to give us … accessibility to more technical support and mentorship for these kids,” he said.
Royal City Soccer has been fighting for field space for years, he said, and noted that not having the space has hurt the organization.
“What happens with local soccer players is because they can’t develop them the way other districts with more facilities can is that the young players eventually leave the city to go elsewhere for development,” Ciprian said. “By having a soccer-only pitch, we will be able to get more field space to help develop the kids in the community.”
Royal City Soccer has 1,200 young people registered – making it one of the most popular outdoor sports in the city.
Bringing in the Whitecaps will mean more resources for the sport, which will be able to use the dedicated soccer field when the USL team isn’t playing on it. It will also mean more mentorship and technical support for young New West soccer players, he said.
“We are going to have players at a professional level that can spend time with them,” Ciprian said. “It’s also good for the community in the sense that we are now going to upgrade a facility that is in desperate need of upgrading.”
But the local soccer president maintains that he doesn’t want either soccer or baseball to lose out.
“I don’t want this to be a war against soccer and baseball because this affects many of the same kids,” he said. “I think the bigger picture is what’s best for the community, and that everybody will be accommodated in the end.”
Meanwhile, New West Baseball is holding an open house and info session at Queen’s Park Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 24, from noon to 3 p.m.
