Dear Editor:
I recognise the city council and city departments for the good work they do to make New Westminster an attractive and welcoming place. I sincerely appreciate the high quality of city services, the landscaping, the parks, the rental housing policy, the efforts to reduce homelessness, the programs at facilities such as Century House, the inclusivity shown toward historically marginalised communities, the continuity of traditions and the attention to history. However, I believe that the most admirable characteristics of New Westminster would best be honoured by rejecting the proposal to bring the Whitecaps FC USL PRO home games and development programs to Queen’s Park Stadium. The text of the recently completed Queen’s Park Master Plan supports the view that Queen’s Park Stadium is a beautiful baseball park and multi-use facility with significant practical and historical value.
As such, I would expect that any proposal to significantly alter the structure or its uses would require a more thorough process of analysis and public consultation than has been possible within the short time available to consider the Whitecaps’ proposal, on which a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on July 8 and a decision must be made by Sept. 15. We have barely begun to assess and discuss the costs, risks or benefits of the proposal.
Rather than pursue the proposal further, I would much prefer that the stadium be used as envisioned in the Queen’s Park Master Plan.
Tom Moody, New Westminster
