The Eagles new home is officially open for business

By Kyle Benning
[contributor]

The new turf field was unveiled by Kwantlen president David Atkinson alongside Mayor Dianne Watts and MP Nina Grewal on Sept. 25.

The artificial turf field, which is located at Newton Athletic Park, contains a scoreboard, the Kwantlen Eagle’s logo in the centre circle and will include television lighting and storage compartments.

The total cost came out to $2.85m, and according to a Kwantlen press release, “Kwantlen contributed $1,050,000 to this project while the City of Surrey and the federal government added $1,133,000 and $667,000, respectively, to support sports facilities and recreational activities in the community.”

Many people involved in the athletic department believe this was a wise investment and could be a step forward for our athletic teams. I, for one, am a little more skeptical.
Last year, Kwantlen played their home matches on the community turf field at Newton Athletic Park.

What does the new field bring that is so different? Not a lot.

A second turf field was completed at the park a couple of years ago.

What would the Kwantlen soccer teams have to gain apart from first choice pitch times for practices and matches?

Was an open schedule worth $1.05m (especially when the construction is going on well past its due date)?

I understand that we should be proud of our women’s team for what they achieved last year, but our post-secondary institution has been around since the early ‘80s, and we just picked up our first athletic banner.

If the money was going to the athletic department, I think that it should’ve been invested into something which would make our student-athletes perform at a higher standard, rather than hand them a new home.

You don’t have to look very far to see my point. The men’s soccer team lost on the new pitch 9-0 to Douglas on Oct. 2.
Currently, the team has conceded 27 goals in six matches while only scoring three.

Even though the ribbon was cut, the project hasn’t been completed. The pitch itself has been ready for a while, but the surrounding area, including the 500-seat stands have not been installed.

During the home opener on Sept. 12, the referees were given an empty shipping container as a change room and a place to put their bags. Whether they are still using it, I cannot confirm.

But now, it is a race against the clock to get the surrounding area finished before Oct. 29, because Kwantlen is hosting the 2010 BCCAA Provincial Soccer Championships (most likely due to the fact that the university was adding a third turf field at Newton Athletic Park).

And wouldn’t it be grand if the 500 seats on the west side of the field were not ready by the time the Provincial Championships began on the 29th?