The Vancouver Park Board is set to debate plans to spend tens of millions of dollars on upgrading a part of city parks as FIFA World Cup training facilities.
In July, the City of Vancouver announced Killarney Park and Memorial Park South would undergo upgrades to serve as official training grounds for the 2026 tournament.
The Killarney upgrades will cost an estimated $16.25 million, while the South Memorial Park upgrades are forecast to cost about $8.75 million, according to a report to the park board.
The facilities must adhere to FIFA standards, which include game-quality grass pitches, obstructed sightlines, lights, team facilities like locker rooms and a press conference room.
Green Party Park Commissioner Tom Digby said he’s on board with the Killarney selection but has concerns about the other choice.
“There’s not a lot of substantial upgrades that are going to result from this to that park — they are going to renew the field, yes, and they are also going to replace the track there,” he said.
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“But both of those are already in pretty good shape, and the community is going to lose the field for 20 months altogether and the track. So some people in the community are pretty upset about that.”
Park user Cindy Heinrichs is among local residents who are upset.
“The biggest issue for me and for people in the community is that this park will be closed for the better part of two years, for a temporary FIFA field,” she said.
Heinrichs said the field already has lights and is regularly watered, rendering lighting and irrigation improvements marginal.
She said the upgrades could also mean cricket players are no longer able to use the field, as they have been for decades.
She said residents were not well consulted over the plan.
“The info session was not about hearing us in the community, it was about telling us what was happening,” she said.
Digby said an existing facility at UBC used by the Canadian National Team and the Whitecaps for training, or Burnaby facilities like Swangard Stadium, SFU or the Christine Sinclair fields would be better choices.
According to the staff report, a dispute over approving the facilities could be problematic.
The report says grass sod at the selected fields must be in place no later than September 2025 in order for it to root properly.
“The upcoming construction period represents the minimum time needed to construct the works,” the report states.
“Should this contract award be delayed, the construction is at extreme risk of not being completed by December 31, 2025, when FIFA has specified hand-over. Not awarding this contract would put the Park Board at risk of being in breach of training site delivery agreements.”
Vancouver is scheduled to host its first World Cup match in just over 18 months, on Saturday, June 13, 2026.
FIFA has yet to announce which teams will play in the city.
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