Families of young athletes in Coquitlam may soon have to pay to rent artificial fields in the city.
And the chairperson of the Coquitlam Field Sport Association (CFSA) says it’s only a matter of time before the municipality begins charging leagues and clubs for grass and all-weather field use, too.
David Jones issued the warning this week after city managers presented the draft Coquitlam Sports Field Strategy (2025–2035), a high-level vision guiding growth over the next 10 years.
In the report that came before the city’s committee on Feb. 10, Lanny Englund, Coquitlam’s general manager of parks, recreation, culture and facilities, said youth sports teams have been playing on artificial and grass fields for free in Coquitlam for two decades; it is the only Lower Mainland municipality to have no rental field fees for youth sports.
But with Coquitlam’s population on the rise and artificial and grass fields in need of renewal or replacement over the next decade — at an estimated cost of $24.1 million — the city requires another $15.9 million to pay for the grass and turf field updates, Englund said.
It’s now turning to youth sporting groups using artificial fields to partially fill the funding gap, a move that may create a barrier for some Coquitlam families as the registration fees would "undoubtedly" go up, Jones said.
The result may mean fewer kids on the field and staying active, he suggested, and it may spell the end of some clubs that are smaller and struggling financially.
Jones said CFSA met with city managers on Tuesday, Feb. 18, via Zoom to talk about the proposed rental fee structure and other details in the draft 10-year strategy for sports fields.
Specifically, Jones said the administrative work to organize artificial field use and the hourly rates will be a nightmare, especially if games are cancelled due to poor weather.
“We’re going to need a full-time person just to chase the numbers and reconcile the books,” he told the Tri-City News today, Feb. 20.
He also said the civic direction is unfair as grass field users will continue to have free use while many grass fields will also need a complete overhaul at millions of dollars each.
City policy
The move to a rental-free policy for youth sporting organizations started 20 years ago at the request of newly elected councillor Doug Macdonnell, a former president of Coquitlam City Soccer and a CSFA director.
Implemented under then mayor-Jon Kingsbury and council, which included current Mayor Richard Stewart and Coun. Brent Asmundson, the strategy hasn’t been without controversy, especially for leagues operating on rinks, in pools and on dry floors.
In 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the city made plans to update the Sports Field Strategy (2013–2023) and include an expanded fee rental rate.
Two years later, it hired a consultant to review the plan and to meet with sports user groups in the city, as well as to look at future infrastructure needs.
In 2022, the consultant’s report came before council and included the result of a civic public survey indicating 55 per cent of respondents wanted to keep fields at no cost to youth sporting groups.
But, the next year, the city paused the draft strategy process because of the new provincial government mandates on housing.
This month, before presenting the report before council, city staff said they had reviewed the consultant’s findings to see if the data is still relevant.
Council reaction
Still, at the Feb. 10 committee meeting, council members took aim at the consultant’s report, branding it “fluffy” with few actionable items and vague wording.
Coun. Craig Hodge, a former soccer coach, said the document doesn’t offer a lot of flexibility to explore public–private partnerships (both the Coquitlam Tennis Club and Metro-Ford Soccer have come before council to seek P3 facility opportunities).
And he and Coun. Matt Djonlic said the report pointed out the obvious, like how sporting organizations such as the Coquitlam Little League are in dire need of more storage space and capital updates where they play.
Coun. Dennis Marsden said the report also doesn’t include much direction in terms of youth aging out of minor sports. He said many older Coquitlam players are now participating with clubs in neighbouring cities like Port Coquitlam.
Marsden also criticized the province for failing to provide sports fields at new school sites.
As well, Coun. Steve Kim said the upcoming consultation timeline on the 23-page draft strategy is tight as city staff hope to get the new strategy — a document seven years in the making — before council this spring/summer for adoption.
Having a level playing field for artificial turf use “I think is a responsible thing do to for our taxpayers,” Coun. Asmundson said, noting field sports “need to be treated equally as every other sport in Coquitlam.”
Asmundson also took aim at CFSA for its “push back on the issue. They need to work more collaboratively with staff.”
As for Coun. Teri Towner, she said the proposed extra revenues will allow Coquitlam to renew its field assets, which will help with sports tourism.
“We value recreation in our city,” she said.
“Having coached soccer for many years, I’ve seen a lot of facilities across the Lower Mainland and the province, and our facilities at Town Centre Park are second to none,” Coun. Robert Mazzarolo, committee chairperson, said.
On the no turf field cost for youth groups, he added, “I understand both sides but the numbers are the numbers. And the numbers simply say this is not sustainable […] This is a fairness issue.”
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