A community celebration for the renaming of the new field turf soccer pitch at Port Moody’s Inlet Park is tentatively scheduled for April 13 at 10 a.m.
The $8-million facility officially opened last May 17. But in December, Mayor Meghan Lahti announced it would be renamed Bob Favelle Field to honour the longtime coach, mentor, builder and advocate for the Port Moody Soccer Club.
Tuesday, March 11, council approved a budget of up to $2,600 for the celebration, that will include members of Favelle’s family, as well as cookies and juice boxes for attendees.
During his 26 years with PMSC, Favelle was instrumental in organizing fundraisers to enhance soccer facilities in Port Moody, including the installation of bleachers at Trasolini Field. He also started the club’s adult soccer program that now comprises more than 13 teams.
PMSC president Matthew Campbell said Favelle’s contributions “left an indelible mark” on the city’s soccer community.
The quest to get the new pitch that bears Favelle’s name took almost as long as his work with the soccer club.
Public hearings for various redevelopment options for Inlet Park began in 2010 and 2011. But councils at the time balked at the cost, that ranged from $3.7 million to $5.7 million.
Meanwhile, young soccer players continued to skin their knees and elbows on the old gravel all-weather surface until their games and practices were able to be accommodated at the city’s turf facilities at Trasolini Field and North Shore Community Park as well as other grass fields.
Campbell said the absence of a usable field at Inlet Park, which had been co-opted in recent years as a parking lot for construction workers and special events at nearby Rocky Point Park, was straining the soccer club as its membership grew to more than 1,700 youth players and another 400 adults.
A commitment of $4.4 million from the provincial and federal governments, along with a $3.5-million contribution from the city finally put shovels in the ground in 2023.
In addition to the FIFA-regulated field turf pitch that can be subdivided to accommodate multiple games for younger players, as well as softball games in opposite corners, the facility features parking for more than 80 vehicles, two EV charging stations, playground, batting cages and a raised boardwalk along its back edge.
Still to come is a new field house.
A report presented to council last July said funding for the $8.3-million project had been calculated. The 8,642-square-foot structure will feature four locker rooms, a concession, multi-purpose rooms, storage, washrooms and an outdoor viewing area on its third floor.
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