Paddy O’Gorman is on a mission to restore the rugby community in B.C. – right here in Burnaby.
The real estate agent and former Burnaby Lake Rugby Club coach is deep in the midst of pitching the city his plans to bring a Major League Rugby team to Swangard Stadium.
The professional rugby league is based in the U.S., with 12 American teams currently playing.
The Toronto team folded in December 2023 after its main investor died, O’Gorman said.
“It’s really important for Canadian rugby to get a team going somewhere in the country, and the most logical place is obviously Vancouver.”
He noted the Rugby Sevens tournament in Vancouver saw about 80,000 people come out over one weekend before the pandemic.
“It shows there’s plenty of people interested in coming towards rugby,” he said.
The Burnaby-based team – working names include SwansRugby and Vancouver Swans (developed independently of the stadium) – would use the facility about once every other week for 10 to 12 home games between February and June.
It would be an ideal match, O’Gorman said, as the stadium is rarely used between February and April.
He said Swangard is an “absolutely fabulous” stadium, albeit in need of some (already planned) updates.
“It’s still just a real jewel of a place that’s not being utilized the way it should be.”
Swangard is centrally located with access to public transit, he said.
O'Gorman said he understands the city wants to keep the facility accessible for local community users.
“That’s what we are – there’s a huge rugby community in Burnaby,” he said.
He plans to run youth programs and high school programs associated with the rugby franchise, including outreach to train for boys and girls rugby programs.
Along with paying for use of the field, O’Gorman said his group is also interested in other available Burnaby facilities to train and house players, support staff, visiting teams and supporters in local hotels and accommodations.
And O’Gorman’s envisions the game days themselves as community events.
He pointed to the New England MLR team, the Free Jacks, which start game days at 10 a.m. with kids’ tournaments, food trucks, beer gardens, bouncy castles and themes.
Bands play live concerts, and after the game the players come out to mingle with the fans.
Tickets for the Free Jacks games cost about $50 for the full day.
O’Gorman is in talks to partner with the City of Burnaby, which owns Swangard, to review next steps.
The MLR team, O’Gorman said, would be an excuse to rebuild the rugby community in B.C. and inspire youth athletes.
“That is our goal, 90-per-cent community-based, 10-per-cent MLR team.”
