New professional women’s soccer team Vancouver Rise wants to make Burnaby home.
The new team, part of the Northern Super League, formally asked Burnaby city council this week to make Swangard Stadium at Central Park the team’s game-day base.
“We feel really strongly that Swangard Stadium is a fantastic opportunity for us to create that home and that connection with community,” team president Sinead King said at a council meeting Oct. 21. “And also for Burnaby to be a part of building a legacy and having a lasting impact in growing the women’s game.”
She said two of the team’s owners have a “very, very strong connection” with Burnaby, including soccer legend and Burnaby native Christine Sinclair and Bob Lenarduzzi of the Vancouver Whitecaps and Vancouver 86ers.
But the stadium will need upgrades to the pitch and locker rooms to meet league standards.
The seating capacity would also need to be increased to a minimum of 6,000 seats from the current 4,500-seat capacity.
King said the pitch improvements would need to begin before Christmas to regenerate the grass and soil before kickoff in April 2025.
She added if the city offered a serious proposal to enhance the stadium in the long term, the team could make short-term compromises in the first year, including temporary bleachers, increasing general admission for standing room, or a trailer for locker rooms.
King said the team would share some of the costs for the stadium upgrades and seek grants and potential city funds.
She said there are 12 home games planned between April and November.
Midweek games are possible, but the team would prefer to have more weekend games to build a family experience, including clinics, games and family-friendly activities.
King added the team would try to collaborate with community groups that currently use the facility and work with the school district on educational opportunities.
The team has estimated there would be direct business sales of just under $3 million and overall indirect and direct business sales of $4.6 million.
“That’s 72,000 fans that would be coming to Swangard to watch Vancouver Rise across the season, and we anticipate almost 4,000 would stay overnight across that 12-game period,” King said.
King said she’s confident in the numbers: the team signed up more than 1,000 fans for season ticket deposits without a stadium announced or a single player confirmed on the roster.
She added the average attendance in the American pro league is 14,000.
“Within three years, I see no reason why we couldn’t be at 10,000,” King said.
Multiple councillors expressed concerns about displacing the community groups which use the stadium throughout the summer, but council unanimously referred the presentation to staff to report back on what ideas are possible and what potential commitments could be.
The Northern Super League is planned to be one of Canada’s top professional women’s soccer leagues with six founding clubs in Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Halifax and Calgary.
