Lawsuit launched to save velodrome

West Shore recreation authority in question, track cyclers contend

The fight over the Juan de Fuca velodrome keeps spinning ‘round.

The Greater Victoria Velodrome Association has launched a lawsuit against West Shore Parks and Recreation to keep the oval from being buried under an all-weather field and stadium.

The WSPR society, meanwhile, voted to forge ahead with the 1,500-seat stadium project and compile detailed plans on construction costs, design, engineering and geotechnical information. Early estimates peg the project at $5 million.

WSPR staff are also investigating if the stadium-field proposal could fit elsewhere on the grounds, after Metchosin Mayor John Ranns protested against destroying the velodrome. Ranns is also working with Langford to see if the project could fit on one of the three Juan de Fuca soccer fields.

“We are looking at the feasibly of the placing the stadium somewhere else,” confirmed Mark Cardinal, WSPR society chair and Highlands mayor. “We are asking if it is physically possible to consider another location. We’re looking at the pros and cons verses the velodrome site. We’re looking at all avenues before the physical work is decided.”

Even if the stadium and all-weather field were planted elsewhere, the velodrome remains a legal liability for WSPR, he said. The society is named in at least two civil lawsuits due to injuries on the cycling track. The structure and infield need at least $750,000 in repairs, despite claims to the contrary by the GVVA, Cardinal continued.

“We have significant liability issues. We are having trouble getting liability insurance” he said. “A stadium and field doesn’t eliminate all the issues of that facility.”

Continued on page A3

Continued from page A1

Whether WSPR has the authority to bury and redevelop the velodrome site could rest with how documents dating back to 1994 and earlier are interpreted by the courts.

Peter Lawless, lawyer for the GVVA, filed a lawsuit against the WSPR, all member municipalities and the Capital Region, arguing WSPR is obliged under the public trust to operate that site as a velodrome.

As a legacy of the 1994 Commonwealth Games, the velodrome was built to benefit the community for at least 20 to 30 years, Lawless said. The 333-metre oval was designed with gentle slopes to allow beginner cyclists to train alongside the elites, he continued.

“We are saying they don’t have the authority to do what they want to do,” Lawless said. “(WSPR) has an obligation to keep it going, especially since WSPR was specifically set up to fulfill a range of diverse recreational opportunities. Eliminating the velodrome is completely contrary to the mandate of the society.”

He suspects documents and meeting minutes that established the creation of the facility will spell out the intended responsibilities and authority of WSPR. West Shore local governments would hand over such documents in the discovery phase of the lawsuit, which could take weeks or months.

Lawless expects WSPR society will agree to halt on any demolition or change of velodrome site until the lawsuit runs its course. Otherwise the GVVA will seek an injunction. The stadium-field proposal is nowhere near breaking ground, Cardinal pointed out.

The lawsuit could be moot if Ranns, Metchosin’s mayor, gets his way. WSPR can have its cake and eat it too, he said, under a proposal devised with Langford Mayor Stew Young.

Ranns wants the stadium built elsewhere on the property, the remaining fields rebuilt into all-weather fields, the velodrome and infield repaired, while preserving the small BMX track.

“I support the stadium. It’s good for the West Shore and good for the recreation centre. I firmly support that, but not that particular proposal,” Ranns said. “I think we can put in a stadium and all-weather field and save the velodrome for the same amount of money.”

Ranns chaffed at the notion contributing Metchosin’s share to the proposed project, about $270,000, saying it would have to go to referendum.

“I think part of the problem was the (WSPR) people didn’t think there would be sufficient interest to look at this on a larger scale,” Ranns said. “Now they see there is an interest and they have the chance to look at a different proposal.”

But despite pressure from Ranns, WSPR society could vote to build the stadium on the velodrome site — pending the outcome of the lawsuit — without Metchosin’s backing or funding, similar to Bear Mountain Arena. The society voted unanimously in June — Metchosin was absent — to move ahead with the more detailed concept phase.

editor@goldstreamgazette.com