Velodrome infield eyed for permanent closure

West Shore Parks and Recreation society is considering turfing the velodrome’s aging infield for good.

“The turf has been lifted, the seams have been pulled apart and there is only one-third of the nylon turf left,” said Wade Davies, WSPR manager of operations. “We were told it had an eight- to 10-year life span and that was in 1993.”

Davies already spoke to user groups of the possibility the infield being shut down. Soccer teams use the field for practice and field lacrosse teams use it for league games.

“It is well past its life span,” he said.

Replacing the infield has been estimated at $750,000. The WSPR society board was scheduled to meet Thursday, Aug. 7 to discuss the fate of the infield. The decision, if any, was made after the Gazette’s deadline.

The West Shore BMX society is still using its track at WSPR and will until the end of its season this fall or when construction begins, whichever comes first.

The Juan de Fuca velodrome is also still in use and will be unless the proposed 1,500-seat stadium and all-weather field proposal is supported and funded by WSPR member municipalities, Davies said.

WSPR society has endorsed the stadium plan, along with a plan to transform the original BMX track land into 400 additional parking spaces.

news@goldstreamgazette.com