Wednesday November 6, 2019 ~ LANGFORD
~ West Shore Voice News
Pacific FC is taking sports indoors on the west shore. The newly constructed Island Training Centre (ITC) in Langford will be open for business starting December 1.
The 55,000 square foot Indoor Training Facility at 2888 Kettle Lake Drive in the Westhills area will become the official training centre of the Pacific FC professional soccer team and will be available for public use.
“December 1st is going to feel like Christmas morning for the Vancouver Island soccer community,” said Pacific FC CEO Rob Friend. “But it’s not just soccer clubs that will use this facility. Baseball academies, volleyball leagues, football and ultimate frisbee have contacted us about running programs out of the facility. It truly is a community centre for sports and recreation,” said Friend this week.
Pacific FC has invested $7 million in the new ITC, where their own team can practice and where other sports teams and athletes (both professional and amateur) can make use of the space, said Friend last month.
“We’re trying to grow soccer on the Island,” says Pacific FC president Josh Simpson. “We want to build the culture of soccer, and how do you do that? You get facilities like this one. It’s going to make soccer fun,” said Simpson about the ITC.
The ITC will house three soccer fields, a multi-sport hard court that can be converted into three volleyball courts, and a basketball court. There will also be an area dedicated to high-performance training technology. The permanent reception and lounge area is ideal for birthday parties and group events. As well, trade shows and concerts will also be considered in the space.
Pacific FC owns the building on leased land from the City of Langford. Langford Mayor Stew Young said, “Not only does this year-round venue add another artificial turf to our community, it provides opportunities for youth, community groups and high performance teams to practice and compete at the next level no matter how bad the weather is.”
From December 1 to 15, sports clubs are invited to book field time at the ITC free of charge by contacting Wes Barrett at wbarrett@pacificfc.ca. After that, the inaugural Pacific 6 Holiday Tournament will follow over the Christmas break.
Pacific FC launched in summer 2018, with their first season played April through October 2019 at Westhills Stadium during which time they launched the Pacific FC brand and drew substantial crowds to each game.
The ITC is a quick 3-minute drive from the 6,000-seat Westhills Stadium.
