Tuesday, May 14, 2019 ~ LANGFORD
by Mary P Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
Together at the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series tournament in Langford this past weekend, Rugby Canada Chair Tim Powers and City of Langford Mayor Stew Young were pleased with the stadium expansion.
Getting more people into the stadium — presently 6,500 for a game, but with plans for further expansion to 10,000 — drives interest in the sport and a heightened tourism opportunity for the city.
It all speaks to the power of national sport to boost a local and regional economy. The economic spin-offs to Langford and the local economy for the May 11-12 Women’s Sevens tournament are estimated at $3.7 million, said Powers and Young as they reviewed the success of the weekend event.
“It’s a world class facility,” said Powers who was clearly enjoying the day at the newly renovated Westhills Stadium that includes VIP suites and an outdoor balcony lounge. Right across the road behind the stadium is the Al Charron Rugby Canada National Training Centre where athletes train year-round and can recover between matches during a tournament.
“Sports and entertainment at the Westhills Stadium puts Langford at the centre of economic activity,” said Mayor Young.
Langford Mayor Stew Young says plans are in the works to bring a hotel and conference centre to the site. That would highlight Langford year-round to travellers and the business community. It will be handy for sports teams and administration who travel from all over the world for competitions at Westhills Stadium.
For this past weekend’s tournament, athletes and sports organizers stayed at both Bear Mountain Resort and Four Points Sheraton in Langford, which required shuttle transportation to and from the stadium.
Also coming to the stadium area soon is the Sarah Beckett Memorial Playground and a climbing wall, says Young.
The new ‘building a national sports capital‘ theme was launched last month just ahead of the inaugural Pacific FC game at Westhills Stadium.
===== Tournament profile & results: