By Erin McGuey
Ottawa’s core may never benefit from mayor Bob Chiarelli’s promise of 100 new soccer fields despite a real need.
“The place that suffers the most is downtown Ottawa and old Ottawa,” says Bob Rathwell, past president of the Eastern Ontario District Soccer Association. “There is just not enough vacant land in old Ottawa. The most available land is in the greenbelt and that is too far away for many kids who live downtown.”
Rathwell, who has been a soccer volunteer for the past 35 years, says that areas of old Ottawa (the area of Ottawa that existed before amalgamation) will probably not see the benefits of these new soccer fields and that many of the fields would be placed in areas that do not have accessible transit for youth.
Diane Holmes, the current councillor for the Somerset Ward, confirms this.
“Unless we start knocking down buildings, I don’t think this ward will see any new soccer fields,” says Holmes.
She adds she’s in favour of soccer fields that are on transit routes and easier to get to.
According to Pat Daly of the City’s park and recreation branch, there are approximately 345 to 350 city soccer fields in Ottawa, not including school fields, with only 71 soccer fields in the old Ottawa district. There are no city soccer fields in Centretown. The closest field for youth would be Glendale Park near Chamberlain and Bronson.
“A lot of the soccer fields are really out of reach to people in the downtown area,” says Bob Monaghan, the past president of East Region Soccer League, and the current DSP administrator with the Ottawa Internationals.
Monaghan, who has been involved with soccer for 20 years, also says he doubts the likelihood of these 100 fields being built, adding he is not sure where they would all go.
“What size are these fields going to be?” Monaghan questions. “And where are we going to put them all?”
According to FIFA’s 2006 laws of the game, the minimum dimensions for a soccer field are 90m by 45m and the maximum dimensions are 120m by 90m. That would mean these 100 soccer fields would need 100 to 260 acres of land to create just the pitches – then there is the space required for spectators. These dimensions grow significantly when the field is meant to host international matches.
Monaghan states the fields Chiarelli had in mind could be much smaller if he intended them only for young children, but it would prevent many other ages from using them.
Rathwell also questions a promise made within a month of the municipal election.
“It’s politics,” he says. “We all know that. Obviously when he [Chiarelli] runs for election, he has an eye on his audience and there are an awful lot of people who participate in soccer.”
He also notes that Chiarelli made this announcement while members of FIFA officials were in Ottawa. That was the same day that Chiarelli announced that soccer was “Ottawa’s sport”.
“Don’t get me wrong, it would be great for soccer if Ottawa got these fields,” says Rathwell.
“I would love to see better facilities in this city. But I believe that wanting to do something is not just talking to be heard during the election.”
Sports fields have become a highly contentious issue in this municipal election.
While Chiarelli has announced his plan for the additional fields, another leading candidate, Larry O’Brien, is calling for major improvements at Lansdowne Park. He says this will prepare it for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup soccer tournament and help bring back a Canadian Football League team.
Alex Munter is focused on cutting recreational fees by 10 per cent to increase participation recreation, such as soccer. Munter says that voters should be looking at what the mayor has done in the past and cites examples of Chiarelli increasing recreation fees and failing in his promise for an indoor running track. Chiarelli was unavailable to respond.
Chiarelli’s critics say the promise of 100 fields over the next four years will depend on who wins in the election and whether the new council supports it.
“The fact of the matter is that the Centretown area needs soccer fields,” says Monaghan. “The need is between 75 and 80 and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be getting it.”