The projected cost of Langley Township’s youth soccer campus has more than doubled in the past year and is now expected to cost $100 million.
Those figures are included in Langley Township’s proposed new capital plan and come after staff was given the green light earlier this year to begin design work.
Last year, when the facility was first included in the township’s budget, the price tag was estimated at $40 million.
The higher soccer campus costs are just one piece of news emerging from the latest budget of the Township and other local municipalities.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll unpack the capital plans of each of the Fraser Valley’s largest regions, with a focus on planned infrastructure and facilities and their costs. Today, we look at Langley Township, the municipality with the largest building aspirations.
The plan for the year
Last week, Langley Township started budget discussions that will conclude in the spring with a new annual financial plan. Included in the township’s preliminary budget is a proposed capital plan that lays out a massive list of projects that council and staff want to build.
Those include the $100 million soccer campus and many others, like a $18.3 million concert hall, also at the LEC, and a new marina on the Fraser River.
Some of the plans are still preliminary and, even if projects are included in the finalized plan, they may not be built. More than many communities, Langley Township’s capital plan is often an aspirational document, rather than a guarantee that the projects included will get built.
Unlike many other local municipalities, Langley Township often doesn’t identify funding sources for many planned-for projects in its budget. Instead, projects are planned for, but then must return to council for approval of the specific source of funding.
Soccer campus
For the $100 million soccer campus, the Township hasn’t yet identified where it will get the money. It could choose to dip into its reserves, or it can hope to pay for the project by applying for, and receiving, grants from senior levels of government. It may be able to use money from developers. Or it could borrow the money.
Whatever the case, for the facility to proceed, staff will have to return to council with a plan for how to pay for it.
Although a capital plan has been laid out, Mayor Eric Woodward said this week that council is likely to revisit it once they and staff have agreed on an overall budget for capital projects this year.
Two projects included in the plan do have funding sources identified—a new ice arena and dry floor arena complex at the Langley Events Centre, and the new Brookswood fire hall.
Both have previously been announced.
But funding for the youth soccer campus still is up in the air, even as the projected cost grows.
In September, council gave staff the go-ahead to start design work on the new facility. Now, that design and cost estimating work appears to have put a new $100 million price tag on the facility. That’s two and a half times what staff projected in last year’s budget.
This year’s budget document states that the first phase of the facility would include an indoor turf field and other facilities located on top of underground parking. There would also be two outdoor turf fields, a player warmup and training area, and related infrastructure to deal with run-off and traffic.
The Events Centre
In contrast to the growing soccer campus project, the Township appears to have scaled back ambitions for a
new concert hall at the Langley Events Centre.
When that project was mooted in last year’s capital plan,
its budget was set at around $100 million. It has returned in the 2024 budget, but this time with a much-lower price tag of $18.3 million. The Township still hasn’t identified a funding source, illustrating the on-the-fly nature of much of the municipality’s budgeting process.
The township is also eyeing what would be another prominent upgrade to the Langley Events Centre: a new jumbotron. The Township is looking to replace its aging arena video system with a new one. It has put the cost at about $2.1 million. (To the west, the Abbotsford Centre recently got a new $1.5 million video board.)
The current videoboard dates back to the arena’s construction in 2009. Staff say it has lasted “well beyond its existing lifespan” and that the current four-sided board could be disassembled and panels used elsewhere in the facility. The Township is also looking to replace the two-sided video billboard outside the LEC. It expects that to cost $350,000.
At Willoughby Community Park Stadium, the home to Vancouver FC pro soccer club, the Township is also looking to add a $950,000 LED video display.
Funding for the video boards hasn’t yet been confirmed.
The desk
The Township is also considering spending more than $1 million to upgrade the digs in its council chambers. That could include spending more than $200,000 on a new council table.
In September, staff laid out about $1.3 million of potential spending to upgrade the Fraser River Presentation Theatre where council holds its meetings.
At the time,
staff outlined the need to improve the technology used to hold and broadcast meetings. Of the proposed spending, $450,000 would go towards upgrading the technology and another $400,000 would be spent on new lighting.
But staff also proposed changes to the curve of the council desk to accommodate new technology and “improve sightlines.” And although staff described the change to the council desk as “slight,” getting a new council table was expected to cost $210,000. Staff also suggested removing public seating and reconfiguring staff seating. That would cost another $190,000.
At the September meeting, Mayor Eric Woodward referred the proposed changes to the upcoming budget discussions. Now those discussions are about to start.
Marina, parks, and other goodies
The Township is considering and planning a range of other park projects including:
- $2.5 million — Clearing land and shoreline along the Fraser River to prepare for the construction of a new marina, boat launch, and park in the Glen Valley.
The marina would be located here.
- $5.7 million over two years — Replacing the turf field at Walnut Grove Community Park with a baseball diamond with new lighting, fencing, and bleachers. The turf field is at the end of its life and has been replaced by new pitches at Yorkson Community Park, staff say. Design work would begin in 2024, with construction in 2025.
- $500,000 — Repairing the shore along the Fort to Fort Trail to deal with erosion.
- $2 million — Replacing the turf field at Willoughby Community Park
- $350,000 — Repairing the Walnut Grove skatepark, which was deemed 10 years ago to be deteriorating and dangerous to riders. $100,000 — Reconfiguring the Yorkson Community Park mountain bike park to provide more space between riders and pedestrians on the new greenway
- $1.65 million over two years — Redesign and improve fields at Milner Park
- $150,000 — Installing a sound wall at Fort Langley Community Park to reduce noise complaints about pickleball
Roads
Any SimCity buff knows that half of running a (virtual) city is building roads. That might not be completely true in real life, but a growing town still needs to get people around. The following projects are included in this year’s budget.
- $6.5 million — A new 208 A Street from 212 Connector to 76 Avenue; the road will front the soccer campus
- $5.5 million — Widen 76 Avenue from 208 Street to the 21000 block in preparation for more traffic from local development
- $300,000 — Design 216 Street from 80 Avenue to Glover Road
- $9.5 million in 2023 and 2024 — Widen 80 Avenue between 204 and 212 streets (funded mostly from development cost charges)
- $10.5 million — Restore Old Yale Road from 216 Street to Langley City
- $24.5 million in 2023-2025 — Ongoing widening of Fraser Highway from the 24300 Block to the 24600 block (funded half by Translink, half by development cost charges)
- $7 million — Widen the intersection at River Road and 252 Street and upgrade a rail crossing to provide access to the proposed new marina and boat launch
- $41 million — Design and
construct the Willowbrook Connector (mostly funded by debt)
Almost all the Township roads spending is for cars. But there is one project that parents may take note of.
It’s still unfunded, but the township plans to spend $500,000 repairing the
sidewalk and a very small wood retaining wall between St. Andrews Avenue and Fort Langley cemetery. According to staff “there have been instances of children falling and getting hurt” when it rains and the wood gets slippery. They say local residents requested the project. (Staff say a wood retaining wall is deteriorating and causing “undulations and sinkholes” in the existing sidewalk.)
The Township is also looking to build a new sidewalk on 40 Avenue between 200 Street and 201A Street.
You can
view the entire Langley Township capital plan here.
