Prince Rupert soccer coach Will Spat has initiated a movement he calls “Drain the Swamp” in an attempt to rally support and raise money to upgrade the Roosevelt Park soccer fields.
Spat, who has been coaching with Prince Rupert youth soccer for the past three years, said he has first hand experience of how bad the fields can get when there is moderate to heavy rain.
“I just remember so many times standing there with rubber boots, and the field is muddy and the games are called at halftime,” he said. “I just realied that this field needed to be upgraded.”
The Prince Rupert soccer association uses Roosevelt field in the spring for its house league play. During this period, approximately 600 players use it over the course of its season from April until June.
It is also occasionally used by other organizations and associations in the city for other recreational activities. Roosevelt community school principal Andree Michaud said the school will sporadically use the field for sports days or the adjacent baseball diamond. She said the field does get mushy during the spring time when it rains, and thus is not always in the best condition.
“Of course any improvement to this field, any improvement to anything is always good,” Michaud said. “If somebody is looking to make something better, I would think it’s a good idea.”
After conducting some primary research, Spat has written a proposal for a grass pitch with a sand-based that would be able to drain water away more effectively than the current field does, improving its overall quality and playability.
He has since sent it out to other coaches in the soccer associaion and has began informal conversations with members of the local school board, the Rotary Club of Prince Rupert, the Prince Rupert Lions Club and engineers in the city.
Spat said he would like to meet and partner with Northern Health also as the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital is adjacent to the park.
“There’s a real opportunity for walking or something to get employees and seniors who might be in those facilities outside,” he said.
Spat said he plans to apply to the Port of Prince Rupert’s community investment fund in Jan. 2018 to cover the $750,000 - $1 million he expects the project to cost.
However, he still wants to work with organizations in the community to help raise money as well as that will help strengthen the funding application.
“Once we have that formal structure, then we can start with bake sales, spreading the word and getting commitment from the parent’s associations,” he said. “That way we can show the port there is this broad based community support.”
Spat said he hopes to have a society and board organized by September so that concrete planning and fundraising can begin.
“I need two or three other bug-eyed loonies like myself to come forward and say, ‘we’re going to make this happen,’” he said.