Soccer is booming, but some Montreal sports associations say player development is limited by a lack of indoor facilities.
Soccer Verdun says overused infrastructure is holding youth back. CityNews joined the club on Nuns’ Island for one of their practices.
Edward Meany drives his son Aiden to soccer at different locations six times a week —three of those with Soccer Verdun.
“He’s 12 years old. He dreams of being a pro, you know, but right now, he just loves it, and it’s great, it’s great for him,” said Meany. “Right now, we ended up going to Laval, we end up going to NDG, different places except for close to home.”
“As it is right now, the parents that want their kids to be playing soccer have to be expecting to drive at least 15, 20, 30, 35 minutes all over the city to NDG, to the South Shore, to Chateauguay if they want their kids to be playing on an artificial turf in the winter,” Colin Danby, the president of Soccer Verdun said. “And those places are booked. There’s no availability.
Colin Danby, the president of Soccer Verdun. (Johanie Bouffard, CityNews)
“Without the synthetic turf, as soon as the fields close for us, usually in September, we need to move our practices indoors. And that means moving to schools like this one here. And it also means moving to indoor synthetic turf. And if you search around for what kinds of indoor synthetic turf are available, there are none available.”
One father CityNews spoke to came with his daughter, who plays on one of Soccer Verdun’s girls’ teams.
“As you can see, you may notice but this is not a turf. This is just a so-called futsal, which is slightly different kind of sport. It’s not the soccer that we’re supposed to play,” said Alexi Voytsekhovsky.
Alexi Voytsekhovsky, whose daughter is playing soccer. (Johanie Bouffard, CityNews)
In a statement sent to CityNews, Verdun borough Mayor Céline-Audrey Beauregard said: “Everyone in Verdun agrees: there aren’t enough soccer fields, and the ones we have are overused. Plus, the closure of the Soccerplex in the Greater Southwest has put even more pressure on the few indoor facilities. The demand is high, and we need solutions fast. During the election campaign, I committed to supporting a project for a synthetic soccer field. The materials used have improved and now help reduce heat islands. In this context, we want to work with the soccer club to find a suitable location for this development and support the creation of financial partnerships.”
Over a 20-week period in winter, Soccer Verdun spends $4,000 per week for just four hours of indoor turf. According to its president, even if building an indoor soccer stadium costs more than the estimated $20 million, it would still be what he says is a no-brainer.
“It’s an easy win because of the amount of money that it can bring in. There are over 1,000 players just in Verdun,” said Danby.
The City of Montreal added in a statement: “The City of Montreal also provides four indoor centers for soccer. In addition, a permanent dome will be built at Hébert Stadium in the Saint-Léonard borough. The centers are: Montreal Soccer Stadium (Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension); Marie-Victorin Sports Complex (Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles); Saint-Laurent Sports Complex (Saint-Laurent); St-Jean-Vianney Sports Complex (Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles).
… Boroughs are responsible for planning and managing the needs of their communities. [The central city] supports them by offering funding programs for upgrading and developing sports and aquatic facilities. In fact, the city invests about $80 million annually through these support programs for the boroughs.”
