‘Sports capital’ Langford plans stadium expansion

VICTORIA A suburban Victoria municipality plans to expand its stadium to 8,000 seats from 1,718, bolstering the capital’s reputation as a sports destination.

The changes proposed by Langford for its Westhills Stadium would put the region in the capacity range required for the planned professional soccer Canadian Premier League, B.C. Lions exhibition games, and some national men’s and women’s soccer and rugby matches.

“It would be a true regional facility,” Langford Mayor Stew Young said. “We need this in the region. The metro region is now around 400,000 people and Langford is growing fastest with lots of young families.

“We are home to Rugby Canada, Golf Canada and Tennis Canada. We are going after sports. If you don’t set the goal, you’ll never do it. Let’s do it. We want to be known as the sports capital. We want to create that style of entertainment here.”

The largest outdoor stadium in the region is the 5,000-seat Centennial Stadium on the University of Victoria.

The biggest stumbling block to expansion of Westhills Stadium has been power poles that stand at the perimeter of the field opposite the grandstand.

“We are working with the province and B.C. Hydro to move the poles,” Young said. “As soon as they are moved, it will be built. It’s going to happen.”

The cost of the expansion will be about $5 million, Young said.

“We have put money aside in our recreation fund and we work with the development community,” Young said. “We move the red tape and bureaucracy out of the way.”

Langford Coun. Roger Wade said he was in negotiations with the B.C. Lions to play CFL games at Westhills Stadium while they were displaced from B.C. Place during the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. He said a deal could not be reached because enough seating could not have been added.

“That’s the only thing that killed us from the Lions playing some games here in 2015,” Wade said.