Foothills set to open massive indoor soccer field house
Fifteen years after leaving England to play soccer in Calgary, Tommy Wheeldon and his club are about to reach a dream goal.
While his professional team, the Calgary Storm, fell to financial realities, Wheeldon’s Calgary Foothills Soccer Club is set to realize a more positive milestone with the opening of a massive field house in the city’s southeast.
Ten years after initial planning began, the 85,000-square-foot facility at 111 Exploration Ave. S.E. will be Western Canada’s only soccer specific facility of its type, said a thrilled Wheeldon.
“This is a big day for soccer not only for Calgary but for Canada,” said the club’s technical director. “It’s a huge difference.”
The Foothills Fieldhouse will be home to the club’s 3,000-plus players and will also be available to other leagues and sports, he said.
“It’s such a large space, it could even be used for concerts,” said Wheeldon, adding his group has been in touch with the Calgary Minor Soccer Association for possible rentals.
For their own players, the new indoor space will ensure a more intensive focus on technical development for players and a longer indoor season.
It’s already reached at least an 80 per cent occupancy level for the coming winter, said Wheeldon.
And the field house could be an important selling point for bringing back professional soccer to Calgary with the recent talk of a Canadian league, he said.
“We’re ready with an infrastructure to support that,” he said.
Along with its field that meets FIFA International requirements, the facility also boasts 10,000 square feet of office and spectator space on two levels.
An exercise room and large gym- nasium round out the facility. The $11 million it cost to build the facility was raised through a private investor group, with the Foothills club its long-term lease holder.
“We’ve found a private solution and didn’t have to go cap-in-hand to the city,” said Wheeldon.
He noted the club has a proud history of developing world-class soccer talent, most notably Owen Hargreaves who’s gone on to play for Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
Listing off a lengthy roster of such talent, Wheeldon said the new facility should only fuel more of the same.
“We’ve got a really good history of producing players for the next level,” he said.
A grand opening celebration will be held at the facility June 24 starting at 7 p.m.