April 8, 2005
SFU Scores Funds to Develop Athletic Centre and Stadium
Burnaby – A provincial investment of $20 million will help Simon Fraser University (SFU)
continue its tradition of athletic excellence with the construction of a new athletic centre and stadium, Premier Gordon Campbell announced today.
“SFU has a proud history of training some of Canada's best young athletes, a history the
province wants to help build on as we prepare for 2010,” said Campbell. “Supporting athletic
infrastructure projects such as this one, which will support a culture of fitness on campus and in the
community of Burnaby, is a critical part of our commitment to promote sport and healthy living
throughout B.C.”
The project, which SFU estimates will cost a total of $60 million, consists of two components:
• A $50 million athletic centre that would serve as the main facility for recreational sports and
competitive athletics as well as an indoor training facility and national high performancetraining
centre.
• A $10 million stadium including a concrete grandstand with partially covered seating for up to
2,000, portable seating for another 2,000, washrooms, team lockers, concession and artificial
turf with stadium lighting and a scoreboard.
Once complete, the university predicts the facility will be capable of hosting up to 70 major
sporting and non-sporting events a year involving 70,000 participants and spectators and generating $7
million in revenue.
“Our government has come to the table to give this project a head start because we recognize
the value of building infrastructure that supports the economic and physical well-being of British
Columbians,” said Harry Bloy, MLA for Burquitlam. “This multi-sport facility has long been a vision
for SFU and I am confident it will prove to be a tremendous legacy for Burnaby and beyond.”
“Our vision is to make SFU a national training centre for the next generation of Canadian
Olympians and internationally competitive athletes,” said Michael Stevenson, President of SFU. “With
its links to kinesiology, sport medicine, the new Faculty of Health Sciences and the national team
coaching that is already in place at SFU on Burnaby Mountain, the national training centre will take
advantage of synergies that are necessary to sustaining excellence in athletic training and
performance.”
Provincial funding for SFU’s proposed fitness centre and stadium comes from the Major Post-
Secondary Sports Training Facilities Initiative, which funds infrastructure projects that provide British
Columbians with increased opportunities to participate in sports and physical activity.
The 2005/06-2007/08 budget and fiscal plan committed $60 million towards the Major Post-
Secondary Sports Training Facilities Initiative; however, at this time, government has legal authority
for six months of spending under Interim Supply. Government will seek legislative approval for the
full year amounts in the fall.
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