‘Fútbol’ to be more accessible? City of Nanaimo applies for mini pitch funding through Mini Peaks Legacy Project
A mini pitch is a uniquely sized field 20 by 40 meters big, made for smaller groups with a wall around the outside to keep the ball in play more often. They’re also ideal for young players. (Liam Prendergast / CHLY 101.7FM)
Amidst the excitement of the FIFA World Cup, The City of Nanaimo is hoping to score a spot in a provincial program and bring a mini pitch to Beban Park.
The Mini Peaks Legacy Project, aims to create mini soccer pitches in communities across the province. A mini pitch is a uniquely sized field 20 by 40 metres big, made for smaller groups with a wall around the outside to keep the ball in play more often.
CHLY spoke with one of the City of Nanaimo’s councillors, Erin Hemmens as she explains the idea behind the project.
“It’s an initiative that is meant to be a legacy project of the FIFA World Cup, and it's through funding with FIFA and Whitecaps FC, and an organization called ViaSport,” she said.
On Monday's council meeting councillors unanimously approved the expression of interest forwarded by the finance and audit committee on June 17. Vancouver Island is scheduled to receive two pitches, with the City of Nanaimo hoping to install one at Beban Park.
Council directed staff to amend the City’s 2026-2030 Financial Plan to include $213,600 for site preparation costs should Nanaimo’s application go through.
Hemmens goes into detail on the benefits the inclusion of a facility like this could yield for the community.
“I think any investment in youth sport is a great investment, and one where we can capitalize on provincial and other funding is even better for us,” she said. “I think any parent who has a child involved in sports recognizes the value of that, it's great for economic development, in terms of being able to attract tournaments.”
City staff have identified an underutilized area of Beban Park for the proposed mini pitch, near other sports fields and recreational facilities. Staff chose Beban Park as it already serves as one of Nanaimo’s largest recreational hubs, with existing dedicated sports areas. In a report, City staff say the new pitch would also help ease the demand on existing turf fields during busy hours.
Hemmens says the project fits the City’s goals around recreation, adding that there is community interest in adding accessible sport spaces. Although the pitch is designed for soccer, staff note the facility would also be able to support other activities throughout the year.
Hemmens goes into detail about the community demands that she has heard lately.
“What I hear a lot from our soccer community is a real desire for an indoor practice space,” she said. “They would love that amenity, and they are fully behind this project as well, recognizing that it would provide warm up space for kids, but also an opportunity for the smaller kids to get off the bigger fields and have many spaces for them.”
The City of Nanaimo has submitted an Expression of Interest, hoping they will be one of the selected communities. With the ‘winners’ expected to be announced at a later date.
CHLY also spoke with Nanaimo’s United FC’s Executive Director Jason Coates, he explains the importance the mini pitch would have for the local soccer community.
“The mini pitch provides more capacity to hopefully bring in a wider range of participants to just really enjoy the fun and beauty of free play soccer and other sports,” he said. “One of the real goals of the Mini Peaks initiative is to look at how can we help perhaps underserved communities, and how can we just continue to build capacity to get them involved in soccer.”
Nanaimo United FC is a soccer club, serving youth and adult players from surrounding communities. It has around 2200 to 2500 members annually. The club offers a variety of programs from pro men's and women's teams to youth summer camps for kids starting out their soccer journeys.
Coates goes into detail on the idea of free play and how a mini pitch differs from a normal field.
“The reality is that soccer is in a funny place in Canada, by far it is the most played sport across youth and adult, but in some ways it's become like a lot of sports it sometimes struggles from being over programmed and maybe not as much spontaneous play or free play,” he said. “Facilities like this can sometimes help offer different ways of engaging with soccer and other sports.”
He says the club sees the mini pitch as an opportunity to expand access to the sport, noting that Nanaimo United FC would be interested in working with the City. He hopes together they could work on programing initiatives to help reduce barriers for the public that has been preventing them from jumping into the sport.
Coates explains the importance of smaller pitches.
“The reality is more people in the world play soccer on small pitches or random fields, or beaches, or sidewalks, or parking lots than they do play organized 11 v 11 soccer.”
Further information and confirmation will be provided in the City of Nanaimo’s website
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.