New fields open at Edmonton South Soccer Centre

The Edmonton South Soccer Centre officially opened two new indoor fields Tuesday, marking the completion of a $30.1 million expansion and giving local sports teams more space to play – just in time for winter.

“As a winter city, opening these two new indoor fields today will provide an immediate impact to the community for the upcoming indoor season,” said Jesse Banford, facility infrastructure delivery director at the City of Edmonton.

“We are proud to support a healthy, growing population by bringing to completion this expansion that encourages active living all year long.”

The two new fields, a turf soccer pitch and a concrete field, make the South Soccer Centre the first facility in Edmonton to have six indoor fields.

Adrian Newman, Edmonton Soccer Association CEO, said the accessible facility will also be a new home for the Volt hockey program, where players use specially designed electric wheelchairs. And, he added, it will open the city up to hosting provincial, national and international inline and ball hockey events.

“The Edmonton Soccer Association is delighted to have this expansion come online for the winter season,” Newman said. “The new facility doubles the annual fall and winter programming for sports which rely on concrete fields, like ball hockey, lacrosse and inline."

On the soccer side, Newman said the new indoor artificial grass field is closer to the grass pitches teams compete on.

"The new soccer field is a much safer surface for players, and we are getting terrific feedback from the first weeks," he said.

The expansion was a collaboration between the City of Edmonton, the Government of Alberta and the Edmonton Soccer Association. It also received funding from Ball Hockey Edmonton, the Greater Edmonton Lacrosse Council and the Edmonton Inline Hockey Association.