Surrey lists four sites for Canada Soccer's 40+ acre National Training Centre

Could the brand new purpose-built, world-class National Training Centre for Canada Soccer be built in Surrey?

The City of Surrey announced yesterday it has officially submitted its expression of interest to the national governing body for soccer to pursue the construction of the massive facility within its jurisdiction.

Canada Soccer began the bidding process in December 2025, and the deadline for preliminary submissions from interested municipal governments, provincial governments, soccer clubs, post-secondary institutions, and/or any other interested and relevant entities was last week.

So far, based on previous media reports, there is also interest from locations such as Toronto (Woodbine), Pickering, and Vaughan in Ontario, and Montreal in Quebec.

This is intended to be a permanent legacy project of Canada’s role in hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Vancouver and Toronto. It would unite player development, national teams, coach and referee education, sports science, and community programs under one massive facility, effectively serving to better grow Canada’s next top talent in the world’s most popular sport.

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Canada Soccer is seeking a development site between 40 acres to 60 acres to build four to eight full-size outdoor natural and hybrid-grass soccer pitches, at least one indoor or covered soccer fields for year-round training, one small soccer stadium, and a high-performance training building with fitness gym, recovery, sports medicine, and analysis facilities.

There would also be dining facilities, parking, and space for future expansion, such as commercial, academic, and hotel uses and other hospitality or community facilities.

In addition to becoming the official training base for national teams, it would also host long-term tenants, such as professional or regional teams. There should be a demonstration that the location is supported by an ecosystem of elite youth and professional players to support continuous player development.

The location should be within close proximity to public transit and a major international airport with direct or short-connection flights to European hubs.

As well, Canada Soccer notes that preference will be given to locations enabling year-round training, such as through favourable climate and/or indoor facilities, and “joint funding models, land-use partnerships, and community programming integration are considered strong assets.”

The national federation emphasizes that the host location for the National Training Centre would see significant economic, social, and community benefits, including the attraction of visitors, athletes, and teams for national and international tournaments, training camps, and events.

With the preliminary submission deadline now passed, the City of Surrey has made its submission public, revealing that it has identified four potential sites for the facility.

This includes three locations owned by the municipal government with a large cluster of existing sports fields — the 42-acre Cloverdale Athletic Park (Site A), the 53-acre Newton Athletic Park (Site B), and the 73-acre South Surrey Athletic Park (Site C). The fourth location (Site D) is a 112-acre, privately-owned farm property at 4586 176 St. — within the protected Agricultural Land Reserve, immediately adjacent to the Nicomekl River.

The municipal government’s response to the bidding process emphasizes that it enjoys a mild year-round climate — unlike other areas of the country — and is in very close proximity to Canada’s second largest airport, Vancouver International Airport.

“Surrey is a natural fit for this kind of world-class facility,” said Surrey mayor Brenda Locke in a statement. “We have one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations in the country, strong soccer programs, transportation links and a commitment to sport development. We look forward to sharing these strengths with Canada Soccer to show what our city can offer.”

Canada Soccer notes that it may engage selected respondents for further discussion, feasibility analysis, and the eventual participation in the detailed bidding process or partnership discussions.

The University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Vancouver campus is already the location of the National Soccer Development Centre (NSDC), which opened in 2017 at a cost of about $33 million, with $14 million covered by the Government of British Columbia and about $19 million from the Vancouver Whitecaps to serve as their training hub. It also serves as the West Coast training base for the Canadian men’s, women’s, and youth national teams, as well as UBC teams.

Located just south of Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, the UBC centre features three grass fields, two artificial turf fields, and a three-storey, 38,000 sq. ft. fieldhouse with fitness gym, sports science, and other supporting facilities. During the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it will serve as one of the two official practice sites for the visiting teams playing at BC Place Stadium.

UBC has longer-term plans to build a brand new purpose-built outdoor soccer stadium next to the NSDC — a 5,000-seat venue replacing the existing Thunderbird Stadium, temporarily expandable to 10,000 seats, as part of a new mixed-use residential development.

In 2017, Rugby Canada opened its permanent national training hub in British Columbia — the Al Charron Rugby Canada National Training Centre — located in Langford on Vancouver Island. It is strategically situated next to the 6,000-seat Starlight Stadium. At the time, Rugby Canada noted that one of the key factors in choosing the location was its mild year-round climate, which enables year-round training.

There were plans to build a soccer training hub at Gates Park as a partnership between BC Soccer and the City of Port Coquitlam, with the $15-million project set to redevelop about 10 acres of the existing 37-acre athletic park. However, due to cost escalation, a smaller, downgraded version of the project will be completed this summer without the involvement of BC Soccer. The revised plan — retaining $9 million of funding from the provincial government — no longer includes a fieldhouse, the new turf field will not meet FIFA international competition standards, and the new covered grandstand concept has been reduced from 1,200 seats to 500.

Tennis Canada also has major plans to build a new Western Canada Tennis Centre at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex, a world-class training facility with over two dozen courts in indoor and outdoor configurations.

The City of Surrey also recently began the bidding process seeking a developer, sports tenant, and operator to build a new 10,000-seat indoor arena, complete with a hotel, conference and meeting space, retail, restaurant, and potentially some residential uses.

Replacing the BC Lions’ training facility, the arena would anchor the designated entertainment district area within the emerging Surrey City Centre, with the municipal government hoping to select a proponent in August 2026 and enable construction to begin in 2027. If the arena project moves ahead, a new practice facility for the CFL franchise would have to be identified.

And of course, the MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps FC are exploring the possibility of building a new outdoor soccer stadium and mixed-use entertainment district at Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver.

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