Premier John Horgan was on hand at Delview Park Thursday afternoon to help celebrate the opening of a new cricket pitch, but not everyone is happy about the addition.
North Delta MLA Ravi Kahlon and Delta Mayor George Harvie a few weeks ago announced $175,000 in funding from the provincial government towards new amenities at the North Delta park, including a new picnic shelter, cricket facilities and washroom upgrades. The cricket pitch was recently installed, while other changes will be undertaken following neighbourhood consultation. In total, the city plans to spend $500,000.
Surrounded by young cricket players, Khalon on Thursday said people in the community have been advocating to play cricket in Delta for a long time, and, thanks to Harvie and city council, it’s now a reality. Also on hand, Harvie talked about the city’s parks and recreation initiatives including plans for a series of parks and field improvements. He started a task force to help come up with a new plan.
Horgan commended Kahlon and the city for giving cricket players a place to play.
“I think I may well be the first premier, certainly in this century, that has had a passion for cricket. Ravi approached me when we formed the government and said that Delview Park is the perfect location to put down a cricket pitch in Delta so that we can continue to grow the sport here. Already hundreds of people are playing cricket in the region, we need to make sure they can stay at home at play the game,” said Horgan.
Premier John Horgan tried out the city's first cricket pitch at Delview Park on Thursday
The premier also talked about the importance of creating more opportunities for team sport in the community.
Complaining this year there had been no consultation with long-time user groups, slo-pitch players who have been playing at Delview were upset about cricket possibly displacing them to less playable fields.
Param Grewal, Harvie’s executive assistant, at Thursday’s event said there was some misunderstanding about the addition of the cricket pitch, adding it was never about displacing others.
Parks and recreation director Ken Kuntz agreed, saying it was more a scheduling issue but that’s been worked out. He said it’s all about accommodating another user group at a city park.
Perry Coleman, president of the Surrey North Delta Funball League, however, told the Optimist the issue is not resolved as the pitch doesn’t blend well.
“The surface (of the cricket pitch) is obviously not level with the grass field, the pitch is a different level from the surrounding grass, the edges are all rough and uneven, and there are huge holes in the field where the wickets go making it unsafe for ball players to use…We have already had a couple of ball players who play the outfield say they will not play on the surface the way it currently is,” he said.
In an e-mail, Coun. Lois Jackson expressed concern, suggesting city staff and members of the parks and recreation commission join members of slo-pitch for a site visit. She noted there appears to be a compatibility issue at the park that needs resolving.
