V.I. Raiders pay half the cost of upgrading Comox Field

Walter Cordery, The Nanaimo Daily News

Upgrades to Comox Field were long overdue, says a former minor soccer coach in Nanaimo. Mayor John Ruttan held soccer practices for his players at the former gravel field during the late 1960s and "it was terrible." The city and the Vancouver Island Raiders football club partnered to upgrade the all-weather surface to a natural turf field and they recently unveiled the new facility.

Hadi Abassi, president of the Raiders, said the field will give his team a permanent practice facility rather than having to scramble from field to field. "It's fantastic. We've finally got a place we can call home." One of the reasons the Raiders decided to pay 50% of the $160,000 upgrade is that Comox Field has lights. "Our players work through the day and before having this facility available to us they would have to rush to practice after work, wherever it may have been," said Abassi. "Now they will have a chance to go home, have some supper, rest a bit and then come to practice."

The team will convert change rooms adjacent to the fields into a storage area for the team's equipment, he said. The new field remains available for minor sports teams and students of Ecole Pauline Haarer Elementary School. "Our season for the most part is in the summer when the students are on summer vacation. While we will require some practice time in the fall, we can hold them after school is dismissed," said Abassi.