A B.C. sports nutrition brand is hoping to push a decision on bringing a 2026 FIFA World Cup training base camp in Langford into extra time.
Vancouver-based Pure Vita Labs (PVL) is offering a $60,000 donation — one dollar for every resident in Langford — in an effort to kickstart a fundraising movement to help the Victoria-area city pay for upgrades necessary to host the camp.
Earlier this week, Langford city council voted to drop its bid to host the base camp at Starlight Stadium, citing the $1 million to $1.2 million cost of converting its artificial turf to real grass.
The city said it had hoped for provincial or federal funding to help cover the costs, which never materialized.
“I was listening to good old fashioned AM radio, and I heard the story and I heard somebody from the City of Langford talking about it and … my heart sank, it seemed like this was something the city had wanted,” said Jim McMahon, owner of PVL parent company Fit Foods.
“And I thought, well dang it, somebody’s got to step up and say something … we just want to let them know we’re here to step up, and I hope other maybe businesses and maybe some other political areas, particularly the province, step up too.“
McMahon said the training camp is a rare opportunity to have part of a historic sporting event in the community, something that meshes with the company’s philosophy of health and fitness.
“You see this world-class event right in your own backyard, how can you not be inspired?” he said.
“And if this gets some people who otherwise might not have been inspired in life to do something, we’re missing out on the opportunity.”
McMahon said he hoped to inspire 100 other companies to come forward with $10,000 each, enough to push the city over $1 million.
Starlight Stadium is currently home to the Canadian Premier League soccer team Pacific FC, the Canadian Junior Football League Westshore Rebels and is a training and competition venue for Rugby Canada.
A Langford staff report also concluded using the facility as a training camp would displace those users, potentially delivering a $50,000 revenue loss to the city.
Langford-Highlands MLA Ravi Parmar has previously said the province is still working to find ways to ensure communities across the province benefit from World Cup-related legacy projects and tourism.