Good morning!
I have a confession to make: we’ve been hiding a secret here at the Lookout.
You may have noticed it. A consistent name in the newsletter, with really hyper-local stories focused on East Vancouver…
Well, the secret is out of the bag today. I’m excited to announce Maddi Dellplain has joined Vancity Lookout as our newest reporter. Maddi is local award-nominated journalist specializing in health reporting and has written for other Vancouver-based publications like The Tyee and Megaphone Magazine.
Maddi will be joining as part of the Local Journalism Initiative, as a part-time reporter with dedicated coverage in East Vancouver.
This is a big moment for two reasons. First, it aligns with our mission of hyper-local neighbourhood journalism, allowing Maddi to dig deeper into the issues facing people in East Vancouver that are being ignored. If it goes well, we could expand to South Vancouver, Kitsilano and many other places. And don’t worry, our team will still be covering the entire city!
And second, it represents the biggest change here at Vancity Lookout since we launched, doubling our team of journalists (I know, it’s from one to two, but it’s a big deal for us). It means Nate has more time to work on our upcoming City Hall Insider stories that will hit paid members’ inboxes tomorrow.
But here’s the deal — the funding for the Local Journalism Initiative contract could end next spring. As a small, members-funded publication, keeping Maddi on past that is only possible with more Vancouver locals funding our journalism. Plus, with all the stories we have planned, we want to move her to a full-time, permanent position well before then.
Now let’s dive into Maddi’s latest story.
— Geoff Sharpe, Lookout founder and managing editor
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WEATHER
Monday: 14 🌡️ 9 | 🌤️
Tuesday: 11 🌡️ 6 | 🌧️
Wednesday: 16 🌡️ 7 | ☀️
EAST VANCOUVER
Youth soccer could see a boost from new Killarney training site
FIFA's training site at Killarney Park, pictured during a media event in December / Nate Lewis
Story by Maddi Dellplain. Read the story online here.
“You’re about to play on the field where some of the best soccer players in the world are going to practice this summer… Are you ready?!”
A chorus of joyous shrieks rose in response as a volunteer led another group of children into the brand new field at Killarney Park as a part of the private Killarney FC Youth Activation Event.
After nearly a year and a half of construction, the extensively renovated field just north of the Killarney Community Centre will open to world-renowned athletes for training during the FIFA World Cup games this summer.
But on April 19, it was taken over by perhaps an even more energetic crowd: Over 200 children registered as players with the Killarney Youth Soccer Association (KYSA).
“Today’s been awesome, it’s exceeded my expectations for sure,” said KYSA president Warren Creighton.
Killarney Park Map from 2023 Killarney Track and Field Update Concept Plan - Vancouver Park Board Report
Between two major renovations at the park, Creighton said that KYSA’s youth soccer players have been relocated from their usual practice fields since early 2025.
The event was a way for the Vancouver Park Board to recognize the sacrifice made by the teams and celebrate a big anniversary for the club this year. “[Parks said] ‘we know you've been displaced…so we want to give you that opportunity to get onto this brand new field… and make it an exciting event because it's [KYSA’s] 60th anniversary.’”
While the event itself had no direct affiliation with the FIFA World Cup, excitement for the upcoming games and the big players that will take over the field in June was palpable.
The field at the north side of the park, now the Killarney Park Venue-Specific Training Site, is one of two facilities established in Vancouver to serve as training space for athletes during the World Cup.
The extensive renovations included regrading the field, improving soil conditions, enhancing drainage, installing a modern irrigation system, and high-mast LED field lighting.
“[That field] used to be a bog with terrible drainage in the wintertime,” said Creighton. “In the summer, there were baseball diamonds, but they’re taking [those] down, and hopefully we’ll get some time on it. It’ll be a real benefit to the soccer community for sure.”
Temporary field southwest of Killarney Community Centre/Maddi Dellplain
The gravel “all-weather” playing field next to the training site is temporarily used for parking, and several structures have been built in the area for team locker rooms and press conference spaces. According to Creighton, these structures will likely be removed following the World Cup.
While the City of Vancouver did not provide an exact estimate for the cost of the new training site, a 2025 budget proposal noted that costs to the city could reach up to $281 million for “provision of team training sites, FIFA Fan Festival, brand protection, traffic management, and other…services.”
David Harrison, communications manager with the FIFA World Cup 26 Vancouver, wrote in a statement to Vancity Lookout that “this project has been delivered on budget and ahead of schedule,” and that another financial update will be shared in the spring.
The oval track to the east of the Killarney Community Centre has likewise undergone extensive renovations since March 2025, totalling roughly $11 million. Harrison confirmed the track is nearing completion but will require a stint of dry weather to complete the “rubberized track surfacing installation.”
Due to construction, the kids have been playing at several other fields in the area, notably Champlain Heights Park, with the youngest kids practicing in elementary school gyms during the winter months.
“The gyms are a lot more expensive than grass fields, but we've been able to adapt to that,” said Creighton. He added that the main drawback has been that, without the kids outside playing at Killarney, some parents may have been given the impression that “soccer’s not on.”
However, he added, “my outlook is that you're going to have to make do with a short-term inconvenience and…face those [challenges] for the broader community, in order to get those long-term gains.”
Soccer mom, Vicky, said that for her two sons, the change “hasn’t been too inconvenient,” noting that nearby Champlain Heights “at least has a playground, so there’s always something to do after practice.”
Another mom at the KYSA event, Christine Adavan, described the new field as “super fancy” and noted that the kids were excited to play on it. However, the youngest kids were “mainly excited about the stamps” that they gave away at the event.
Creighton said that he is ultimately optimistic that FIFA will be a net positive for Vancouver’s soccer community.
“With the World Cup coming, there's going to be a lot of attention on soccer, and young kids are going to get interested, parents are going to get interested. Just having that brand new facility and two fields right there, it's going to attract a lot of people [to the sport].”
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Right now, Vancity Lookout is funded by about 5% of our regular readers.
That 5% is why Nate can sit through the council meetings most newsrooms have stopped showing up to, why we can chase down the city hall stories nobody else is chasing, and why we don't have to write for clicks.
Reader funding is what lets us cover neighbourhood news in Vancouver — from the Downtown Eastside to Mount Pleasant to Kitsilano — without a billionaire or a venture fund deciding what gets written.
Now with Maddi joining, Nate will be able to spend even more time covering city hall and the issues that are shaping our city.
If you're in the other 95% and you find value in what we do, becoming a member is how you keep this model going.
THE VANCOUVER NUMBER
17th
Vancouver’s rank when it comes to the world’s most walkable city in 2026, according to TimeOut, with a 78 per cent score. It may not come as a huge surprise, but Vancouver wasn’t just the only Canadian city, but also the only North American city to rank in the top 20.
THE AGENDA
🏠 While some cities in the U.S. are temporarily relaxing short-term rental rules this summer for the World Cup, and Vancouver business groups are warning about a room shortage, the City of Vancouver says they aren’t considering changes to the short-term rental rules, nor are they able to supersede existing provincial rules. Read more ($). [Vancouver Sun]
🌊 Metro Vancouver is skipping Stage 1 water restrictions and moving immediately to Stage 2, calling it unprecedented due to the dry forecast and low snowpack. That means all lawn watering is banned. Read more. [Global]
🧑⚕️ Vancouver Community College has suspended its Bachelor of Science Nursing program intake for one year due to financial issues. The president of the BC Nurses Union has called it a short-sighted decision, given that the province has 4,500 vacancies for nursing positions. Read more. [CityNews]
💰 Metro Vancouver’s costly probe into whistleblower leaks is drawing criticism as the organization refuses to explain the scope or cost while investigating dozens of Metro Vancouver politicians. Read more. [Global]
🛳️ It wouldn’t be a Vancouver summer without hordes of cruise ship passengers descending on Vancouver, and this summer will be no different, with an expected 56,000 of them visiting each week. Read more. [Urbanized]
⚽ Congrats to the Vancouver Rise, who won their home opener in an exciting fashion, with a 4-3 overtime victory against the Minnesota Frost on Saturday. It wasn’t just the Rise; the Whitecaps won 3-1 against the Colorado Rapids. The team sits in second place in the standings, behind San Jose.
👮 A fatal stabbing on Thursday morning in East Vancouver was the third homicide of 2026, after a man died in the hospital from his wounds. Read more. [CBC]
EVENT GUIDE
International Dance Day at The Dance Centre | The Dance Centre at Scotiabank Dance Centre | Apr. 29, various times | Live performances all day long | Free + paid
Concaf House | Jack Poole Plaza | Until May 30 | Events and exhibits exploring the 41 Concaf regions, leading up to the World Cup | Free
The Vancouver Pancakes & Booze Art Show | Apr. 30, 7 p.m. | Pop-up art with free pancakes and local musicians/DJs | Tickets $20
DOXA Documentary Film Festival | Various places | Apr. 30-May 10 | The popular documentary film festival is back with multiple shows | Various prices
Brewhalla Beer and Music Festival | Shipyards, North Vancouver | May 1, 5-10 p.m. | Discover new beer from local spots, as well as food trucks and music | Tickets $50+
Verses Festival of Words | Now until May 2 | Various locations | Canada’s largest spoken word festival | Various prices
Ships to Shore: Kaiwo Maru | Garry Point Park, Richmond | May 2-3 | Family-friendly festival with the world-renowned Japanese tall ship Kaiwo Maru | Free
Trout Lake Pottery Club Spring Sale | 3360 Victoria Dr. | May 2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Sale showcasing pottery from members | Free
Treat Show | China Cloud Studios | May 2, 7:30-9 p.m. | Improvisioncal comedy with different comedians | Tickets $18+
Tribute Festival | Celebrities Nightclub | May 3, 5 p.m. | Indie music band tribute festival, with music from The Killers, Foo Fighters and more | Tickets $50+
Meownt Pleasant Crawl | Various pots in Mount Pleasant | May 10-11 | Meet local cats with different cat tops, pop-up activities and more | Free
Vancouver Anime-Fest | Executive Hotel Vancouver Airport, Richmond | May 23, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. | Panels, cosplay and everything you love about anime | Tickets $14
Submit your event and it could appear here and reach 30,000+ Vancouver locals.
SPORTS
“It would be a travesty”: Whitecaps supporters launch Save the Caps campaign amid relocation threat
A record breaking crowd packed BC Place for the Whitecaps Western Conference Final match last November / Nate Lewis
Vancouver Whitecaps supporters groups are sounding the alarm about the real threat of relocation for the city’s 53-year-old club.
“I think people do need to be worried because relocation is a very real possibility,” Vancouver Southsiders president Ciarán Nicoll told Vancity Lookout. Nicoll said a lot of fans he’s spoken with “didn't really understand that this could be a possibility within the next year.”
That sense of urgency is why supporters groups like the Southsiders and Rain City Brigade have launched a “Save the Caps” campaign to raise awareness and support for the club during this tenuous time. “For a city like Vancouver to lose a historic team like the Whitecaps, it would honestly be a travesty,” Nicoll said.
NEW VANCOUVER JOBS
Discover your new dream job in Vancouver:
Senior strategist, brand, marketing and research at BC Securities Commission
Public relations leader at EY
Venture manager at the University of British Columbia
Director, information technology services at Providence Health Care
Senior project manager at Ledcor
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
Favourite Vancouver band Doug the Slugs is getting a memoir. [CityNews]
This Vancouver motel made famous by TV shows might soon be changing. [The Tyee]
There’s a new bar in Kistilano that includes a billiards room. [Vancouver is Awesome]
Locals on Commercial Drive are mourning the loss of Dennis Rouse, who swept the streets for decades. [CTV]
Parkinson’s disease isn’t stopping this 76-year-old man from competing in triathlons.
Apparently, Willem Dafoe was recently in Vancouver.
One author compiled a list of free small-scale public works, including a dog stick library. [The Tyee]
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VANCOUVER NEWS QUIZ
What is the expected cost of the Killarney training site?
PHOTO OF THE DAY
