Brockton Oval

” The Brockton Point cricket ground in Stanley Park, Vancouver has been under threat, but it appears efforts to restore cricket there have been successful. The Brockton Oval was described by Don Bradman as the most beautiful setting for a ground in the world. A Facebook page “Save Stanley Park Cricket provides the background.

“The Vancouver Parks Board removed the two synthetic pitches from both Upper and Lower Brockton to accommodate a 3 day rugby festival that was held in March. They assured the BCMCL and cricket community that the synthetic pitches and the grounds would be restored in time for the season start on April 23. However, now we have found out that they plan to develop natural turf pitches at the ground because the rugby festival has now become an annual event. The parks board has nobody on staff nor do they have the equipment or budget to implement proper turf wickets at Stanley Park. We cannot stand by and allow the tragic loss of the showcase of cricket in BC – that has a continuous history stretching over 110 years. This page is the beginning of a campaign to demand that the VPB and the City of Vancouver reverse this decision and restore the fields to their previous state immediately.”

On April 8, however, there was good news:-
“We have received what appears to be a sincere assurance that the synthetic pitches will be restored. Great news. Also, we heard that the rugby sevens festival only had a one year deal for Brockton and the city is looking at ‘other venue options’ for future events. Also good news, but we will need to stay on top of this as the year progresses. We hope that the pitches will be up and running in the next few weeks. The pitch base will likely be a shale/gravel material as before as there are some First Nation concerns with any major work anywhere at Stanley Park. In any case, we will stay on top of this and hope to be able to welcome you all back to enjoy cricket at Stanley Park soon!”