Giant timber arches rise over Langley Township's $130-million indoor soccer centre | Daily Hive

Giant timber arches rise over Langley Township's new $130-million indoor soccer training centre

Construction progress on Smith Athletic Training Centre, September 2026. (Township of Langley)

At first glance, this new community and recreational facility appears to be a sibling of the Richmond Olympic Oval.

A full-sized indoor soccer field beneath sweeping wooden arches is set to become the centrepiece of a major new sports complex in the Township of Langley.

The indoor venue of Smith Athletic Training Centre is targeting completion in Spring 2027, adding an enclosed playing field to the three outdoor synthetic turf fields that opened at the Smith Athletic Soccer Campus in September 2025. Construction first began in 2024.

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Located near the southeast corner of the intersection of 208A Street and 78 Avenue in Willoughby’s Smith neighbourhood, the project has a budget of just under $130 million for its first two phases. The municipal government’s investment includes both the outdoor public park improvements and the indoor facility.

Acton Ostry Architects and MJMA Architecture & Design designed the project, with Wright Construction and Smith Bros. and Wilson Ltd. undertaking construction. The work is being delivered in multiple phases through a progressive design-build process.

The 108,000 sq. ft. enclosed indoor training centre will provide a full-sized soccer pitch matching the campus’ outdoor fields, giving players space to train and play indoors without reducing the playing area.

7550 208A Street, Langley smith athletic training centre

Location of Smith Athletic Training Centre at 7550 208A St., Langley Township. (Google Maps)

Smith Athletic Training Centre Langley Township

Construction progress on Smith Athletic Training Centre, September 2026. (Township of Langley)

Alongside the field, the building will contain spectator seating, change rooms, food and beverage facilities, a merchandise store, and rooms for training and other activities.

Its defining architectural feature is a series of enormous mass-timber arches. The solid glulam arches span 80 metres (262 ft.) across the building’s width. The supporting spaces elsewhere in the facility use a combination of concrete, steel, and wood construction.

The roof’s unconventional design has also presented construction challenges. Upon inquiry, the Township told Daily Hive Urbanized installation took longer than anticipated because assembling the structure proved more difficult than expected, even for a contractor experienced in timber construction.

Artistic rendering of Smith Athletic Training Centre in Langley Township. (Acton Ostry Architects/MJMA Architecture & Design)

Smith Athletic Training Centre will join other prominent Lower Mainland facilities that make extensive use of wood materials to cover large spaces, including the PNE’s brand-new Freedom Mobile Arch amphitheatre and the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Those venues have longer spans but different structural systems. The PNE amphitheatre combines timber arches with major steel components in a complex, intersecting roof, while the Richmond Olympic Oval uses composite wood-and-steel arches spanning approximately 100 metres.

Across the 23-acre soccer campus, the outdoor amenities include three synthetic fields, shelters for players and referees, and a grandstand. A separate synthetic turf warm-up area will incorporate space designed specifically for goalkeeper training.

The wider public park plans also include a large plaza, a concession, public washrooms, a playground, landscaped areas for informal recreation, vehicle parking, and new road and pedestrian connections.

The outdoor fields officially opened in September 2025, while player and official shelters and some spectator seating had also been completed earlier in 2026.

Construction progress on Smith Athletic Training Centre, September 2026. (Township of Langley)

The campus forms part of a broader municipal government effort to increase access to youth soccer and improve synthetic playing fields as demand for recreation grows. There is currently a major shortage of space available for young soccer players.

In a pre-election interview with Daily Hive Urbanized in August 2026, outgoing Langley Township Mayor Eric Woodward said the indoor facility will give Langley United Soccer Association more dependable access to playing space, reducing the disruption weather can cause to youth sports.

“For them, they’ll be able to have a lot of predictable programming hours, regardless of weather or timing or other things,” said Woodward.

He asserted that accommodating more activity indoors could also reduce the need to build additional outdoor fields to provide equivalent programming hours. He suggested this could save taxpayers “tens of millions down the road.”

He also pushed back against some public perceptions that Smith Athletic Training Centre is being built as a stadium for a particular sports team, emphasizing that its purpose is to serve youth sports.

Construction progress on Smith Athletic Training Centre, September 2026. (Township of Langley)

The athletic campus will also connect with two new neighbouring public schools, bringing education and recreation facilities together in the rapidly growing residential community.

Langley School District’s stɑtl̓əw̓ Middle School and Emery Dosdall Secondary School are scheduled to reach completion and open in September 2027. Together, the schools are designed to accommodate 2,800 students, with 900 spaces at the middle school and 1,900 at the secondary school. Their very close proximity to the soccer campus will place the new playing fields and other outdoor amenities beside a substantial new concentration of students.

“We’re focused on youth sports, and that’s what Smith Athletic is for,” he said.

Woodward said the Township had accelerated its investment to coincide with the development of the neighbouring schools. He described the combined education and recreation facilities as a lasting community amenity, reflecting his preference for completing projects and moving on to other needs.

“And so we have a philosophy of finishing a project and then moving on to the next, not phasing it endlessly,” he said.

The soccer campus follows another major Township investment in community sports: the $149-million ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, which opened nearby at Willoughby Community Park in September 2026. This new complex contains five rinks — three ice rinks, including a 1,200-seat venue, and two permanent dry-floor arenas, with the dry rinks stacked above two of the ice sheets to make better use of the site. The expansion provides additional space for hockey, lacrosse, ball hockey, public skating, and other community recreation activities.

arenas langley events centre august 26 2026

The main rink; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Red community ice rink; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Orange dry-floor arena; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

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