A former local rugby coach wants to bring Major League Rugby to Swangard Stadium.
The real estate agent and former Burnaby Lake Rugby Club coach is deep in the midst of pitching the city his plans to bring a Major League Rugby team to Swangard Stadium.The Toronto team folded in December 2023 after its main investor died, O’Gorman said.
“It’s really important for Canadian rugby to get a team going somewhere in the country, and the most logical place is obviously Vancouver.” He noted the Rugby Sevens tournament in Vancouver saw about 80,000 people come out over one weekend before the pandemic.The Burnaby-based team – working names include SwansRugby and Vancouver Swans – would use the facility about once every other week for 10 to 12 home games between February and June.He said Swangard is an “absolutely fabulous” stadium, albeit in need of some updates.Swangard is centrally located with access to public transit, he said.
O'Gorman said he understands the city wants to keep the facility accessible for local community users.He plans to run youth programs and high school programs associated with the rugby franchise, including outreach to train for boys and girls rugby programs. Along with paying for use of the field, O’Gorman said his group is also interested in other available Burnaby facilities to train and house players, support staff, visiting teams and supporters in local hotels and accommodations.He pointed to the New England MLR team, the Free Jacks, which start game days at 10 a.m. with kids’ tournaments, food trucks, beer gardens, bouncy castles and themes.Tickets for the Free Jacks games cost about $50 for the full day.
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