Field Maintenance

Balancing play & maintenance on grass sports fields

The City of Surrey has many outdoor athletic fields for people of all ages to enjoy. Each year, thousands of people enjoy using these facilities for baseball, soccer and many other activities.

With our mild weather, outdoor sports can be played almost all year. To use grass fields for an entire playing season, everyone needs to work together to keep them in good condition. This involves cooperation from City staff, user groups, and the general public.

Natural grass sports fields need a period of rest

During this time, new grass is planted so the fields are restored to their original condition.

• For fall and winter fields, the rest periods are from May to early August.
• For summer fields, the rest periods are from the mid-August to early October.

As our population grows, more people are using these outdoor fields. This increase in use can create challenges in maintaining turf grass surfaces. To ensure the long-term health of our living fields, the City sometimes has to limit the use of our fields.

This process involves managing:

• The total amount of play a field receives
• The timing of the play a field receives
• The timing of each field’s rest period

Local sports associations help maintain sports fields in Surrey. With the help of these associations as well as each user, our goal is to keep all of Surrey’s outdoor sports fields in good, safe conditions.

For more information on booking a field, see our field bookings page. You can also call the Outdoor Sport Booking Line at 604-501-5174 or email bookafield@surrey.ca.

Thank you for your help in maintaining our fields!

Sportsfield portable goals

Parks staff provide a mix of outdoor sport field goal posts to accommodate a variety of sports, including:

• fixed and portable mini soccer goals
• fixed and portable regulation sized soccer goals
• portable field hockey goals
• fixed football and rugby goals

To cut down on unauthorized play that damages the goal areas, we have started using more portable goals, which are easy to move after games to a secured fixture.

For this system to work, everyone must help to make sure the goals are locked up and put away after games. It is the responsibility of the last home team of the day to ensure the goals are properly secured.

Parks staff will be monitoring the use of portable field goals. Failure to follow the locking procedures may result in a suspension of specific field permits.

Parks staff supply locks and keys. Keys can be picked up from the Athletic Services Coordinator by calling 604-501-5174.

To report missing, defective or unsafe locking systems, call the City's service request line at 604-501-5050.