The private indoor archery club in Richmond is facing pressure as the property it’s on has been slated for redevelopment.
The only other place to practice archery in Richmond is at the Rod & Gun Club, but the lease on that facility is also ending within 18 months.
In the meantime, the City of Richmond has a long-term plan to build an outdoor archery range and an archery and air gun facility, estimated to cost $4.2 million.
But there is no timeline or approved budget for these facilities.
City staff have recommended moving forward with several sports and recreation facilities over the next one to 10 years – including pickleball courts, synthetic turf fields and a softball diamond at the Steveston/London field – but the archery facility didn’t make this A-list.
Thomas Lok, archery coach with Gum Ying Richmond Archery Club close to the Olympic Oval, said an outdoor range in the city could help boost interest in the sport.
“Compared to the United States, the sport is not as popular here,” said Lok.
The closest outdoor archery range is in North Burnaby.
However, Lok’s main concern about an outdoor range in Richmond is whether there would be proper security measures.
“This is a great idea to promote the sport, but security will be the biggest thing the city will need to consider if they plan to implement an outdoor range,” said Lok.
“You are dealing with weapons, so who is going to monitor it, will the city have someone 24 hours a day watching the range?”
Outdoor archery is different from indoor archery as athletes need to take into account the weather conditions, explained Lok.
An outdoor range requires a larger space as well with adult archers competing at a shooting distance of 70 metres while young athletes shoot at 35 to 40 metres.
An outdoor archery range that meets the Federation of Canadian Archers standards for event hosting in Richmond is estimated to cost $2.2 million.
Meanwhile, a replacement facility for air guns and archery training and competition would cost $2 million.
City spokesperson Clay Adams told the Richmond News the archery and air gun facility would be a replacement for the existing Richmond Rod and Gun Club that is currently at 7400 River Rd.
Adams added the club has a lease until the end of 2024, but there is no further information on if and where the possible replacement facility would be.
Gum Ying, which is considered a fitness and sports centre with martial arts, Chinese traditional lion dance and archery all under one roof, requires a large warehouse space to house all these activities, explained Lok.
Increased rent and a lack of industrial spaces are key issues for the club in finding a new space in Richmond, explained Lok.
“We will try to stay in Richmond as much as we can, but the problem right now is Richmond has turned into a more residential space instead of an industrial place,” he said.
Lok has heard of many warehouse and manufacturing spaces have moved to No. 7 Road and into the Queensborough areas.
“We need space for sports and having space in a prime location is very expensive. We’re looking at a 150 to 200 per cent increase in rent from what we already pay.”
The industrial space on Elmbridge Way where the archery club operates was rezoned last fall, and the owner Landa Development plans to build a hotel and residential towers on the property.
