Surrey mayoral candidate Mike Starchuk is proposing a new Fraser River waterfront destination and a cricket and rugby stadium as part of a push to bring major international sporting events to the city.
Starchuk’s Imagine Surrey party outlined the major proposals in two announcements last week, ahead of the civic election on Oct. 17, 2026. The plans connect new public spaces and sports facilities with ambitions to host the World Police and Fire Games, followed by the Commonwealth Games.
A mirror image of Downtown New Westminster on Surrey’s Fraser River waterfront?
The proposed “Surrey Waterfront District” would be located along the Fraser River in Brownsville and South Westminster, near the new stal̕əw̓asəm/Riverview Bridge and SkyTrain’s Scott Road Station.
Imagine Surrey is pitching this waterfront neighbourhood as a destination to rival Downtown New Westminster’s Quay and North Vancouver’s Shipyards, with more opportunities for local residents and visitors to spend time beside the river.
Plans include a public quay and riverside walking route, a market hall, an outdoor amphitheatre, housing, community amenities, and a centre for technology and employment.
The party proposes building this district in stages, beginning with the quay and riverwalk, followed by the market and amphitheatre. Housing and community amenities would be incorporated throughout the development.
The party also envisions a prominent Surrey landmark visible to people crossing the river by SkyTrain.
“A quay, a market, and somewhere to bring your family on a Sunday. That is what a city centre with a waterfront does.”
In 2025, Surrey City Council also approved a feasibility study for a mixed-use entertainment district in the same waterfront area. The site had previously been considered as a potential new home for the PNE in the early 2000s, although that relocation plan was ultimately abandoned by the provincial government.
Initiating a bid for the Commonwealth Games
The party’s waterfront district proposal also includes a future “Commonwealth Village,” linked to Imagine Surrey’s ambition to help initiate a bid for either the 2034 or 2038 Commonwealth Games.
The Commonwealth Games is one of the world’s largest multi-sport events, comparable to the Pan American Games — which Canada last hosted in Toronto in 2015 — or a smaller version of the Summer Olympics. It brings together athletes representing countries and territories across the British Commonwealth, with each edition of the Games opened by the British monarch.
This past summer, Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, held the 2026 Commonwealth Games in a significantly downsized format, after the Australian state government of Victoria withdrew Melbourne from its hosting duties in 2023 due to escalating costs reaching up to AUS$7 billion (C$6.9 billion). Later in 2024, Glasgow was confirmed as the replacement host city, with a considerably smaller event and very minimal construction due to the considerably shorter lead time to organize the event.
After Melbourne’s withdrawal, local business leaders in British Columbia’s capital of Victoria advocated for a bid to be the replacement host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games. However, Premier David Eby’s BC NDP-led provincial government rejected that proposal, partly due to the focus on hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Vancouver during the same summer.
The Government of Alberta also withdrew its support in 2023 for a joint Calgary-Edmonton bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
Read more: https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/imagine-surrey-mike-starchuk-stadium-commonwealth-games-bid