Stew Young’s
Record as Mayor
Pacific FC · 2019–2026

Public investment.
Unpaid bills.

Under Stew Young, Langford put $2 million into a training facility and gave Pacific FC use of City land for $1 a year. By September 2025, the City said the club owed more than $90,000 in rent and game costs, plus $691,477.77 under the training-centre agreement. A partnership built on public support had become a collection problem.

Updated September 30, 2026

The City invested. The club got favourable terms.

The indoor training facility opened in 2019, while Young was mayor. The City’s April 2024 account1 describes its $2 million contribution and the club’s $1 annual land fee. The arrangement supported youth soccer and wider community recreation; it also included a way for Langford to recover some of its investment.

The City tied the training facility to the stadium agreement to keep the team in Langford for at least ten years. But PFC did not exercise its option to renew the initial five-year stadium contract in June 2023. The following council negotiated a one-year agreement in 2024 while seeking a longer commitment.

The favourable terms extended to the publicly owned stadium’s name. A January 2021 staff report4 says the existing stadium agreement gave PFC 85% of naming-rights revenue and the City 15%. Young’s council then approved the Starlight naming agreement4. The club and City would also split signage production, installation and maintenance costs 85%–15%. Public ownership did not mean the City received most of the commercial naming income.

Support continued while bills went unpaid.

In its September 19, 2025 statement2, Langford reported two separate debts: more than $90,000 for office rent, stadium use and game costs, and $691,477.77 under the training-centre agreement. It said the club had also failed to remit the $1-per-ticket stadium-maintenance charge for any 2025 home game.

The City said it had deferred collection of the training-centre amount during negotiations and allowed other charges to accumulate. It also described difficulty getting the club to respond until it needed a stadium contract. These are the City’s dated account of the dispute, rather than verified balances today.

Public support needs enforceable obligations. A sports partnership does not excuse unpaid public bills.

The next council had to insist on payment.

By January 21, 20263, the City required stadium fees at least two weeks before each game while the parties negotiated outstanding debts and unmet contractual obligations. Langford was still seeking a payment plan and a long-term agreement.

Young’s legacy includes the terms on which Langford committed public money to private sports ventures. The later arrears do not establish that he personally approved each unpaid bill. They do show why the original deal needed firm payment requirements, reliable reporting and consequences when obligations went unmet. Public enthusiasm for a team cannot substitute for financial accountability.

Sources

  1. City of Langford, April 10, 2024 agreement announcement2019 training facility, $2 million City investment, nominal land fee and stadium renewal history.
  2. City of Langford, September 19, 2025 response to PFC presidentCity’s account of arrears, unremitted ticket charges and deferred collection.
  3. City of Langford, January 21, 2026 negotiations updateAdvance stadium payments and negotiations over debts and unmet obligations.
  4. January 18, 2021 stadium naming-rights staff report, and signed council minutesAgenda pages 445–446: 85%–15% revenue and signage-cost shares. Minutes item 9(a), printed page 22: council authorization.