Another potential market is emerging for the Canadian Premier League, as Halifax is attracting interest.
There has been talk that the Canadian Premier League could launch as a professional soccer circuit. The name was trademarked this year, and experienced sports executive Paul Beirne was recruited as the league’s first employee last month.
Other details about the league are still coming together, but Halifax is now confirmed as one of the markets that could enter the mix. In the Nova Scotia city, Derek Martin of Sports & Entertainment Atlantic is proposing a concept that includes a new soccer stadium at the Wanderers Grounds, a field near downtown Halifax. More from Halifax Metro:
“It’s not officially launched yet, they’re just kind of doing their due diligence, and doing what they need to do to look at what cities might be in the mix and those that might not,” Martin said. “But I think Halifax is very appealing. For a league that aspires to be a national league, having teams from coast to coast is a very appealing thing.”
But to host a team, Halifax would need a stadium. And Martin has a plan.
“With everything that’s going on in our downtown core … the missing piece is that outdoor sports and entertainment complex that we just don’t have,” he said.
“Wanderers Grounds to me is the perfect location in that it’s in the heart of downtown.”
Martin said SEA has a “pretty practical plan” looking at a “modular-type” temporary stadium with capacity for fewer than 10,000 people for the site – located between the Public Gardens and Citadel Hill.
If the Canadian Premier League does move forward, expect more markets to be mentioned, as it is possible that the circuit could launch as early as 2018. Hamilton, ON is believed to one of the markets the league is eyeing, as the circuit would place its headquarters in the city and have a team play out of Tim Hortons Field (shown above).
Image courtesy Hamilton Tiger-Cats.