Halifax, NS city councillors have approved a proposed soccer stadium that is being pitched for a Canadian Premier League franchise.
Proposed by Sports Entertainment Atlantic, the stadium is intended to be constructed as a pop-up facility. With a capacity of 7,000, the venue would host a potential franchise in the Canadian Premier League, a new professional soccer circuit that is set to launch in 2018.
The agreement approved on Tuesday allows the organization to construct the pop-up stadium at the Wanderers Grounds, with the city keeping its ownership of the field. More from The Canadian Press:
Waye Mason, councillor for downtown Halifax, proposed several amendments to Tuesday’s motion and clarified that Halifax retained ownership and control of the field.
“We are mitigating and minimizing the impact,” he said, noting that the visual impact of the stands will be addressed through scale and appearance and will be removed at the end of the season, the number of events will be restricted and must be finished by 11 p.m., and that the site is promptly cleaned up after games.
“There will be an annual review and if there are problems, if there are drunken football hooligans running the streets of Summer street and Bell Road the deal is off,” Mason told council. “But I don’t think that is going to happen. I’m quite confident this is going to be a strong, positive addition to my neighbourhood and I’m looking forward to walking down and seeing how it all turns out.”
Halifax is expected to enter into a three-year lease with Sports Entertainment Atlantic. As noted, the Canadian Premier Soccer League intends to launch next year, as it issued an announcement last month that detailed some plans for its inaugural season. It already has commitments from the owners of CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
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