New Halifax plan examines how downtown soccer stadium fits with neighbouring projects

CBC

a day ago

A new plan considers what a permanent soccer stadium could look like in downtown Halifax, but says using the same location as the current pop-up facility would bring compromises for the stadium and other nearby groups.
Municipal staff presented a functional plan for the Wanderers Block to the city's community planning and economic development committee on Wednesday. The area is mostly municipal land and part of the Halifax Common.
The plan considered what it would look like to accommodate all the requests from current and possible future tenants of the area, including two professional soccer teams, a horse riding school, lawn bowling club and municipal parks staff.
"Now we can say, yeah, it is very crowded," said Carolle Koziak Roberts, municipal landscape architect.
The Halifax Wanderers professional soccer team and the new Halifax Tides women's team want a permanent 8,500-seat stadium with running water, locker rooms and concession areas that could expand seating in the future. They suggested a turf field that would allow amateur and school teams to play year-round, and could handle concerts with a 13,000-person standing capacity.
In 2023, the Wanderers suggested such a stadium would cost about $40 million, and asked Halifax to build and operate the facility with the team as the lead tenant.
The Halifax Lancers horse riding school wants to build more stables for additional horses, increase the size of its outdoor riding ring and build a second indoor riding arena to expand their membership and programs.
The Wanderers Lawn Bowling Club, which has been on the site since 1887, would like more public visibility and a larger clubhouse that could be rented. The Public Gardens Foundation has asked for a Victorian-style conservatory that would showcase plants year-round.
There is also a municipal parks depot on the site housing sports field maintenance staff and equipment, as well as a horticulture facility servicing the Halifax Public Gardens and other parks.
The plan offers three different options for how the projects could fit on the site, but all require trade-offs or compromises from everyone.
The plan said some options allow a stadium field that could be used for both soccer and rugby, but there is no room to accommodate football without removing one of the other tenants.
The seating capacity could also not be expanded unless the province provided land from the Museum of Natural History property. In that case, a stadium of 9,000 to 10,000 seats could be possible.
"I don't think this is the right plan — too many compromises and we need to think a bit bigger," said Coun. Patty Cuttell.
Cuttell said a larger stadium should go elsewhere that could accommodate more sports and commercial space.
Coun. Trish Purdy brought up Ottawa's Lansdowne Park as a better model. The home of the Canadian Football League's Ottawa Redblacks includes a stadium, playgrounds, shopping area, public lawn and skatepark.
"No matter how we position it on the block, [this] wouldn't ever be able to accommodate CFL, so I think that's a big negative," said Purdy.
Coun. Tony Mancini said the pop-up stadium, where the Wanderers have played since 2019 and the Tides launched this year, has been a "huge success," drawing about 6,000 people for games.
"It's had a huge impact to the downtown and it's been great," Mancini said.
He also said it's not ideal for drawing more soccer events like the 2023 match between the Canadian women's national team and Brazil.
"Two of the best teams in the world here. They're changing in shipping containers, they had to use [portable toilets], there's no running water, there's not a real stadium. So a real stadium is definitely needed," Mancini said.
With a second soccer team now using the pop-up stadium, the report said Halifax recently took over rental of the existing metal bleachers and bought "most of the assets" on the Wanderers field "in order to increase public control over the Wanderers temporary stadium site." It is unclear how much this move cost.
Koziak Roberts said this report was just the first step and it's now up to councillors to discuss which development projects make sense on the block.
The costs for all developments could range from $116 million to $123 million, but Koziak Roberts said those are high-level figures that assume construction starts in 2029 and include a 15 per cent estimate for inflation.
Regional council will consider the plan at a future meeting and decide whether to ask for a staff report that would provide a recommended approach for the Wanderers Block, and confirm funding commitments from other levels of government and the tenants themselves.
"It is not envisioned that the municipality should assume primary financial responsibilities over these interests," the report said.
Staff said public consultation will come once there is additional clarity over what could actually happen on the block.