Halifax's long, complicated relationship with building a stadium

Richard Woodbury · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 15, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 hours ago

As Halifax assembly ponders a program to alteration a pop-up stadium astatine the Wanderers Grounds into a much imperishable space, it's the latest section in a decade-plus long debate astir gathering a stadium successful the city.

Past discussions person travel with a scope of terms tags for taxpayers and been derailed by unforeseen circumstances, including a planetary pandemic.

"It's a immense accidental for america close here. Our metropolis is genuinely increasing and we request to get this right, but we've been talking astir a stadium for mode earlier my clip connected council," said Coun. Tony Mancini, who archetypal joined assembly aft a January 2016 byelection win.

He made the comments Wednesday as municipal unit presented a program for the alleged Wanderers Block to the city's assemblage readying and economical improvement committee. The country is mostly municipal land and portion of the Halifax Common.

"How bash we finally get to a decision connected this stadium conversation?" said Mancini.

The Halifax Wanderers nonrecreational men's shot squad has played astatine the tract since 2019, portion the Halifax Tides women's squad started playing astatine the Wanderers Grounds this year.

City unit came up with a premix of stadium options for the tract that would scope successful size, arsenic good arsenic changes to facilities operated by groups specified arsenic the Halifax Lancers and the Wanderers Lawn Bowling Club.

The anticipated costs ranged from $116 cardinal to $123 million, assuming operation starts successful 2029. Contingencies of 25 per cent were included successful the estimates to relationship for things similar ostentation and changes made during the operation process.

No enactment was taken Wednesday, and assembly volition see the program astatine a aboriginal meeting.

In 2023, the Wanderers suggested a stadium unsocial would outgo astir $40 million. They asked Halifax to physique and run the installation with the squad arsenic the pb tenant.

CFL hopes

While stadium speech successful Halifax present relates to nonrecreational shot teams, the erstwhile statement was anchored connected bringing a CFL franchise to Halifax.

A radical known arsenic Schooner Sports and Entertainment was down the connection and it sought municipal and provincial backing to physique a 24,000-seat, $110-million stadium successful Shannon Park successful 2022. Besides nonrecreational football, the abstraction would person been utilized for assemblage sports and large concerts.

In December 2019, Halifax assembly voted to springiness the proponents $20 million, but lone if a database of conditions were met.

Considering that the proponent's preferred determination for a stadium was Shannon Park, it was unusual that assembly approved the backing connected the information that the stadium beryllium built successful different approved location.

The proponent's enthusiasm wasn't dampened.

"We're thrilled. We convey assembly for their owed diligence and precise spirited debate. We're precise excited to determination forward," said SSE spouse Anthony LeBlanc.

By April 2020, LeBlanc had taken an enforcement relation with the NHL's Ottawa Senators.

But successful his absence, different SSE officials remained bullish.

"We're much optimistic than we've ever been probably connected the stadium itself," said founding spouse Gary Drummond in precocious 2020.

The task soon softly disappeared from the nationalist conversation, portion the 2 affiliated companies down the venture — Schooner Sports and Entertainment and Maritime Football Limited — have had their registrations revoked successful the Registry of Joint Stock Companies.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was played successful six Canadian cities: Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton, N.B.

For a time, Halifax hoped to beryllium 1 of those cities, but Halifax assembly voted successful aboriginal 2012 to retreat its bid.

The reason? A stadium was excessively costly to physique connected its own. While the stadium outgo was estimated astatine between $54.8 cardinal and $71.1 million, the provincial authorities had not signed connected to the project. The metropolis was consenting to walk $20 cardinal connected it.

2014 Commonwealth Games

A antithetic planetary sporting lawsuit was the information down different Halifax stadium push.

In 2005, Halifax won the close to beryllium the Canadian metropolis to bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

While hosting the games was erstwhile projected to outgo $785 million, Halifax abandoned its bid successful aboriginal 2007 erstwhile the projected measure reached $1.7 billion.

At the time, Chris Algar, a 1999 Canada Games athlete, described the disappointment of missing retired connected a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"They're saying we couldn't big it due to the fact that we don't person the infrastructure," helium said. "This is simply a accidental to physique that infrastructure. How bash you accidental we're going to get it now?"

Almost 2 decades later, Halifax is inactive trying to fig retired the reply to that question.

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