The Halifax area may boast a stadium someday, but it won’t be located in Dartmouth’s Shannon Park.
Halifax Regional Council has decided not to buy the old military property, which raises questions about the future of Shannon Park and the city’s plans to build a stadium.
“In my view, a stadium would have been a good fit at Shannon Park, but it’s not the only fit,” says Halifax Mayor Mike Savage. “There’s other things that we can do.”
The abandoned military housing at Shannon Park is slated for demolition. The 40 buildings on the Dartmouth Waterfront have been vacant since 2003 and Savage says he would like to see them gone.
The property offers a unique development opportunity, with about 35 hectares of land, ocean frontage, and close proximity to the MacKay Bridge, a highway and a rail line.
Dartmouth councillor Gloria McCluskey was among those who voted against buying the property.
“I think we have so many other places to spend their money, than on a stadium,” she says.
Vacant land near Dartmouth Crossing has also been suggested as a possible location for a stadium, should the city choose to build one. Savage says much of the money to build it would have to come from the private sector.
“We need partners. The old ideas of building stadiums where you had a third from the feds, and a third from the province, that’s gone,” says Savage.
For now, council is waiting on a development plan for Shannon Park from the Canada Lands Company.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw
