Halifax Wanderers look to build permanent stadium at Wanderers Grounds site

The Halifax Wanderers want to build a permanent stadium at the historic Wanderers Grounds in downtown Halifax.

Wanderers president and founder Derek Martin will make a presentation to a Halifax council committee next week to pitch the stadium proposal idea.

In a letter to Halifax council, Martin says the Wanderers have a vision for the construction of a permanent stadium that would replace the temporary “Pop-Up” venue that Martin says has hosted more than 75 professional soccer games and five international rugby matches while welcoming more than 400,000 fans to the venue in downtown Halifax.

The Wanderers who play in the Canadian Premier Soccer League boast one of the most loyal fan bases across the league and routinely sellout their home games.

Martin says the soccer team's success has established themselves as an important piece of the greater Halifax sports community and they need a permanent home to continue to play out of.

Derek Martin, owner and president of Sports Entertainment Atlantic says more than 6000 fans are expected to attend Saturday's sold out rugby match.

Martin writes, “But the reality is that a “Pop-Up Stadium” is not an appropriate or sustainable home for a professional team, nor are temporary stands, portable toilets and a lack of running water suitable amenities for the citizens of this growing city.”

There is opposition to the building of a permanent stadium at the historic Wanderers Grounds.

“Friends of the Common' argue Wanderers Grounds stadium setup bars amateur sport participation from using the facility and have sent cease and desist" letter to Mayor Mike Savage, saying the lease of the Wanderers Grounds to the professional soccer team, is a bad deal financially, but it also robs the public and amateur athletes of using the facility.

They want the team to find another location for their new permanent stadium.

Friends of the Common is a community organization that was established in 2006 to advocate for and preserve the greenspace on the Halifax Common and for years has fought against private and public development on the common, which extends through the heart of the Halifax peninsula.

Martin says the soccer club's “Pop-Up” stadium contract with the Halifax Regional Municipality will expire in 2024. He’ll present the stadium proposal plan to Halifax’s Community Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee on Thursday.

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