Officials from Prairieland Park presented their pitch to city council Monday to bring professional soccer and a new outdoor stadium to Saskatoon.
They claim soccer is the fastest-growing sport in the country and the city would benefit from the addition. However, it could cost Saskatoon $8 million.
Prairieland is proposing to change Marquis Downs horse racetrack into a multi-purpose $28 million soccer pitch.
The organization is asking the City of Saskatoon for $8 million in funding spread out over eight years for what they called a game-changing facility.
After showing a promotional video of what the establishment would look like, Prairieland Park chair Steve Chisholm said, “The demographics of Saskatoon have changed. Sports like soccer and cricket are no longer a novelty, they’ve become mainstream.”
According to Rahim Mohamed with the Saskatchewan Soccer Association, 40,000 people in Saskatchewan play the sport.
A concern brought to council’s attention by Mohamed was also that local talent has been travelling to other provinces such as Alberta and British Columbia not only to compete, but also to coach due to a lack of resources.
Mohamed said there could be an economic benefit to keeping people in Saskatchewan.
“A facility like this would also provide the opportunity to host regional, national and international events through Canada Soccer and the work we do collectively with our neighbouring provincial soccer associations,” said Mohamed.
Living Sky Sports & Entertainment based out of Regina also wants to bring in a professional team to occupy the space, but city councillors have some concerns.
They are asking for Prairieland Park to present more information, including a traffic impact study.
Councillors also want to know how the facility will be used to it’s full capacity, and they are asking to see plans with updated construction costs for today’s market in case the project goes over budget.
Although many councillors noted they are excited about the project and the impact it could have on the community, they are not sold yet on such a large build.
However, Prairieland said they are hoping to break ground in the spring, and have a professional team on the pitch in 2024.