Canadian Premier League club unveils £53.3m stadium project with ‘taxpayer burden’ goal outlined

Canadian Premier League club Halifax Wanderers have unveiled plans for a £53.3m privately funded stadium and training complex.

The club is aiming to deliver a permanent home in downtown Halifax while seeking to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

£53.3m proposal put forward

The proposal has been presented to Halifax Regional Council and would see a new 10,500-capacity stadium built at the Wanderers Grounds, alongside a separate community sports and training facility at Maybank Field in Dartmouth.

Around £37.4m of the proposed investment would be allocated to the new stadium, with the remainder directed towards the Dartmouth sports hub.

The stadium would feature covered seating, a stage for concerts and an artificial turf pitch designed to allow greater community use.

The plans also include an underground car park providing 650 spaces intended to help address parking demand at the neighbouring QEII Health Sciences Centre, while the wider Wanderers Grounds redevelopment would include room for community and sporting uses.

The Maybank Field development would include a full-size football pitch, capable of being covered by a dome for winter community use, as well as an Olympic-sized flag football field.

The facility would also become the Wanderers' temporary home during construction of the permanent stadium.

If approved, club president Derek Martin said he would like the Maybank facility completed in 2027, with the new Wanderers Grounds stadium targeted for completion in 2028.

Today we presented HRM Council with a proposal for a permanent stadium at the Wanderers Grounds.

The Wanderers would fully fund construction of the stadium, providing residents with a sports & entertainment venue & 5,000 hours of annual community use: pic.twitter.com/QrXMmqQpOC

— Halifax Wanderers FC (@HFXWanderersFC) September 15, 2026

“We’ve been very consistent over the years with our intent,” Martin told CPLsoccer.com. “It shouldn’t be any surprise to anyone that we want to stay at the Wanderers Grounds.

“What’s new is we’ve found a way to reduce the burden on taxpayers and bring private investment to help make these infrastructure projects a reality.”

Halifax Wanderers have played at a pop-up stadium at the Wanderers Grounds since joining the Canadian Premier League in 2019.

“We’ve sold out our seating capacity now, even under the very challenging circumstances,” Martin said. “The list is long of all the challenges, yet we still managed to get 6,000-plus people out to every single game who love their team.”

The club's latest proposal follows an earlier attempt to develop a permanent community stadium using public funding.

That 2023 proposal did not come to fruition, with the Wanderers now pursuing a privately funded model instead.

However, the Wanderers would still require an agreement with Halifax Regional Municipality to use the municipal land, with a 99-year lease proposed.

FGG Says: A potentially transformational project

This could be a transformational move for both Halifax Wanderers and the local area if approved.

It is also great news that the £53.3m for the project is not coming from taxpayers, with the club able to source private funding.