Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalreg
Start small, grow into a stadium.
Saskatoon could easily support a 10-15 thousand seat stadium. Hilltops, Huskies, Soccer. Start with one shared facility....
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A downtown stadium is not feasible. I agree with your post above - north downtown land should be reserved for an arena, if they are serious about a new facility down the road.
The Hilltops and Huskies will not move from their current locations. The Friends of the Bowl Foundation have already put in close to $20 million into Gordie Howe Bowl, including new field turf and the installation of 5,000 seats and private boxes from the old Mosaic Stadium. They did this for minor football but also for the Hilltops, who are significant parts of the Friends of the Bowl Foundation. More info:
friendsofthebowl.ca/news/
The Foundation just received another $15 million donation, which will be used to put in a new track just to the north of the football field. This track is needed because Griffiths Stadium, where the Huskies play,
will be renovated next year. Those renovations will include new field turf and relocating the field closer to the east side of the stadium, eliminating the track and providing room for new seats on the west side of the stadium - the current west side stands will be torn down, if they don't fall down first.
The plan is to increase the capacity of Griffiths to 10,000, which will provide enough seating for the Huskies, who regularly exceed the 6,171 seating capacity (they had over 8,000 for the first game three weeks ago). They have already put approximately $10 million into the stadium, including the new clubhouse and the east-side stands, plus the field turf and lighting that were installed in 2006 for the Vanier Cup. There are pictures of the facility here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffiths_Stadium
As for the Huskies sharing Griffiths with a professional soccer team, it could happen. However, as other teams have found out, this is a University of Saskatchewan owned facility and U of S teams come first - be that for games or practices. If the season doesn't overlap with the school year, I could see it happening. However, the U of S does charge a premium for the use of the facility, as they are aware of the cost of replacing the turf every 10-years or so, in addition to other upkeep.
I'm sceptical about how well professional soccer, especially a Canadian-only league, will be received in Saskatoon. I think they are wise to stick to an existing facility for a couple of years - the Exhibition Grandstand is an interesting location. Lots of parking and fairly easy to get to. It will be interesting to see that place with a field in front of it. If it takes off, I don't see why they wouldn't bring in some movable stands for the east-side of the field and stay there. It could have the feel of an English-league game under the old grandstand if the people really get into it.