Stadiums & Arenas of Canada, Part 3

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by NewIreland

People keep talking as if an airport stadium automatically means endless traffic and everyone driving out there, but one thing that gets overlooked is that the rail corridor is already right there. The CN main line runs through Windsor Junction and Wellington and passes close to the Aerotech area before reaching the airport. That means the proposed stadium site would actually come before the airport stop, not after it.

If a stadium were built around Aerotech Drive, you could realistically design a commuter rail line using the existing rail bed with stations at logical points instead of creating a brand new corridor from scratch.

A route could look something like:

Halifax (downtown rail station)
Rockingham / Bedford South
Bedford Commons area
Windsor Junction
Fall River
Wellington
Aerotech / Stadium district
Airport terminal
Enfield park and ride

That makes a lot of sense because the stadium stop would sit just off the existing corridor near Wellington, only a short spur or station connection away depending on the exact alignment, while the airport could remain the next stop further up the line.

This would not just be about football games either. It could function as real regional commuter rail serving Halifax commuters, Fall River and Enfield residents, airport passengers, and event traffic on game days or concerts.

The key point is that the rail bed already exists. Halifax would not be inventing a transit corridor from scratch. The corridor is there now. The opportunity would be upgrading it for passenger use, adding stations, and creating a short connection to serve Aerotech and eventually the airport.

That seems a lot more forward-thinking than pretending the only option is thousands of cars backed up on game day.

Commuter rail would be perfectly feasible in terms of geography and potential ridership and probably even cost (depending on who's doing the funding). But there have been talks of commuter rail multiple times and CN has not co-operated so that's pretty much a dead-end at this point. Plus, the route is likely to take longer for people on the Halifax side since it takes the long way by going around the harbour rather than going across like the road routes do. It's only a few extra km and avoiding traffic would easily outweigh the extra distance during peak periods. But I'm not sure there would be that much congestion during times when the games are held. I actually don't know what times of day and days of the week CFL games tend to happen but I can't see it being at times when most people were working or commuting.

[zoomer]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Relevant to the conversation, the "expert" on this news story thinks that BC Place is in a terrible location. "sandwiched between highways", I don't think he even bothered Googling the site; the Dunsmuir and W Georgia viaducts he's probably referring to are no more than elevated streets from an unbuilt highway that could very well be demolished within the decade.

He seems to want the American style stadium in a field surrounded by parking for the "full experience... tailgating where the match is only one part of it" as if restaurants and bars within walking distance aren't part of the experience we're missing when we're only driving to and from the place.

He seems to also think getting 70k-80k people, again I don't think he Googled BC Place Stadium to see the actually capacity, out of the place is easier by car than, I don't know, a grid of streets leading patrons to two rapid transit lines, and again restaurants and bars where they can hang out to avoid the rush.

• Video Link

The location of the Sens' Palladium has always been a major hurdle to convince fans to make the trek. There's no a single bar or restaurant within walking distance outside the actual arena. It's all parking, up to 500 meters away. You drive in, and then you drive out, taking 30-60 minutes just to get out of the parking lot. That's why we're so excited about the prospect of the new LeBreton arena, where transit will be 200-250 meters from the door, and it sounds it will be at least covered if not climate controlled. And if you want to avoid the rush, there will be bars and restaurants on site. For those more adventurous, they can walk to bar districts in Hull or Little Italy (on the street named for Lord Stanley of Preston), or take the train a few stops to Elgin or the ByWard Market.

Cool video, thanks for sharing, I agree though, that so called expert wasn't much of an expert at least not when it comes to BC Place. He has no clue about the actual capacity, nor as you said about the actual location. And I hardly think tailgating in the CFL is a reason why you'd want to build a new stadium in the middle of a parking lot. In fact the Lions will be having a tailgate party at the Plaza of Nations when they return to BC Place this year.

As for the Ottawa rink, are they using the same wood feature design from a few years back? I hope so as that would be the nicest rink in the NHL, has a European vibe to it.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

I think it's silly to build in a location that's easier for the 200,000 people 2 hours away and harder for the 500,000 right there. I think the airport location would cost them more Halifax support than it will gain them "rest of the Maritimes" support. It will be a Halifax team no matter what name they slap on it but I do think it's funny that the Moncton people would take offense to a team being called Atlantic, as if Halifax isn't, you know, right on the Atlantic. I suppose the Lions should be required to change their name to the Vancouver Lions.

Yes, the catchment area needs to be weighted by friction and other factors, so you have to heavily discount people who live farther from the venue. This is why Fredericton or Truro are not the same as locals. Just think of how often people go out locally vs. doing a small road trip for a weekend vs. flying.

With the airport you've got the single highway which is around 4-6 lanes with 2-3 going the way most people will want to go at any given time. The ideal for a big stadium is to have people leaving in different directions taking different modes of transportation.

Rail is a possibility but there have been many posts about the challenges there. One alternative could be service to the Dartmouth side terminating at Alderney, or a Bedford ferry connection.

[ScreamingViking]

My first thought was "why? that's a LOT of money"

Second was about "what's in it for them" re: the proposers. I'd LOVE to see a stadium built in Halifax or Moncton or St. John's or wherever in the East, and for the CFL to expand there, but this feels like a swindler's gambit.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by zoomer

Cool video, thanks for sharing, I agree though, that so called expert wasn't much of an expert at least not when it comes to BC Place. He has no clue about the actual capacity, nor as you said about the actual location. And I hardly think tailgating in the CFL is a reason why you'd want to build a new stadium in the middle of a parking lot. In fact the Lions will be having a tailgate party at the Plaza of Nations when they return to BC Place this year.

I just Googled how many events per years at BC Place. It says 70 per year? Is that right? That is seriously impressive for a stadium. I'm sure a few of those are trade shows that attract a few hundred instead of thousands in one shot, and the retractable roof helps tremendously, bust still. Outside Skydome that benefits from baseball's many games, I doubt any stadium in Canada comes close.

As for the Ottawa rink, are they using the same wood feature design from a few years back? I hope so as that would be the nicest rink in the NHL, has a European vibe to it.

The design from 2022 was likely more of a stand-in. We haven't seen any new design since then, but we're expecting something by the end of the year. A lot has changed since that design was created; the old owner passed away, we got a new owner, the Sens were able to negotiate 5 extra acres (6 acres to now 11 acres).

The Sens parcel will include about 6 towers. It's really a great site between the O-Train and Albert Street, with two stations, including Bayview, the transfer between lines 1/3 and Line 2. North of the arena and tracks will be a kind of "central park", and beyond that the parkway and Ottawa River, so it will be highly visible in the skyline, so hoping for a design as good as what they showed in 2022.



They only had A2-4 in 2022 but were able to negotiate A1 and A5 in the deal.

Originally Posted by someone123

Yes, the catchment area needs to be weighted by friction and other factors, so you have to heavily discount people who live farther from the venue. This is why Fredericton or Truro are not the same as locals. Just think of how often people go out locally vs. doing a small road trip for a weekend vs. flying.

With the airport you've got the single highway which is around 4-6 lanes with 2-3 going the way most people will want to go at any given time. The ideal for a big stadium is to have people leaving in different directions taking different modes of transportation.

Rail is a possibility but there have been many posts about the challenges there. One alternative could be service to the Dartmouth side terminating at Alderney, or a Bedford ferry connection.

How many fans from Saskatoon generally go to Roughriders games? That's probably the best comparison for a potential Maritime/Halifax team.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

How many fans from Saskatoon generally go to Roughriders games? That's probably the best comparison for a potential Maritime/Halifax team.

I remember finding some data about this long ago, but I haven't seen anything comparable lately. My impression is that a large majority of season ticket holders live in Regina and a majority of all ticket sales are Regina, but I don't know if that's 60% or 90%. The population distribution is a bit different in the Maritimes, with more density in general and more small towns and cities. If the Maritimes were one province, it would have 2.1M people but would still be around 1/5 the size of Saskatchewan and would still be by far the smallest in Canada.

A long-ish drive of an hour or two can still be done as a quick trip for a game, but a 4 hour drive will likely require a hotel. Central NS is all about 1 hour from the proposed stadium site (about 750k people) while Moncton is about 2 hours, PEI is 3 hours, and SJ or Sydney are 4 hours (this 4 hour distance accounting for almost the entire region).

I'm a bit skeptical of the idea that Maritimers are so fiercely loyal to their local area that they'd snub a real CFL team 2-4 hours away that sometimes does exhibition games in their town while waiting for a hypothetical NB team which they would then enthusiastically support. For reasons already covered, it's not obvious NB would immediately also get a team if Halifax does.

Regarding the private investors paying $1.5B or whatever the number is, that's for the whole mixed use development with 8,000 housing units, etc., not just the stadium.

[Antigonish]

How many fans from Saskatoon generally go to Roughriders games? That's probably the best comparison for a potential Maritime/Halifax team.

It's not as impressive as you'd think due to the travel, even with the tradition the club has within the province. A CFL team in Halifax would be lucky to break 10% of ticket sales from people outside of HRM/Truro. The trade-off of a stadium being so far away wouldn't be worth it.

[Nouvellecosse]

And I still don't buy the absurd framing that the only options are 20km out of town or on the peninsula. Or that if it was on the peninsula, it would be practically as arduous for out of towers to access as if they had to swim across the harbour or something. Out of towners come onto to the peninsula all the time. And now there's not even any bridge toll for them to complain about now.

Although i wonder if the best place for it would be the Bedford Commons area. That's close to the highway coming from either direction - the Valley or Truro/NB - and it wouldn't be as time consuming to access from town. There could be event shuttles with one starting at Alderney with stops at the Bridge terminal, Highfield and Wrights Cove before serving the stadium and then Cobequid. Another that goes from Portland Hills and stops at Penhorn and Micmac before taking the connector to the stadium. And then a third that goes from Mumford with a stop at Lacewood before getting to the stadium from the Bi-hi. People on the peninsula could choose either the Mumford terminal or Alderney terminals, whichever is quickest to get to. They could run every few minutes for a half hour leading up to the start of the event.

[someone123]

Yes, if you look at the trade-offs the airport doesn't look so good. Somewhere like Shannon Park has decent access for transit and good highway connections. Bedford Commons has excellent highway connections and mediocre transit. The airport is awful for transit and has a single good highway connection. Wanderers is excellent for transit but poor for highways.

But if the promoter owns a huge tract of land there and builds a stadium, that may be what happens, even if some land somewhere else is better overall. This is part of why it can be good to have democratic input and public dollars.

[Wpg_Guy]

• Video Link

[WayneShuster]

Is that really the best design plan they could come up with?

[Glow Fun City]

They paved paradise, put up a parking lot

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by someone123

Yes, if you look at the trade-offs the airport doesn't look so good. Somewhere like Shannon Park has decent access for transit and good highway connections. Bedford Commons has excellent highway connections and mediocre transit. The airport is awful for transit and has a single good highway connection. Wanderers is excellent for transit but poor for highways.

But if the promoter owns a huge tract of land there and builds a stadium, that may be what happens, even if some land somewhere else is better overall. This is part of why it can be good to have democratic input and public dollars.

These stadium proposals led by a private partner usually end up making the government worse off, no matter what it does.

Scenario 1: The government wants to build a stadium, and it wants the stadium to be built in a more accessible spot.

The government would then probably sell publicly-owned land below cost to the private developer. The media would spin this as a corporate giveaway. Alternately, the private developer might ask the government to be on the hook for more risk, which could also blow up in the government's face.

Scenario 2: A private developer bought cheap land in an inaccessible spot, and wants to build a stadium there because it will pencil out.

The government tries to spin this as "no cost to the taxpayers" but, inevitably, has to spend taxpayer money upgrading the infrastructure in a remote area to service this stadium. It might even convince the public that they're doing this to attract other development to this site in the future, but that promised development never comes.

[NewIreland]

https://canadiansoccerdaily.com/2026/05/...l-about-long-term-viability-in-the-city/

What a joke! No interior upgrades for Olympic Stadium!

Talk about lipstick on a pig. Either do it right, or don’t do it at all. What a complete embarrassment, and what a debacle this whole saga has been for Quebec… and the entire country.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by NewIreland

https://canadiansoccerdaily.com/2026/05/...l-about-long-term-viability-in-the-city/

What a joke! No interior upgrades for Olympic Stadium!

Talk about lipstick on a pig. Either do it right, or don’t do it at all. What a complete embarrassment, and what a debacle this whole saga has been for Quebec… and the entire country.

I agree. Finish the job so we can have a usable stadium for the next 20-30 years.

[Hackslack]

In the article it states the need to be able to play indoors as the schedule will change to playing through winter months. That said, what is TFC going to do? Won’t the weather affect them at BMO stadium too?

[someone123]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

These stadium proposals led by a private partner usually end up making the government worse off, no matter what it does.

NS has a dreary political culture which is in large part:

(1) Spend as much as possible on rural areas and seniors (the boomer/senior bubble and rural voting disparity being even bigger than in other places). Rural service levels should be on par with the city regardless of any delivery cost realities. One of society's highest values is the preservation of decades-old lifestyles of the oldest people; one of the biggest tragedies to avert is an old person who might have to move or downsize.

(2) All spending is zero sum, so if it's not in (1) I want to hear the premier and mayor talking about how not one cent will be spent on it

So even if you want a stadium, it might be easier to go the private route and then do backdoor infrastructure funding.

It is a lot like BC/California, or Massachusetts, except without the same sort of economic engines to keep things going to the same degree in spite of mismanagement. The big allowed projects are hospitals, rural highways, etc. I think NS would be pretty successful if it were just run in a "normal" way with typical rural service levels, tax rates, and an average-sized government bureaucracy. It has gotten maybe 20% better over the past 5-10 years.

[cjones2451]

BMO Field (now TORONTO Stadium for the WC) with the temp stands wrapped



Courtesy of Rudi Schuller on Twitter

[Nouvellecosse]

Halifax stadium and entertainment district proposal fails to gain traction: developer

Michael MacDonald The Canadian Press May 27, 2026 Updated 5 hrs ago

HALIFAX - An ambitious plan to build a stadium and entertainment hub near Halifax appears to be on shaky ground.

A local business leader involved in initial discussions about the venture says talks last year with U.S.-based Ridgehaven Holdings LLC fell apart when it became clear the bid lacked key elements.

Online news outlet allNovaScotia first reported on the proposal by Ridgehaven last week.

In a brief statement Tuesday, Jason Brunt, president of Halifax-based Clayton Developments Ltd., said the proposal didn’t have a business plan, feasibility study, financial analysis or proof of capital.

“Those elements were not available from the investment group,” Brunt said, adding that a business case never materialized. “We decided to move forward … with selling the land to other qualified bidders.”
...

https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/busi...597a31d-4409-580d-a0db-1721764937e9.html

How sad

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by cjones2451

BMO Field (now TORONTO Stadium for the WC) with the temp stands wrapped



Courtesy of Rudi Schuller on Twitter

Wow, I was starting to think that they wouldn't do it. Looks good. I wonder how it holds up to heavy winds coming off the lake? Hopefully, the whole thing doesn't take off like my patio umbrella yesterday!