Living Sky Sports and Entertainment, which was last year awarded exclusive rights to launch a Canadian Premier League franchise in Saskatoon, has revealed new renderings of a planned stadium at Prairieland Park in the south of the city.
The multi-use facility is projected to cost C$28m (£17.7m/€20.8m/$22.2m) and it is hoped that the stadium can open by 2024. The Saskatoon franchise would be the first CPL team in the province of Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan-based LSSE was awarded the rights for a CPL franchise in March 2021. At the time, a 4,000-seat stadium was proposed for the team to play in. Prairieland Park, a wide-ranging events complex, has been identified as the preferred destination for a new stadium.
An event was held on Tuesday to showcase renderings of the stadium and launch a public campaign to secure the funds required to build the venue. The facility would also host other local soccer teams, as well as cricket and rugby matches and concerts.
LSSE founder Al Simpson told the CanPL.ca website: “We would like to be on the field in 2023, but I’d also suggest that it’s probably more realistic that we hit the field in 2024, and I think that still holds true.
“The timeline really hasn’t changed on this; if we get our financing in place by the end of year 2022, we should be able to put a shovel in the ground and start construction in Saskatchewan in the spring of 2023, which would line up nicely for us to be able to play in the spring of 2024.”
Simpson added: “The first thing I can say about a process like this, in terms of launching a CPL team especially when you need a venue to play in, is it’s going to be a marathon, not a sprint.
“These sorts of things don’t get done in eight, 10, 12 months; there’s a lot of things to consider. We’re not moving as fast as I would like us to move, but that’s just part and parcel of the world that we’re in.”
Image: Living Sky Sports and Entertainment
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