Saskatoon's planned soccer stadium has team lined up, would host concerts

Prairieland has released renderings of its planned multi-use open-air stadium that will replace the Marquis Downs track.

"As our community becomes more diverse and we welcome new Canadians, the appetite for soccer increases, dramatically," Prairieland said in a news release.

"And in true Prairieland fashion of innovation and creating gathering places, we believe now is the perfect time to expand our soccer community."

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Prairieland says the stadium already has a Canadian Premier League team lined up as an anchor tenant, and that the stadium will double as an outdoor concert venue.

The assets used for horseracing will move to Moosomin Downs.

Raceway, which Moosomin First Nation Economic Development Corporation announced plans for last year.

Prairieland says it is seeking government funding. Board Chair Steve Chisholm said in the release that the group is pitching in $2 million in cash and "hundreds of thousands of dollars in staff support."

The owner of the tenant soccer team, Al Simpson of Living Sky Sports and Entertainment Inc., has also pledged $2 million toward the stadium, Chisholm said.

“If you're going to develop a sports franchise anywhere in the world now, location is very, very important,” Simpson said at a news conference Tuesday.

“Three minutes from downtown, you've already built the infrastructure in Saskatoon with Circle Drive so you get here from all parts of the city, and then you've got management. The folks at Prairieland here can take care of the operational aspects of a stadium because that's what they do, they hold events.”

Chisholm said at the unveiling they’re hoping to break ground on construction as soon as possible, and the total cost of the stadium should come in at $28 million.

“We do anticipate that this is a generational facility and we're not just building it for the group that's going to be here in the next five years, but we certainly hope that that will expand and grow as well,” he said.

Simpson says being awarded a CPL team is contingent on a stadium with the team as the anchor tenant.

Living Sky and Prairieland say if the funding is in place the stadium could host CPL games as early as 2024.

- With files from Pat McKay