TORONTO – Jim Lawson says Woodbine Entertainment wants to provide Canadian football with a national training center. Woodbine announced on Wednesday that it is partnering with private investors to build a football training facility and football-specific stadium.
TORONTO – Jim Lawson says Woodbine Entertainment wants to provide Canadian football with a national training center.
Woodbine announced on Wednesday that it is partnering with private investors to build a football training facility and football-specific stadium. Woodbine has designated a portion of his land for the construction of the venues with the goal of creating a center of excellence for sports in Canada.
“With Canada on the verge of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup, winning the women’s national team Olympic gold medal and Canada co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, it’s definitely the right time,” said Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment. “We have the potential investors here, we have politicians at all three levels (municipal, provincial and federal) who value the value of sport and are community-minded.
“That’s what it’s all about – community and sport.”
There is certainly a buzz these days about football in Canada.
The 33rd ranked men’s team can already get a place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Thursday in Costa Rica. Canada’s only previous trip to the World Cup was in 1986 in Mexico.
Last summer, the sixth-ranked Canadian lady squad won Olympic gold in Tokyo. The 2026 Men’s World Cup will be held in Canada, Mexico and the USA
For Woodbine, the project would be an opportunity to engage in a sport that is definitely on the rise in this country, and also makes Woodbine a more desirable destination. Canada Football, in recent years, has moved the Toronto FC training center to Downsview, Ont., Or its teams further north to Alliston, Ont. moved to prepare for games.
And Lawson said a legacy from Canada co-hosting the 26th World Cup could be the establishment of a home base for a women’s pro circuit.
The football pitches will be located at the Woodbine property within walking distance of the Woodbine Racetrack and will be part of the overall development of the organization.
“There are one or two hotels next to this national training center,” Lawson said. “(Pearson Airport) is just five minutes away, which is great for international people.
“We also expect mass transit in the form of a GO station, which would make this site and perhaps in the country unequal in terms of access with three major motorways (407, 401 and 427) in the area. We think this is the main location in the country for a national football training center. “
Lawson said Canada Football was informed about the project about a year ago and the hope remains that the country’s national government body can be involved in it.
“We want to talk to Canadian football about this,” Lawson said. “Canada needs a national training center and there needs to be some kind of legacy coming out of the World Cup (2026), so we are excited to pursue these discussions with Canada Football.”
But Lawson said the key to the project is the GO train station in Woodbine. In 2019, the Ontario government unveiled plans to build a stop in Woodbine on the Kitchener GO railway line but construction has yet to begin.
“We are awaiting final approvals regarding zoning,” Lawson said. “But we think it’s more of a timing thing, it’s a ‘if’ as opposed to an ‘if’.
“Woodbine is willing to fund it privately and spend about $ 150 million to bring a station to the site. This makes all the sense in the world if we bring in mass transit.”
The project would include a football-specific stadium and 38,000-square-foot training facility with a natural grass area.
Woodbine is located on approximately 684 acres of land just over 30 miles north of Toronto city. Around 250 hectares are already planned for horse racing (synthetic, grass and dirt races as well as stables for horses and staff).
Once completed, the woodbine facilities will give the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) two quality football pitches. BMO Field, home of Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC and CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, is currently operating at the showground.
BMO Field has room for over 27,000 spectators for football and 30,000 for football, but can also be expanded to 40,000. Its playing field is hybrid grass.
The football-specific stadium would have a capacity of 8,000 seats. Woodbine said the projects “provide a key training base and stadium for Canadian Premier League clubs, including York United FC.”
York United FC is currently playing its home games at York Lions Stadium on the campus of York University. The franchise’s main partner is Greenpark Group, a residential and commercial construction company in Canada, the United States and Europe, owned by the Baldassarra family.
“We are a family of builders and share Woodbine’s vision for communities to create a better Toronto,” said Michael Baldassarra, York United President and Greenpark Group executive, in a statement. “We were so proud to invest in the future of Canadian football. In recent years, a high-performance training center and stadium is perfect for what is to come, as we see women willing to play giant leaps across the county. to take.
“This would also be an ideal site for Canada’s first women’s professional club, and I could see that the wider community gets such a wide variety of uses for a facility like this.”
The venue could also serve as a practice facility for the 2026 men’s World Cup.
“The 2026 World Cup is an amazing goal for so many of us who now work in Canadian football, but before there are many other major events that Canadian athletes need to prepare for,” said Angus McNab, President / CEO of York United. FC ‘facilities and infrastructure for the professional game to flourish is required and this place is ideal.
“We would also be very proud to plant the flag to bring the first women’s professional team to Canada as part of a required national league.”
This report from the Canadian press was first published on March 23, 2022.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
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