TORONTO — Jim Lawson says Woodbine Entertainment wants to give Canadian soccer a national training center.
Woodbine announced on Wednesday that it is partnering with private investors to build a soccer training center and soccer-specific stadium. Woodbine has designated a portion of its land for venue construction with the goal of creating a center of excellence for the sport in Canada.
“With Canada poised to qualify for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup, the Women’s National Team winning Olympic gold and Canada co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, c definitely is the right time,” said Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment. “We have potential investors here, we have politicians at all three levels (municipal, provincial and federal) who appreciate the value of sport and are community-minded.
“That’s what it’s all about – the community and the sport.”
There is definitely a buzz these days about soccer in Canada.
The 33rd-ranked men’s team can earn a spot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as early as Thursday in Costa Rica. Canada’s only previous trip to the World Cup was in 1986 in Mexico.
Last summer, the sixth-ranked Canadian women’s team captured Olympic gold in Tokyo. And the 2026 Men’s World Cup will take place in Canada, Mexico and the United States
For Woodbine, the project would be an opportunity to get involved in a sport that is definitely on the rise in this country while making Woodbine a more desirable destination. In recent years, Canada Soccer has used Toronto FC’s training center in Downsview, Ontario, or moved its teams further north to Alliston, Ontario to prepare for matches.
And Lawson said a legacy of Canada co-hosting World Cup 26 could be establishing a home base for a women’s professional circuit.
The soccer venues would be located on Woodbine property within walking distance of the Woodbine Racetrack and would be part of the organization’s overall development.
“There will be one or two hotels adjacent to this national training facility,” Lawson said. “(Pearson Airport) is only five minutes away which is ideal for international travellers.
“We are also planning public transit in the form of a GO station, which would make this site perhaps unrivaled in the country in terms of access with three major highways (407, 401 and 427) nearby. We believe that it is the prime location in the country for a national football training centre.”
Lawson said Canada Soccer was made aware of the project about a year ago and hope remains that the country’s national governing body can get involved in the future.
“We want to talk to Canada Soccer about it,” Lawson said. “Canada needs a national training center and there needs to be some sort of legacy that will come out of the World Cup (2026) so we are excited to continue those discussions with Canada Soccer.”
But Lawson said the key to the project is the GO station in Woodbine. In 2019, the Ontario government announced plans to build a Woodbine stop on the GO rail line from Kitchener, but construction has yet to begin.
“We are awaiting final zoning approvals,” Lawson said. “But we think it’s more about timing, it’s a ‘when’ as opposed to an ‘if’.
“Woodbine is willing to fund it privately and spend around $150 million to bring a station to the site. It makes perfect sense once we introduce mass transit.”
The project would include a 38,000 square foot football stadium and training facility with a natural grass surface.
Woodbine is located on approximately 684 acres of land just over 30 kilometers north of downtown Toronto. About 100 hectares are already dedicated to horse racing (synthetic, grass and clay racecourses as well as stables for horses and employees).
When completed, the Woodbine facility would provide the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with two quality soccer venues. BMO Field, home of Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC and the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, currently operates out of Exhibition Place.
BMO Field can accommodate more than 27,000 spectators for football and 30,000 for soccer, but can also be extended to 40,000. Its playing surface is made of hybrid grass.
The football-specific stadium would have a capacity of 8,000. Woodbine said the projects would provide “a key training base and stadium for Canadian Premier League clubs, including York United FC”.
York United FC currently plays its home games at York Lions Stadium on the York University campus. The main franchise partner is Greenpark Group, a company specializing in residential and commercial construction in Canada, the United States and Europe, which is owned by the Baldassarra family.
“We are a family of builders and share Woodbine’s vision of building communities for a better Toronto,” said Michael Baldassarra, president of York United and leader of Greenpark Group, in a statement. “We are so proud to invest in the future of Canadian soccer. in recent years and a training center and high performance stadium are perfect for what is to come as we see women’s football set to take giant leaps across the county.
“It would also be an ideal site for Canada’s first women’s professional club, and I could see the community as a whole benefiting from such a variety of uses for a facility like this.”
The site could also serve as a training center for the 2026 Men’s World Cup.
“The 2026 World Cup is an incredible goal for so many of us working in Canadian soccer right now, but before there are many other major events that Canadian athletes will need to prepare for,” said Angus McNab, President and CEO of York United. CF. “Facilities and infrastructure for professional gaming to thrive are needed and this location is ideal.
“We would also be very proud to plant the flag to bring Canada’s first professional women’s team to a much-needed national league.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on March 23, 2022.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
