CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES!
Each year I have had the pleasure of distributing congratulatory letters to every school in Saskatoon Willowgrove expressing my best wishes to Grade 8 and Grade 12 graduates.
It is an exciting time for both grade 8 and grade 12 students as they begin new chapters in their lives. I wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Special thanks to the teachers and support staff for all they do to make the graduation celebrations such memorable occasions.
This month there are also many convocation celebrations held at Universities across the country. Congratulations to everyone celebrating the completion of their university degree. What a remarkable accomplishment. Congratulations!
STADIUM PLANS UNVEILED FOR SASKATOON SOCCER TEAM
Rendering of stadium plans for a Canadian Premier League team and other sports located at Prairieland Park.
From community programs to elite soccer and concerts – Prairieland is planning to build an open-air stadium in Saskatoon, which would also be home to a Canadian Premier League (CPL) franchise team.
The proposed costs to build the multi-use facility with 5,500 seats is estimated to cost around $28 million total, according to Steve Chisholm, board chair of Prairieland.
"We do anticipate that this is a generational facility," he said on Tuesday.
"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 it will expand and grow as well."
The new stadium would have the potential to expand to 8,000 seats in the future, according to the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority's (SREDA) Canadian Premier League soccer stadium economic impact study from 2021.
The proposed site of the stadium is Marquis Downs, the former space used for horse racing in the city.
Location is key for project and CPL team in Saskatoon, says team owner
Prairieland is supporting the project with over $2 million in cash as well as "hundreds of thousands of dollars in staff support", said Chisholm in a news release.
They are now looking for additional support from the community and all levels of government, he added.
Prairieland though has already an anchor tenant for the new stadium.
The Saskatchewan company owning the rights to develop and launch a CPL expansion team in Saskatoon is on board as a private investor and partner.
Al Simpson of Living Sky Sports and Entertainment Inc. has pledged $2 million towards the construction of the stadium, in addition to covering the franchise and team startup costs, said Chisholm in a news release
"We are an immigrant nation," said Simpson on Tuesday.
"The sport of soccer is universal. That's not going to change. Soccer is the world's game."
Chisholm said they would like to break ground as soon as possible, hoping to see soccer games at the stadium by 2024.
Launching the province's first CPL club in the city is contingent on Saskatoon building a stadium to CPL standards, according to SREDA's impact study.
"If you are gonna develop a sports franchise anywhere in the world now, location is very important," said Simpson.
"There is jurisdictions in this country that would die to be able to go three minutes from the downtown core to a location like this."
Estimated output and funding needs
The construction of the soccer stadium is estimated to result in a one-time output of $35.80 million, while operations and tourism for the first year is predicted to generate around $6.07 million, the document says.
An exciting day in Saskatoon!
