Latest news with #HalifaxTides


CBC
18 hours ago
- Sport
- CBC
Former Canadian men's coach Stephen Hart named interim bench boss of NSL's Halifax Tides FC
Stephen Hart, former coach of the Canadian national men's team and Halifax Wanderers of the Canadian Premier League, has been named interim coach of the Northern Super League's Halifax Tides FC. The 65-year-old Hart succeeds Lewis Page, who has shifted roles to help establish the Tides development academy. At 1-6-1, Halifax sits in the basement of the six-team NSL after losing three straight games. "It's an honour to step into this role," Hart said in a statement. "Our team is focused, resilient and committed to growing together both on and off the field. I'm excited to lead this next chapter and help guide the players through the remainder of the season with passion, purpose and pride." Hart coached the Canadian men in various stints from 2006 to 2012, posting a 20-15-10 record. He resigned in October 2012 after an 8-1 loss to Honduras ended Canada's World Cup qualifying run. After coaching his native Trinidad and Tobago, Hart took charge of the Halifax entry in the CPL for its debut season in 2019. He was fired in October 2022 after an 8-15-5 campaign. More recently, he has served as a consultant to the NWSL's Portland Thorns. "This is about building for the long-term success of the club," said Tides president Valerie Malone. "Strengthening our leadership structure and investing in player development, starting with the academy — are important steps in that direction. We're also continuing to reinforce the roster and look forward to sharing more on that later this week."


CTV News
7 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Motion on development of Wanderers Grounds in Halifax put on hold
A motion on the redevelopment of Wanderers Ground in Halifax has been delayed. A motion to direct staff to devise a functional plan for the development of the Wanderers Block in central Halifax was delayed at a council meeting on Tuesday. 'We are in need of a stadium,' says Deputy Mayor Tony Mancini. 'We have a pilot project with the Wanderers Grounds which has proven successful and we now have a second professional team, a women's league that plays out of there that has been successful in the early stages.' The grounds are home to two professional soccer teams: the Halifax Wanderers and the Halifax Tides. Mancini supports the idea of constructing a permanent stadium on the Wanderers Block. 'Right now our focus should be in this eight-to-10,000 seat stadium is the right size in the downtown and the Wanderers Place is the right place. I know there's people that are opposed to using the Wanderers Grounds for that purpose, but I disagree,' he said. Tony Mancini Deputy Mayor Tony Mancini talks with reporters. (Source: Jonathan MacInnis/CTV News Atlantic) Mancini noted there was originally pushback on the Halifax Convention Centre (which opened in 2017) and the Scotiabank Centre (which opened in 1978), but now both sites contribute millions to the economy. 'We're coming off of some really record-setting years and both Scotiabank Centre and the Convention Centre in terms of the number of events we've attracted and the impact that we've created for our city and province,' he said. 'Since 2018 we've hosted over 1,500 events and generated over a half-a-billion of economic impact for the city and province,' says Events East's executive director Suzanne Fougere. Currently the Wanderers and Tides are playing in a 6,500-seat pop-up stadium. 'Whenever there's considerations around those type of public investments in public venues, or purpose-built infrastructure is what we likely call it, it's important to consider overall the use that it's for, the audience that is for and then turn the location that's going to make sense for that type of investment,' Fougere says. The Friends of the Halifax Common has said the land is meant to be use by the public. The deferred redevelopment motion is now scheduled to be discussed in August. Halifax council Halifax council gathers for a regular meeting. (Source: Jonathan MacInnis/CTV News Atlantic) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page

CTV News
19-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
New survey finds huge growth of women's sports in Canada
The Halifax Tides are less than two months into their first season in the new professional women's soccer league – the Northern Super League – in a country where women's and girls' sports are reaching new highs, according to a new survey released earlier this week. 'I'm not surprised by it. I feel like it's about time, actually,' said Kiley Norkus, who plays fullback for the Tides. Norkus said growing up playing the game in California, she and other girls did not lack for opportunity compared to the boys, but she says that changed when she tried to turn pro. 'I had to really grind to find connections,' Norkus said. 'It was like, 'OK, I'm going to take this flight to Spain and hopefully this is a real trial and not like some weird situation,' when, like, I feel like a lot of men had legit agents.' A new national survey presented on Wednesday at the espnW Summit Canada in Toronto has found that 60 per cent of Canadians believe perceptions of women's sport have improved over the past three years. The data also found that 41 per cent of those polled see women's sports as a national investment. Since the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) was founded two years ago, there has been a 45 per cent increase in female hockey registration nationwide. 'Ultimately, the sport is making gains but it's not just important to make gains. It's important to gain a foothold,' said Christina Lamey, president of Cape Breton Blizzard female hockey in Cape Breton. The Blizzard and a number of other female teams in Cape Breton are set to move into the new Home For Women's Hockey at Cape Breton University, said to be the only arena in the country designated solely for girls' and women's hockey. Despite that success on the local level, Lamey said that it's time infrastructure catches up to interest levels in female sport. The new survey suggests structural supports for female sport still lag behind. Lamey said in many cases worldwide, women have been carving out their own places to play. 'So much of this growth in women's sport is claiming of public space by women,' she said. 'It's a really large global movement that's happening, and it's exciting times.' At May's Cabot Trail Relay Race in the Cape Breton Highlands, an all-women's team with an ironic name – 'The Boys' – broke the female team course record for the running team relay by 35 minutes. At least two female Canadian Olympians took part: Julie-Anne Staehli, who competed in the 5000 meter event at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, and Noelle Montcalm, a 400-meter hurdle competitor at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro along with the 2020 Games. Race committee chair Grace Mason-Parkinson said it's a sign of greater interest and competition among women, even in amateur events. 'Since COVID-19 really, every year we've had another new all-women's team apply,' Mason-Parkinson said. 'We're seeing more women around the course. We're seeing more fun, friendly competition and support for each other.' Norkus is optimistic young girls who come to their games won't have the same kinds of struggles for legitimacy she did. 'We have girls in the league, in Calgary and stuff, who just graduated high school and are going pro,' Norkus said. 'So that itself is a huge step, because we didn't really have that growing up.' Lamey said in recent years – thanks in part to the emergence of the PWHL and construction of the new Home For Women's Hockey – registration numbers for female hockey in Cape Breton have grown by more than 300 per cent.

CBC
15-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Halifax's long, complicated relationship with building a stadium
As Halifax council ponders a plan to transform a pop-up stadium at the Wanderers Grounds into a more permanent space, it's the latest chapter in a decade-plus long debate about building a stadium in the city. Past discussions have come with a range of price tags for taxpayers and been derailed by unforeseen circumstances, including a global pandemic. "It's a huge opportunity for us right here. Our city is truly growing and we need to get this right, but we've been talking about a stadium for way before my time on council," said Coun. Tony Mancini, who first joined council after a January 2016 byelection win. He made the comments Wednesday as municipal staff presented a plan for the so-called Wanderers Block to the city's community planning and economic development committee. The area is mostly municipal land and part of the Halifax Common. "How do we finally get to a conclusion on this stadium conversation?" said Mancini. The Halifax Wanderers professional men's soccer team has played at the site since 2019, while the Halifax Tides women's team started playing at the Wanderers Grounds this year. City staff came up with a mix of stadium options for the site that would range in size, as well as changes to facilities operated by groups such as the Halifax Lancers and the Wanderers Lawn Bowling Club. The anticipated costs ranged from $116 million to $123 million, assuming construction starts in 2029. Contingencies of 25 per cent were included in the estimates to account for things like inflation and changes made during the construction process. No action was taken Wednesday, and council will consider the plan at a future meeting. In 2023, the Wanderers suggested a stadium would cost about $40 million. They asked Halifax to build and operate the facility with the team as the lead tenant. CFL hopes While stadium talk in Halifax relates to professional soccer teams, the previous debate was anchored on bringing a CFL franchise to Halifax. A group known as Schooner Sports and Entertainment was behind the proposal and it sought municipal and provincial funding to build a 24,000-seat, $110-million stadium in Shannon Park in 2022. Besides professional football, the space would have been used for community sports and major concerts. In December 2019, Halifax council voted to give the proponents $20 million, but only if a list of conditions were met. Considering that the proponent's preferred location for a stadium was Shannon Park, it was odd that council approved the funding on the condition that the stadium be built in another approved location. The proponent's enthusiasm wasn't dampened. "We're thrilled. We thank council for their due diligence and very spirited debate. We're very excited to move forward," said SSE partner Anthony LeBlanc. By April 2020, LeBlanc had taken an executive role with the NHL's Ottawa Senators. But in his absence, other SSE officials remained bullish. "We're more optimistic than we've ever been probably on the stadium itself," said founding partner Gary Drummond in late 2020. The project soon quietly disappeared from the public conversation, while the two affiliated companies behind the venture — Schooner Sports and Entertainment and Maritime Football Limited — have had their registrations revoked in the Registry of Joint Stock Companies. 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was played in six Canadian cities: Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton, N.B. For a time, Halifax hoped to be one of those cities, but Halifax council voted in early 2012 to withdraw its bid. The reason? A stadium was too expensive to build on its own. While the stadium cost was estimated at between $54.8 million and $71.1 million, the provincial government had not signed on to the project. The city was willing to spend $20 million on it. 2014 Commonwealth Games A different international sporting event was the motivation behind another Halifax stadium push. In 2005, Halifax won the right to be the Canadian city to bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. While hosting the games was once projected to cost $785 million, Halifax abandoned its bid in early 2007 when the projected bill reached $1.7 billion. At the time, Chris Algar, a 1999 Canada Games athlete, described the disappointment of missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "They're saying we couldn't host it because we don't have the infrastructure," he said. "This is a chance to build that infrastructure. How do you suppose we're going to get it now?" Almost two decades later, Halifax is still trying to figure out the answer to that question.


CBC
12-06-2025
- Sport
- CBC
New Halifax plan examines how downtown soccer stadium fits with neighbouring projects
A new plan considers what a permanent soccer stadium could look like in downtown Halifax, but says using the same location as the current pop-up facility would bring compromises for the stadium and other nearby groups. Municipal staff presented a functional plan for the Wanderers Block to the city's community planning and economic development committee on Wednesday. The area is mostly municipal land and part of the Halifax Common. The plan considered what it would look like to accommodate all the requests from current and possible future tenants of the area, including two professional soccer teams, a horse riding school, lawn bowling club and municipal parks staff. "Now we can say, yeah, it is very crowded," said Carolle Koziak Roberts, municipal landscape architect. The Halifax Wanderers professional soccer team and the new Halifax Tides women's team want a permanent 8,500-seat stadium with running water, locker rooms and concession areas that could expand seating in the future. They suggested a turf field that would allow amateur and school teams to play year-round, and could handle concerts with a 13,000-person standing capacity. In 2023, the Wanderers suggested such a stadium would cost about $40 million, and asked Halifax to build and operate the facility with the team as the lead tenant. The Halifax Lancers horse riding school wants to build more stables for additional horses, increase the size of its outdoor riding ring and build a second indoor riding arena to expand their membership and programs. The Wanderers Lawn Bowling Club, which has been on the site since 1887, would like more public visibility and a larger clubhouse that could be rented. The Public Gardens Foundation has asked for a Victorian-style conservatory that would showcase plants year-round. There is also a municipal parks depot on the site housing sports field maintenance staff and equipment, as well as a horticulture facility servicing the Halifax Public Gardens and other parks. The plan offers three different options for how the projects could fit on the site, but all require trade-offs or compromises from everyone. The plan said some options allow a stadium field that could be used for both soccer and rugby, but there is no room to accommodate football without removing one of the other tenants. The seating capacity could also not be expanded unless the province provided land from the Museum of Natural History property. In that case, a stadium of 9,000 to 10,000 seats could be possible. "I don't think this is the right plan — too many compromises and we need to think a bit bigger," said Coun. Patty Cuttell. Cuttell said a larger stadium should go elsewhere that could accommodate more sports and commercial space. Coun. Trish Purdy brought up Ottawa's Lansdowne Park as a better model. The home of the Canadian Football League's Ottawa Redblacks includes a stadium, playgrounds, shopping area, public lawn and skatepark. "No matter how we position it on the block, [this] wouldn't ever be able to accommodate CFL, so I think that's a big negative," said Purdy. Coun. Tony Mancini said the pop-up stadium, where the Wanderers have played since 2019 and the Tides launched this year, has been a "huge success," drawing about 6,000 people for games. "It's had a huge impact to the downtown and it's been great," Mancini said. He also said it's not ideal for drawing more soccer events like the 2023 match between the Canadian women's national team and Brazil. "Two of the best teams in the world here. They're changing in shipping containers, they had to use [portable toilets], there's no running water, there's not a real stadium. So a real stadium is definitely needed," Mancini said. With a second soccer team now using the pop-up stadium, the report said Halifax recently took over rental of the existing metal bleachers and bought "most of the assets" on the Wanderers field "in order to increase public control over the Wanderers temporary stadium site." It is unclear how much this move cost. Koziak Roberts said this report was just the first step and it's now up to councillors to discuss which development projects make sense on the block. The costs for all developments could range from $116 million to $123 million, but Koziak Roberts said those are high-level figures that assume construction starts in 2029 and include a 15 per cent estimate for inflation. Regional council will consider the plan at a future meeting and decide whether to ask for a staff report that would provide a recommended approach for the Wanderers Block, and confirm funding commitments from other levels of government and the tenants themselves. "It is not envisioned that the municipality should assume primary financial responsibilities over these interests," the report said. Staff said public consultation will come once there is additional clarity over what could actually happen on the block.