SASKATOON - The dream to bring a Canadian Premier League soccer team to a new stadium at Saskatoon's Prairieland Park appears at an end.
In a statement from Prairieland, it was announced Tuesday that the board of Prairieland in agreement with Living Sky Sports, have “determined that, at this time, it is judicious for all parties involved to adjourn Saskatoon’s proposed professional soccer project.”
“With ventures of this magnitude, it is important to adjust to constantly changing economic factors,” says Prairieland CEO Dan Kemppainen. “As we progressed with the project plans, we have had to make the decision to attend to competing financial priorities.”
Living Sky Sports and Entertainment was the group seeking to bring a Canadian Premier League franchise to Saskatoon. In 2021 Prairieland announced they would be closing Marquis Downs, with plans to turn the grandstand into the new soccer stadium for the Saskatoon franchise.
But development never did get started on the new facility, and now the whole future of plans to bring a CPL franchise to Saskatoon is up in the air. There is now some speculation this news might open the door for Regina to seek a CPL franchise for Mosaic Stadium.
It is also not clear what will become of the former Marquis Downs site, or whether it will return to hosting horse racing on a regular basis.
Marquis Downs had cancelled thoroughbred racing in both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Soon after, Prairieland announced they were cancelling horse racing permanently to make way for the new soccer stadium, although there has been racing activity there since then organized by outside groups.
Last year, Moosomin Downs utilized Marquis Downs for a schedule of thoroughbred racing in preparation for their own plans to move horse racing to a new location north of the city in Corman Park. But so far, that new horse racing venue has yet to come to fruition.
