Mississauga mayor says $50-million soccer stadium shouldn’t be built if it will jeopardize other projects

Insauga.com
Oct. 21, 2021

A new major soccer stadium in Mississauga will cost $50 million, a price too steep for Mayor Bonnie Crombie unless the money can be found in places that won’t jeopardize the city’s most pressing infrastructure needs.

In an interview yesterday afternoon with insauga.com publisher Khaled Iwamura, Crombie said while she knows “there’s a lot of excitement about a soccer stadium,” she doesn’t want such a facility built at the expense of current infrastructure plans, such as development of a new Port Credit Marina.

“I just don’t want to saddle my city with debt, because these big stadiums end up being white elephants,” she said, before somewhat softening her position. “(But) I know it would be a great venue to have, as long as it was funded.” 

Directed several weeks ago by councillors to once again study the feasibility of a major soccer stadium they say could host large national tournaments and would be a potential sports tourism gold mine, City of Mississauga staff said this week the undertaking would cost about $50 million.

Beyond the tourism and financial benefits, several councillors say, Mississauga’s soccer community badly needs a landmark facility, which, if approved, could be built on City-owned land off of Ninth Line in the northwest corner of the city.