12,000-seat Cavalry FC soccer stadium and field house part of future vision of Spruce Meadows

A new 12,000-seat soccer stadium to replace the current Cavalry FC ground, ATCO Field, is a possibility being outlined as part of an area structure plan for the future of Spruce Meadows.

Foothills County councillors just passed first reading of the plan, which outlines where Spruce Meadows is heading in terms of future growth and vision.

The plan, which is updated every 10 years, also includes the possibility of a field house and a boutique hotel at the world-famous equestrian venue that sits just outside of Calgary's city limits on the city's southwest side.

"It's important to look down the road and to recognize the evolution of a property and venue like Spruce Meadows," said president and chief operating officer of Cavalry FC, Ian Allison.

Cavalry FC have enjoyed a flying start in the inaugural season of the Canadian Premier League under manager Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

Cavalry, currently sitting in second place in the league, also enjoyed an impressive run in the Canadian championship competition, hosting and giving higher-tier MLS teams, including the Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact, a run for their money. Cavalry were the first CPL league team to win against an MLS outfit when they defeated Vancouver.

Allison says if the fanbase continues to grow, there is capacity to add another 2,000 seats at ATCO Field, taking the capacity up to around 6,000, and if the demand is there then a new stadium will be built in a different part of Spruce Meadows in the future.

"The place that's been put forward in the area structure plan is the existing All-Canada Ring, which is the original show jumping ring of Spruce Meadows. It would be the venue we'd likely look at if we were to build a new stadium," said Allison. 

Allison says the covered stadium would remain a grass surface, but wouldn't be an enclosed dome-style stadium.

Allison adds it would would be a gradual process to avoid losing the atmosphere at Cavalry home games.

"One thing we don't want to be doing is playing before empty grandstands so we have to understand the market, we have to understand the utilization, the length of season," Allison said.

Allison says Spruce Meadows can support 12,000 soccer fans, despite a few early season growing pains earlier this season around parking and accessing the ground.

"I think we can handle it and I look forward to that challenge in the future," Allison said. 

The area's councillor says there have been some concerns expressed around increased traffic around Spruce Meadows in the future but he sees the area structure plan as a big positive. 

"It's basically going to take us into the next 30 years. Our council has put them under a direct control designation which allows our council to the be development authority on the building of the area," said Division 5 councillor Alan Alger.

"There will be more traffic and more events, but there was very little pushback from the neighbours when we had a public hearing," Alger said, although a handful of people in rural properties nearby did have some concerns.

"Some people might hear this and think it's all going to happen in the next year, but it's not. It's over 30 years and the soccer stadium will come as the fanbase for soccer continues and the equestrian side of things will continue to grow also," he added.

Foothills Council will address second reading once it has been approved by the Calgary Metropolitan Regional Board.