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Wanderers Grounds

Sporting complex in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Wanderers Grounds

Sporting complex in Halifax, Nova Scotia

FieldValue
nameWanderers Grounds
nicknameThe Kitchen
imageWanderers Grounds, home to the HFX Wanderers FC in 2024.jpg
captionWanderers Grounds in 2024
locationHalifax, Nova Scotia
coordinates
opened19th century
renovated
ownerHalifax Regional Municipality
surfaceGrass
capacity6,200 (1957–2022)
6,500 (2022–2025)
7,500 (2025–present)
tenants{{Plainlist
website

6,500 (2022–2025) 7,500 (2025–present)

  • Halifax Tides FC (NSL) (2025–present)
  • HFX Wanderers FC (CPL) (2019–present)
  • Nova Scotia Keltics (RCSL) (1998–2008)

Wanderers Grounds is a sporting complex in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and home to Canadian Premier League professional soccer club HFX Wanderers FC.

The grounds are part of the Halifax Commons. The land was used in the 1880s by the Halifax Wanderers Amateur Athletic Club (WAAC) and was their home grounds for the sports of rugby and lawn bowling. Leased to the club in the 1800s, the club failed to pay its lease fees during the Second World War and the land's use reverted to the City of Halifax (Halifax Regional Municipality) who have maintained it since then.

The Wanderers Grounds was also the home of the Halifax Pelham Canadians of the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball league 1977–2008. Years prior, Babe Ruth made an appearance at the grounds in 1942 during a navy baseball game between Halifax and Toronto. He faced Halifax pitcher Awkie Titus but failed to hit a home run.

The field house, built by the club in 1896, was destroyed by fire. It was replaced by the Navy League Dry Canteen, which was going to be rehabilitated in the 21st century, but was considered too structurally unsound. The plan to build a clubhouse has been put on an indeterminate hiatus.

On August 31, 1957, Wanderers Grounds hosted Canada Soccer's first ever Challenge Trophy match played east of Montreal. The local side Halifax Shipyards lost 8–2 to the eventual national champions, Montreal Ukraina.

On June 20, 2017 Halifax city councillors unanimously approved the construction of a temporary stadium at the Grounds, for a future Canadian Premier League professional soccer team. In May 2018, that team was confirmed to be named HFX Wanderers FC, who began play in 2019.

In 2023 the Wanderers introduced a new plan for a permanent stadium at wanderers grounds which would seat 8,500. They introduced the plan to the Halifax City Council in late 2023.

For the 2025 season the Wanderers Ground was expanded from a capacity of 6,500 to 7,500.

Sports usage

Rugby football match played on the historical Wanderers' Grounds

The field has been used for matches of soccer, cricket, matches of rugby football, baseball and track and field championships among other sports.

Rugby union

DateHomeScoreAwayCompetitionAttendance
12 October 1899United Services CAN0–10****1899 Ireland Tour
14 October 1899Wanderers CAN3–16****1899 Ireland Tour
16 October 1899Halifax CAN5–01899 Ireland Tour
23 June 201817–42****2018 June test6,200
20 October 2018Ontario Arrows CAN40–14USA New England Free JacksMajor League Rugby
2 July 2022****45–02022 mid-year rugby union tests4,412
Canadian Premier League action in June 2019

References

References

  1. (October 30, 2018). "Welcome to 'The Kitchen': Wanderers Grounds could be fortress for HFX Wanderers FC".
  2. Spurr, Bill. "Babe Ruth's excellent Nova Scotia adventures | The Chronicle Herald".
  3. "Wanderer's Grounds Field House Rehabilitation Project". Halifax Regional Municipality.
  4. (June 20, 2017). "Soccer stadium, team touted for downtown Halifax". TSN.
  5. Shaw, Kyle. "HFX Wanderers unveiled as Canada's newest professional soccer club".
  6. "Halifax Wanderers To Expand Stadium For 2025". Northern Tribune.
  7. "International Test Match 2022".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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