Halifax Wanderers FC offers to pay $100 million to build a permanent stadium in downtown land-lease agreement with the city

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeAtlantic CanadaNewsNova ScotiaHalifaxHalifax Sports Halifax Wanderers FC offers to pay $100 million to build a permanent stadium in downtown land-lease agreement with the city 'We get the infrastructure we want and we deserve without burdening the taxpayers,' says club president Author of the article: By Josh Healey Published Sep 15, 2026 Last updated 10 minutes ago 4 minute read Derek Martin, president of Halifax Wanderers FC, is offering to pay for and build a 10,500 seat permanent, modular stadium (rendered here) on the Wanderers Grounds. In exchange, he wants a 99-year land-lease agreement and the profits generated by the facility. Halifax Wanderers FC Article content Halifax Wanderers Football Club president Derek Martin is offering to pay $100 million to build and manage a permanent stadium at the Wanderers Grounds, as well as a community sports hub that would double as his team’s training facility at Maybank Field in Dartmouth.  Article content Three years since pitching his vision of a $40-million stadium on public land, Martin has refined his request so that the Wanderers foot the bill for a permanent, modular stadium at the Wanderers Grounds while signing a land-lease agreement with the Halifax Regional Municipality.  Article content Article content Article content Speaking to The Chronicle Herald in an exclusive interview, Martin called his pitch to council on Tuesday — which includes details about a proposed 99-year lease, an underground parking lot for the QEII Health Sciences Centre and more — the club’s best chance to make their wish for a permanent stadium a reality.  Article content “For us to grow and to expand and be competitive in the (Canadian Premier League), we need better infrastructure,” Martin said.  Article content “What we’re proposing is a plan that says we can fund it and we can build it but we also need a plan to recoup revenue, and I think we’ve proven, where we managed the facility ourselves for the first seven years, that we’re capable of doing that.  Article content “We get the infrastructure we want and we deserve without burdening the taxpayers.”  Article content Halifax Wanderers founder and president Derek Martin poses for a photo outside the team’s fan shop on Sackville Street on Monday. PHOTO BY RYAN TAPLIN /The Chronicle Herald Article content So, what are the Wanderers…