A new outdoor sports stadium, capable of seating 7,500 spectators and potentially attracting a professional soccer team, is in the works for downtown Mississauga. While formal plans are yet to be presented, Mayor Carolyn Parrish shared her vision for the facility during an interview with INsauga.com, emphasizing that the stadium is a crucial element of her plans to revitalize the city’s downtown core.

The mayor is eager to see the stadium built as soon as possible, with an estimated cost of around $32 million. The proposed location would be just north of Square One, near the City Centre Transit Terminal and the Mississauga Transitway hub on Rathburn Road West. Parrish envisions a “modular” stadium design, which would allow for quicker and more cost-effective construction.

The proposed site is currently home to the GyGo games/entertainment facility, including the Mississauga Mini Indy go-kart track. According to Parrish, the location is ideal, not only for its centrality but also because it is already well-served by ample parking at the nearby transit terminal.

Beyond soccer, Parrish hopes the stadium could also attract the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts, who have traditionally used the University of Toronto Mississauga for practices. “We would love to get the Argos too,” she said.

To finance the stadium, Parrish suggested the city could sell a piece of downtown land and partner with organizations like Oxford Properties, which owns Square One and other nearby properties. “I’m not too worried about paying for that,” she said, while looking out her office window at the area she envisions transforming in the coming years.

While the mayor is hopeful, she is also determined to accelerate the timeline. “I don’t have five years for this. I want to do it faster,” she stressed.

A new stadium could play a key role in revitalizing Mississauga’s City Centre, an area Parrish describes as having “languished for a long time,” with little progress. She views this project as vital for energizing the downtown area, alongside her other priorities, such as increasing affordable housing.

**The Idea Isn’t New**

The concept of a large soccer stadium in Mississauga has been under discussion for years among city councillors and members of the sports community. Proponents argue it could help bring a Canadian Premier League (CPL) expansion team to the city and host major soccer tournaments. The idea was briefly discussed by city council in late 2021, with estimates suggesting a cost of $50 million for the project. At that time, a site near Ninth Line in the city’s northwest was considered.

The city’s soccer community has long expressed the need for a prominent soccer facility, but discussions stalled due to other pressing infrastructure costs. Additionally, the CPL had been exploring expansion plans, with ambitions to grow from eight to 16 teams by 2026, coinciding with the FIFA World Cup in Canada. However, reports earlier this year suggested that the league’s expansion plans have now been pushed back, with a possible 10-year timeline for future growth.