Talks regarding a potential Canadian Premier League expansion team in Kingston, Ontario are heating up.

Just a couple days ago, it was revealed by the city's mayor, Bryan Paterson, that the City Council would be discussing a proposal to build a soccer stadium for a CPL team on January 14th.

We recommend reading our previous article on this topic before proceeding with this one.

On Tuesday, Paul Barbeau, Managing Partner of Victory Grounds Ventures, – the company in charge of this entire process – appeared on the Reid and Ben in The Morning podcast, where he shared insights into the ambitious project, outlined a timeline, and addressed several key questions.

Barbeau introduced himself to the hosts, revealing his connection with footy in the country and more specifically Ottawa, the city where he resides in.

"I’m a referee, so I’m very integrated into the footy environment in Ottawa, but this is out of my normal business," said Barbeau. "This is a passion project and I was looking at building a stadium in Ottawa, and in that process, it made more sense for me to come down and build that stadium in Kingston. [They have] great support, a great community, and a growing soccer/footy environment."

When asked why he chose Kingston, Barbeau highlighted the city's growing passion for soccer and the demand for turf space, stating: "We looked at the youth registered in soccer and adults registered in leagues, and we looked at the growth in those two areas (Ottawa and Kingston). We looked at the passion that [they] have for sports in the city, for the teams that are around or had in the past. We looked at the demand that the city has for turf space – [Kingston doesn't] have enough closed winter facilities, so these are all things that we looked at in the viability of the project that made sense to us."



Moving on to discussions regarding the stadium, Barbeau said that it will be a modular-based stadium, meaning the capacity can be extended at will depending on demand: "...It’s not something that’s gonna be concrete that’ll sit there forever. So, it’s gonna grow, we’re gonna start with about 4,000 seats, and as the demand builds, we’ll add on to the stadium. The core elements would be the turf and the dome in the winter, and then everything will be built beside that project."

Regarding construction, it will be SixFive Stadium Experience – a division of SixFive Sports and Entertainment – who will be in charge of building the stadium. It will be manufactured off-site, and then brought into the location to be assembled, just like Vancouver FC's stadium.

"...Much like if you think when you buy some furniture; It gets manufactured elsewhere and then you build it in your house. It’s the same sort of concept." said the Managing Partner.

Now, onto the money talk:

Barbeau mentioned that he would be entering as a tenant, leasing the land from the city. He'd be paying rent as if "you were renting a house". He stated that the entire project is expected to cost between $40 million and $50 million.

How much money will the city put in? "Zero," he said. 100% of the funding will be coming directly from the group's project: "I haven't asked the city for anything nor has the city asked me for anything. The city isn't putting a penny of tax payers' dollars into this project." Barbeau said.

Will parking be added?

"No" is the answer; "We’re looking at a very European model for the design and structure. If you look in Europe, there aren’t soccer fields and parking lots beside each other, that’s very North American. There is existing parking at that site which can easily support what we’re doing."

How will this stadium/dome be used?

"About 80% of more of the stadium/dome usage will be from the community throughout the year."

When can we expect to see the team kick a ball?

"It depends on the city, but our plan is to kick the first ball in April 2026. The stadium would start getting built this year. We’re looking at 8 to 9 months [in terms of building duration]."

A big week is coming for the future of this potential expansion team and stadium, with the Kingston City Council holding a discussion on January 14 regarding this proposal by Victory Grounds Ventures.