Halifax stadium discussions alive: mayor

The mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality says he has met with members of the local business community about potential private sector support for a proposed sports stadium.

Peter Kelly also met last month with an executive from Nussli Group, an international company that builds stadiums and arenas of various sizes.

"We have an interest, we have a desire to move this one forward," Kelly told CBC News on Sunday.

The mayor said he was particularly interested in hearing about the design of a temporary stadium that the Nussli Group recently built in Vancouver. That stadium is serving as an interim stadium while BC Place undergoes construction of a new retractable roof.

"It's one that can hold up to, I believe, as many as 27,500 people and it's one that has a lot of amenities in terms of the requirements for concessions, boxes, change rooms and locker rooms for the teams," said Kelly.

"It has all the elements."

Kelly said any stadium in Halifax would have to be able to accommodate temporary seating for larger events. He said the cost of such a stadium would vary depending on seating capacity.

"It's not only used by one community but by many communities and for many different purposes," he said.

Halifax is vying to be one of at least six Canadian host cities for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The Canadian Soccer Association has not yet landed the international tournament, but Events Nova Scotia has already covered a $25,000 non-refundable fee for Halifax's official bid.

Kelly said the city's timing might be a good thing, considering reports that the federal government is considering using more than $1.3 billion unused from the 2008 budget to help build sports venues.

He said he'd also met with local business leaders to discuss corporate support for the project.

"We need to work with other stakeholders including the universities whether it's for football or for soccer or whatever else might be there," said Kelly.

"We have to open that door, plus the other door we need to continue to work with is the business community because this needs to be a multi-faceted approach."