Barrie Construction News staff writer
The City of Barrie has unveiled plans for a new purpose-built soccer stadium in its downtown core as part of a landmark partnership with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), MLS NEXT Pro and Barrie Stadium Group that will bring professional soccer to the city beginning with the 2028-29 season.
The project centres on the development of a 3,500-seat, soccer-specific stadium that municipal and project partners say will become one of North America’s premier intimate soccer venues while serving as a year-round community asset.
Beyond hosting the future Barrie MLS NEXT Pro club, the facility is being designed as a multi-purpose venue capable of accommodating concerts, festivals, amateur sports and community programming, broadening its economic and civic impact.
Barrie Stadium Group will develop and operate the downtown venue. The organization, led by chairman Jamie Massie and president and CEO Peter Raco, has partnered with MLSE and MLS NEXT Pro to deliver both the stadium and the relocation of Toronto FC II to Barrie.
The announcement was made with more than 1,000 supporters gathered at Meridian Place in downtown Barrie, underscoring strong community support for the project and the city’s growing role in Canadian soccer.
“This investment in our community, alongside Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and Barrie Stadium Group’s investment in the newly formed Barrie MLS NEXT Pro franchise, will not only allow for professional sports to grow in Barrie, but provide a pivotal community hub for our youth sports to compete and learn in,” Mayor Alex Nuttall said at the event.
The stadium is expected to support a range of sports, including soccer, football, rugby and lacrosse, while positioning Barrie to host professional and international sporting events.
“More than thirty years ago, we helped bring the Barrie Colts to our community and built a venue, Barrie Molson Centre, that has become part of the identity of this city,” Massie said. “Today, we have the opportunity to do it again through the world’s game.”
The stadium has been envisioned as both a sports venue and a downtown gathering place.
“We are creating one of North America’s most intimate and iconic soccer stadiums in the heartbeat of Barrie, while delivering a gathering place that the entire community can be proud of for generations,” Raco said.
The facility will become the home of Toronto FC II following the club’s relocation from Toronto ahead of the 2028-29 MLS NEXT Pro season. The team will compete under a new Barrie identity, with its official name, crest and branding to be announced at a later date.
Additional details on the stadium’s design, construction timeline, procurement, founding memberships and sponsorship opportunities are expected to be released in the coming months.