Ontario Soccer Centre
The Soccer Centre, also known as the Ontario Soccer Centre, is a Canadian competition, training, education, and exposition soccer facility. It is located in Vaughan, Ontario, 20 km north-west of downtown Toronto.
The Soccer Centre | |
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Full name | The Ontario Soccer Centre |
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Location | Vaughan, Ontario |
Owner | Ontario Soccer Association |
Capacity | 2,000[1][2] |
Construction | |
Built | 2003 |
Opened | 2003 |
Tenants | |
Toronto FC II (USL) (2015–2017) |
The centre features a 130,000-square-foot (12,000 m2) field house that can accommodate three indoor soccer fields or one full size 11-a-side game. It has two international size outdoor grass fields, one international size outdoor artificial turf field, a sports therapy clinic, a restaurant and lounge. The tenants include The Ontario Soccer League, The Ontario Womens Soccer League, The Ontario Soccer Association, and The Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum.
In the fall of 2003, The Soccer Centre opened up its new artificial turf outdoor field. The project was the result of a collaboration between The Ontario Soccer Association, The Canadian Soccer Association, The Soccer Centre, and The City of Vaughan.
In January 2015 it was announced that the stadium would undergo a $5 million renovation by 1 July 2015, funded by the Ontario Soccer Centre with the City of Vaughan acting as the guarantor.[3][4][5][6] The stadium when opened had seats for 2,000, with plans for expansion to 3,500 and 5,000 each subsequent year.[7][8] The minor professional United Soccer League (USL) expansion team Toronto FC II, the reserve team of Toronto FC of Major League Soccer, began hosting their games at the new stadium during the 2015 season. However, after the planned expansion of the OSC to 5,000 seats, which is a minimum requirement set by the United States Soccer Federation for the USL to be sanctioned as a division 2 league, did not materialize, the club announced that it would move its home games to BMO Field and Lamport Stadium the following season.[9]
References
- "Ontario Soccer Centre's major projects nearing completion". Ontario Soccer. SportsEngine. 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
- "Ontario Soccer Centre Stadium grand opening marks a new era for soccer in the province". Ontario Soccer. SportsEngine. 2015-08-30. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
- Simmonds, Tim (2015-05-19). "Ontario Soccer Association: Phase one facility renovation and stadium build financing agreement: Ward 2" (PDF). Vaughan. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
- "Toronto FC announces USL PRO team, Toronto FC II". Vaughan. 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
- "OSA, Toronto FC and Vaughan partner in new stadium". Ontario Soccer. SportsEngine. 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
- Rubin, Josh (2015-01-21). "Toronto FC unveils new entry in USL PRO league". The Star. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
- Martin-Robbins, Adam (2015-01-21). "Toronto FC affiliate rolls into Vaughan". YorkRegion.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
- New stadium and team coming to Ontario Soccer Centre (YouTube video). Ontario Soccer. 2015-01-23. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
- Kelly, Tim (2017-08-29). "TFC II leaving Vaughan for Toronto after 3-season run; stadium size at issue". YorkRegion.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.