Modular stadium plans for Winnipeg NSL ‘dream come true’

Article posted by Coliseum, September 30^th, 2026

Image: Northern Super League on Facebook

Forty years after the first national women’s team camp was held in Winnipeg (Canada) the officials from all levels of Government and the Northern Super League (Canada’s top-division professional women’s soccer league) gathered recently to announce where the city’s new team will play.

Winnipeg’s expansion team in the Northern Super League (NSL) is currently operating under the placeholder name Winnipeg NSL with its official name and crest to be announced.

New Stadium

The league President Christina Litz, a Manitoban (a native or resident of the Canadian province of Manitoba), said at a presser, “We are proud to announce that the new stadium for the Winnipeg team will be built right here at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex (a major multiuse outdoor soccer facility located on Waverley Street in Winnipeg, Canada). You may not know, but back in 1986, the first national training camp of the Canadian women’s national team happened right here on these grounds.”

Modular Stadium

‘cbc.ca’ stated that the new facility will be designed as a modular stadium within the complex.

Expansion Team

Winnipeg was announced as the home of the professional women’s soccer league’s first-ever expansion team on July 14^th thus bringing the number of teams in the Northern Super League to seven.

The league got a $30-million investment from the international sports firm APEX which will help support the expansion of the league this summer.

Second Season

‘cbc.ca’ further stated that the Northern Super League is currently in its second season. The Winnipeg team will kick off in its new modular stadium next season thanks in no small part to Manitoba’s Desiree Scott, a retired player and Olympic gold-medal winner.

NSL Winnipeg

Added Litz, “The path to the Northern Super League begins and ends with the members of the Canadian women’s national team. And there would be no NSL Winnipeg without Desiree Scott (Canadian former soccer player).”

Scott co-founded the franchise with Rob Gale who was the first Head Coach and General Manager of the defunct Valour FC Men’s soccer team.

‘Dream Come True’

Stated Scott, who was a midfielder, “First announcing the Northern Super League expansion to Winnipeg was the dream. This here today, announcing our new stadium, our new home – is this dream becoming a reality.”

Funding

The federal Government will contribute $2.1 million for the new stadium project while the province will give $750,000 and the city is contributing $600,000.

‘Great Great Fan Experience’

Said Scott Gillingham, Mayor of Winnipeg, “What we’ve been missing … when it comes to a professional team is the right facility. Something at the right scale for professional soccer where we can fill the stands, create some noise and atmosphere and give the players and the fans a great, great experience – that’s what this project does.”

Long Haul

Gale, the team’s Chief Sporting Officer, says the team will be in Winnipeg for the long haul. The Valour FC folded after the 2025 season.

The Valour FC was a professional Men’s soccer club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that competed in the Canadian Premier League (CPL – the highest level of professional Men’s soccer in Canada) from 2019 until it suspended operations in November 2025.

Women’s Sport

Added Gale, “This is also about the future of women’s sport in the city, a stadium tells the sponsors. We’re serious, it tells the broadcasters we’re serious, it tells every other city in this league Winnipeg is serious.”

Inspiring the Girls

Gale says having a home for professional women’s soccer will help inspire the girls hoping to follow in the footsteps of a player like Scott – “Someday soon that young girl gets to walk into a stadium built for her sport, built for her league, built for her future in her hometown.”

Takes the Pitch

Scott said she’s been envisioning the moment when the Winnipeg team first takes the pitch next season and what it will mean for the young girls in the stands. She hopes they will be dreaming big with a professional women’s soccer team in their city.

‘Celebrating Moments Together’

Concluded Scott, “Giving our team a place to call home with the fans in the seats, celebrating all the moments together, repping the city and the beautiful game that we all love so proudly – the stadium is so much more than concrete and seats.”

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