Maritime lacrosse boom sparks call for new arena in Sackville, N.S.

Three community groups are hoping to develop a lacrosse facility in Lower Sackville, N.S.

Three community groups hoping to develop a lacrosse facility in Lower Sackville, N.S., are wondering what’s taking the government so long to respond to their request.

They say interest in the national summer sport is driving record registration numbers, and they don’t have the facilities to meet the growing demand.

“We’re probably one of the fastest growing sports in eastern Canada right now and the Halifax Thunderbirds have helped us out 100 per cent,” said Steven Brown, president of the Wolves Minor Lacrosse Association, which draws players from the Sackville, Fall River, Bedford and Elmsdale areas.

In 2024, Brown, the Halifax Thunderbirds, and the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre took a proposal to HRM council to transform municipally owned vacant land into a lacrosse arena and Indigenous cultural and health centre.

The three organizations have yet to receive any updates and they are concerned as interest in the sport continues to surge. The rising interest is due in part to the success of the Thunderbirds, who arrived in Halifax in 2019 and are among the top three National Lacrosse League teams in average attendance.

“We’re going to continue to grow and eventually we’re going to struggle, and we’ll have to start turning kids away,” said Brown.

The interest in box lacrosse is evident this weekend as the minor lacrosse organization is set to host the Wolves Cup, that featured nearly 50 minor lacrosse teams competing in the weekend-long tournament.

Organizers say that’s double last year’s tournament attendance and in order to grow and meet the demand they need to find more arena space to play the game.

Jessica Rose is the family programs manager with the Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre and co-organizer of the Wolves Cup and says a dedicated lacrosse facility is needed to grow the game.

“We’ve been trying to push for a new facility in Sackville for several years,” said Rose.

Meagan Kuhn, is the other co-organizer of the Wolves Cup and say part of the lacrosse facility would be dedicated to the showcasing the Indigenous roots of the sport.

“People are always shocked that it’s our national sport and are always even more shocked finding out where the roots of the game come from and the culture behind it and the medicine that’s in that game,” said Kuhn.

The Thunderbirds are an Indigenous owned franchise, with many of their players like team captain Cody Jamieson and their owner Curt Styres are from the Six Nations reserve, near Brantford, Ont.

The Thunderbirds want to be one of the main tenants of the proposed lacrosse arena.

“Not only would this facility help us be able to get involved more with the community, with coaching and camps and clinics, but also provide a place for our team to come in and practice and spend more time in Halifax,” said Maki Jenner, communications manager with the Thunderbirds and a coach with the Wolves minor lacrosse.

But two years after taking the idea to the city, the three groups are still waiting to hear back. City hall staff told CTV News a report regarding the arena proposal is due before the end of the year.

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