A grandstand has been demolished at Spruce Meadows as the show jumping field is being transformed to host the Cavalry Football Club of the new Canadian Premier League.

“We’re on plan to have our new stadium fully up and operational for when Cavalry FC kicks off in the spring of 2019,” said Ian Allison, Cavalry FC’s president and COO “We put the field to be bed in mid-October and put a winter grow tarp on it. Since that time, we’ve started the perimeter renovations which is primarily the footings and construction and infrastructure to go in when we start stadium construction early in the new year.”

The main stand on the east side of the ‘Meadows on the Green’ will be covered and have seating for 4,000 fans while additional seating areas will offer another 2,000 seats.

Team officials say the stadium has been designed with fan comfort in mind as the seats will have back and there will be numerous offerings in the concession area in the plaza next to the stands.

“We really believe it’s going to be the most unique atmosphere for professional soccer, for sure in North America and maybe around the world,” said Allison “It’s going to be smaller than many by standards but you are going to be playing at altitude, you’re going to be playing on real grass, you’re going to be playing in a venue that has hosted world Olympic and World Cup champions in the past, albeit, they’ve all had four legs.”

According to Allison, demand for season tickets and multi-game packages has been strong amongst the roughly 1,000 people who signed up to be club members. Season tickets will be available for sale early in 2019 and information regarding single game tickets will be released in the months to come.

The Canadian Premier League is set to begin play in the spring of 2019 and the league schedule is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

“We have great hopes for Canadian football, the CPL, and also for the Canadian players,” added Allison. “Now that Canada’s going to be awarded the joint bid for the World Cup in 2026, there’s great inspiration for players, there’s a great pathway and now there’s a great new venue for them to come and hone their skills as they get ready to take on the best in the world.”

With files from CTV’s Shaun Frenette