Article content

Sixteen years ago, Tommy Wheeldon Jr. arrived in Canada to play professional soccer for the Calgary Storm.

A few years later, the team folded, but he’s said countless times in the years since that the Calgary market could and would support another professional team if the chance came along.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'Cavalry FC' the Canadian Premier League team in Calgary Back to video

On Thursday, that dream finally became reality when Spruce Meadows Sports & Entertainment announced it’ll be building a 5,000-seat soccer stadium to launch Cavalry FC next year.

The team will be playing in the Canadian Premier League, an ambitious new professional league featuring teams across the country.

It’s unlikely that any team is going to have a more scenic location than Cavalry FC, given that they’ll be playing on the pristine grounds at Spruce Meadows.

“I think sometimes you’ve got to go through life and it’s got to be hard,” Wheeldon said. “Because when moments like this come and you have an infrastructure and a sports and entertainment group and an ownership group that’s going to back a team. Then all you’ve got to do is concentrate on what’s best for the players, and that’s develop them and put them in an environment where they’re going to accelerate.”

Wheeldon will serve as the team’s general manager and head coach, while Linda Southern-Heathcott will be the chair and CEO, and Ian Allison will be president and COO.