Nova Scotia premier Tim Houston meets with group behind Halifax stadium proposal

Photo courtesy: Tim Houston

Premier of Nova Scotia Tim Houston met with members of Ridgehaven Holdings LLC, the group which is seeking to put a stadium and entertainment district outside Halifax.

The Progressive Conservative politician posted about the meeting on his LinkedIn account on Friday, but did not share it on broader social media platforms.

“I had a productive meeting with the Ridgehaven Group about what’s possible when you think big for Nova Scotia.

They’re proposing a fully private entertainment district – housing, medical, retail, hospitality, a world-class stadium for sporting events and concerts, and thousands of new jobs – without asking for government money.

That’s the kind of bold, private investment Nova Scotia should be attracting and supporting. I’m excited to see where this goes.”

Ridgehaven Holdings LLC is a Delaware-based company led by Las Vegas lawyer and football agent Mason Williams and financial strategist Robert Millet. In May, news broke that the group had selected a property off Highway 102 near the Halifax Stanfield International Airport as the site for their $1.5 billion proposal.

According to a leaked slide deck, a potential CFL team would be one of several possible tenants for the venue proposed as part of the project. The proposal stated that a franchise could begin play as early as 2027 at Saint Mary’s University before moving into the completed stadium by 2030, though that would require the team to operate at a loss initially.

However, the viability of the proposal has since been called into question. Jason Brunt, the president of Halifax-based Clayton Developments Ltd., which owns the land initially selected for the project in a joint venture, told the Canadian Press that Ridgehaven had failed to provide him with a business plan, feasibility study, financial analysis or proof of capital. His company had therefore “decided to move forward … with selling the land to other qualified bidders.”

It is unclear how that decision has altered Ridgehaven’s plans, though other sites could be utilized for a similar proposal, which is designed in the model of Rams Village in Los Angeles, The Star in Frisco in Texas, and Viking Lakes in Minnesota. Houston’s interest is a positive sign, though the proposal’s largest selling feature — and most significant hurdle — is that it will be privately funded.

Even if a stadium project is approved, the presence of a CFL team would hinge on the emergence of a local owner. Ridgehaven Holdings LLC told 3DownNation in May that conversations with the league are preliminary.

“We’re encouraged by the interest from prospective ownership groups in various Canadian markets,” a CFL spokesperson wrote in a statement to 3DownNation at the time. “Until there’s more to report, the league remains focused on its nine current teams and the upcoming season.”

The Atlantic Schooners were first presented as a potential CFL expansion franchise by commissioner Jake Gaudaur in 1982, but their bid fell apart within a year. The team that never was has maintained a cult fanbase ever since and even hosts its own Grey Cup party.

The rights to a team in Halifax were once again awarded to Schooner Sports and Entertainment in 2018, a group backed by Gary Drummond and Anthony LeBlanc. The COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of interest from local government leaders to put public funds towards building a multi-million dollar stadium ended that idea, causing the group to pull out.