Wanderers Grounds is a sporting complex in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, and home to

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary national soccer league compe ...

professional soccer club

HFX Wanderers FC HFX Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as HFX Wanderers, and spoken as Halifax Wanderers, is a Canadian professional soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League at the top of the Canadian soccer l ...

. The grounds were originally part of the Halifax Commons. The land was used in the 1880s by the Halifax

Wanderers Amateur Athletic Club The Halifax Wanderers, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada were the amateur athletic teams of the ''Wanderers Amateur Athletic Club'', organized in 1882, and in existence until 1982. History The Club was founded by members of the Wanderer's Cri ...

(WAAC) and was their home grounds for the sports of

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

and

lawn bowling Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

. Leased to the club in the 1800s, the club failed to pay its lease fees during the Second World War and the land's use reverted to the City of Halifax (Halifax Regional Municipality) who have maintained it since then. The Wanderers Grounds was also the home of the Halifax Pelham Canadians of the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball league 1977–2008. Years prior,

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

made an appearance at the grounds in 1942 during a navy baseball game between Halifax and Toronto. He faced Halifax pitcher Awkie Titus but failed to hit a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. The field house, built by the club in 1896, was destroyed by fire. It was replaced by the ''Navy League Dry Canteen'', which was going to be rehabilitated in the 21st century, but was considered too structurally unsound. The plan to build a clubhouse has been put on an indeterminate hiatus. On August 31, 1957, Wanderers Grounds hosted Canada Soccer's first ever

Challenge Trophy The Challenge Trophy (french: Trophée Challenge) is a national amateur soccer cup in Canada contested by the champions of individual provincial soccer competitions. It is one of the oldest soccer competitions in Canada, being held since 1913. ...

match played east of Montreal. The local side Halifax Shipyards lost 8–2 to the eventual national champions,

Montreal Ukraina Montreal Ukrainians (Sports Association Montreal Ukrainians, ua, СТ (Спортове Товариство) «Україна» (Монреаль), translit=ST (Sportove Tovarystvo) "Ukraina" (Monreal)) is a Canadian soccer team based in Montre ...

. On June 20, 2017 Halifax city councillors unanimously approved the construction of a temporary stadium at the Grounds, for a future

professional soccer team. In May 2018, that team was confirmed to be named

, who began play in 2019.

Sports usage

The field has been used for matches of soccer,

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, matches of

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

, baseball and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

championships among other sports.

Rugby union

References

{{Canadian Premier League stadiums Parks in Halifax, Nova Scotia Sports venues in Nova Scotia Soccer venues in Canada Defunct baseball venues in Canada Defunct rugby union venues Rugby union stadiums in Canada Canadian Premier League stadiums HFX Wanderers FC Baseball in Nova Scotia

Sports usage

Rugby union

See also

References