Centennial Park gets its new soccer training facility ahead of the World Cup
The province ponied up $20 million to build a field house and several pitches in Etobicoke
Etobicoke’s Centennial Park is getting a major glow-up, and its crown jewel is open just in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Last week, Doug Ford and a gaggle of politicians and bureaucrats unveiled the new sports training site, which will be used by visiting national teams competing in the tournament this June.
The sparkling facility features a flashy field house and soccer pitches built to FIFA standards, complete with premium turf. While the site is reserved for World Cup athletes right now, it will open to the public in September for sports and community programming.
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“This brand-new, world-class facility will serve as a critical location for athletes from across the world to train and compete,” said Ontario’s minister of sport, Neil Lumsden. “By investing in the Centennial Park training site, we are strengthening the province’s capacity to host international competitions and leaving a meaningful legacy that will serve local athletes and residents for years to come.” Queen’s Park says it spent $20 million on the project.
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The World Cup upgrades are just one piece of a larger revitalization of Centennial Park. In the coming years, the more than 500-acre green space—one of the city’s largest—will also see new zones for cricket and baseball, a new skate trail, and improvements to the existing trail network and ski chalet.
Zakiya Kassam is a writer and fact checker whose work has appeared in Post City Magazines, This Magazine and Now Toronto. She was previously the associate editor at Storeys.
