After years of delays and a failed partnership, Stouffville’s long-stalled plan for a soccer dome in Ballantrae Park is officially moving ahead again—this time under new leadership and with a significantly expanded vision. The town has partnered with Mentana Group to deliver what Mayor Iain Lovatt describes as a “world-class facility,” with a target opening in fall 2026.
Ballantrae Park on Aurora Road has been fenced off for nearly three years, its former baseball diamond and soccer fields removed as the earlier project with Ballantrae Sports Group stalled. The town terminated that lease in the spring, citing years of inaction. “We got strung along,” Mayor Lovatt told residents during a Nov. 24 town hall. “This has been a regrettable journey.”
Mentana Group CEO Tony Furiato appeared at the meeting, outlining an ambitious new design that pairs a permanent building with an anchored dome. The facility will include change rooms, showers, multi-use community spaces, and restaurants. Inside the dome itself, the sports program will be extensive:
- A full FIFA-sized indoor soccer pitch, configurable into smaller fields
- 24 pickleball courts
- Four basketball courts
- Four padel courts
- Two baseball practice cages
- A walking track
- A viewing terrace and 12,000 square feet of lounge space
Furiato emphasized that the project aims to reset expectations after previous setbacks. “I cannot inherit the ghosts of the past,” he said. “I will build a facility that I’m proud of—and that the community will be proud of.”
The town is also coordinating with York Region on a new dedicated left-turn lane on Aurora Road to manage increased traffic once the facility opens.
Not all residents are convinced. Mark Carroll, a local resident and former mayoral candidate, expressed concern that Ballantrae Park had effectively been removed from public use and questioned whether the new dome would genuinely benefit locals. Lovatt rejected that criticism, saying the town could never offer a complex of this scale without a public-private partnership. He noted that user rates will be equivalent to what the town would have charged if it owned the building outright.
“We’re providing an amenity we could not dream of providing on our own,” Lovatt said. “Council approved it, and we’re moving forward.”
The multi-sport dome will be built and operated under a 25-year agreement in which the town provides the land for a nominal fee—a model chosen after staff identified air-supported structures as the most cost-effective option to address the indoor soccer gap left when Stouffville sold SoccerCity in 2021.
If construction proceeds on schedule, residents can expect the long-awaited Ballantrae facility to open its doors in fall 2026, finally restoring—and expanding—the recreational amenities planned for the site.
