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The decision was made after FIFA revised its hosting requirements for Toronto, which is one of 16 cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico staging games for the next edition of the global soccer tournament.

º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøhad already scrapped plans for a training facility at a second site, in Sunnybrook Park in North York. The city says it made that decision in 2022 following “updated guidance from FIFA.”Ìý

Training sites built for teams participating in the tournament are supposed to be repurposed for community use after the event. , the “world-class recreation facilities” planned for Sunnybrook and Centennial were to be “a tangible legacy (of the World Cup) for Toronto’s residents.”

Coun. Stephen Holyday, whose Etobicoke Centre ward encompasses Centennial Park, saidÌýhe’s concerned about shrinking the size of the training ground there not just because it could result in fewer recreational amenities for the community, but because of the knock-on effects it could have on the broader modernization of the park.

In 2021, that included a new playground, water play area, cricket pitch, and upgraded sports fields, but it wasn’tÌýfully funded. The need to build the World Cup training site “has been a catalyst” for advancing work on the master plan, said Holyday, and he wants assurances it won’t be derailed now that the training facilities are being cut back.Ìý

“I want to understand and help manage the financial risks that the removal of (one of the World Cup training facilities) places on the overall master plan. Our community still wants to see it executed and we still have a vision for the park,” he said, adding that he hopes there will be money for the master plan in the upcoming 2025 budget.Ìý

It’s expected to cost º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍø$380 million to host six games of the 104-match World Cup. The provincial and federal governments have agreed to contribute a little more than $200 million, but the cash-strapped city is on the hook for almost half the bill, or about $179 million.

The new report says that updated estimates for required upgrades at BMO Field, which will host Toronto’s games, are higher than earlier projections. The money the city saves on reducing the footprint ofÌýthe Centennial training site will be redirected to those upgrades and other World Cup projects, helping to offset the higher costs without increasing the overall tournament budget.Ìý

In an email, Sharon Bollenbach, executive director of Toronto’s World Cup secretariat, said constructing just one training ground at Centennial will allow º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍø“to concentrate resources on a single, high-quality facility while realizing cost savings.”Ìý

She couldn’t say how much money the city will save or how much will be reallocated to BMO Field, noting that project budgets are still being negotiated. In February, before the training facilities at Centennial were scaled back,Ìý they would cost about $34 million.ÌýÌý

Bollenbach suggested scaling back the training site would enable other improvements at Centennial, which she said would help make the 213-hectare greenspace “a premier destination for sports and leisure well beyond theÌýFIFAÌýWorld Cup 2026.”

“By consolidating the training site, the city is able to enhance local recreational spaces, such as the new baseball hub, multi-use trails and upcoming pickleball and volleyball courts,” she said.Ìý

Bollenbach told council’s World Cup subcommittee on Monday the training site change “won’t have an impact on the overall master plan for Centennial Park,” but acknowledged the city will have to find the money “to make sure that still happens.”Ìý

Mayor Olivia Chow said she’s “not at all” concerned that scaling back the training facilities will undermine efforts to ensure the World Cup delivers long-term benefits for local residents.Ìý

Speaking to reporters at an unrelated press conference on Tuesday, Chow said the city is seeking contributions from the private sector to help pay for the games, and “some of those contributions will be put into legacy projects.”

“The world is coming to the city of º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøin June of 2026. We’re excited about that,” she said.