Toronto Stadium Thread

[Joe MacCarthy]

Soccer official says Toronto's on-again, off-again stadium is back on track

NEIL DAVIDSON

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1126131016451&call_pageid=1044529386722

TORONTO (CP) — Toronto's on-again, off-again soccer stadium appears back on track.

The chief operating officer of the Canadian Soccer Association confirmed Wednesday that the CSA's board of directors has voted unanimously on Downsview Park in the north end of the city as the site for the $60-million stadium.

While the shovel's not in the ground yet, it seems to be out of mothballs once again.

With the site chosen and government funding again secured, the focus switches to nailing down the private investment needed to close the deal. The CSA's Kevan Pipe said the next few weeks will decide the project.

``And we're reasonably optimistic, is probably the best way to put it,'' he said in an interview.

Asked if the stadium project was nearing the final hurdle, Pipe replied: ``Well we have to be. It can't go on for ever and a day. But certainly a lot of things that we were projecting back in April and May have come to fruition. We're certainly in the home stretch, that's for sure.''

But Pipe has been burned before.

Previous bids to put the stadium on the grounds of the University of Toronto and then York University failed when both host schools pulled out of the project, concerned at the finances.

But this time, the project appears back on track now that wrangling is over on where to put the stadium. City officials reportedly wanted it at Exhibition Place on the lakefront.

Money may have won out in the end. The federal government, which owns the Downsview land, is putting $27 million into the stadium project with another $8 million from the Ontario government.

Stadium naming rights and private investment will account for the rest of the budget.

The 20,000-seat venue is key to the city gaining a Major League Soccer franchise, with Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment looking to secure the team.

MLS has said Toronto is a serious candidate for expansion. The league is looking to add two teams for the 2007 season. Cleveland, Philadelphia, Houston, Rochester, Seattle, Milwaukee and St. Louis are also interested.

The fee for MLS expansion last time around (Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake) was $10 million US apiece. It is expected to cost more next time.

``We're very interested in a team . . . but it's all contingent on a really nice soccer facility being built in the right place,'' said Richard Peddie, president and CEO of MLSE.

``There's still lots of work to be done and we hope this positive momentum continues,'' he added, referring to the choice of site.

Asked if he had a geographical preference, Peddie said both were ``really good sites.''

The Toronto stadium was advertised as a cornerstone of Canada's role as host of the 2007 world under-20 championship.

The CSA had hoped to kick off the 24-team tournament at the new stadium on July 2007. Pipe says that can still happen with construction slated to take 12 to 14 months.

The stadium project is complicated by having to deal with three levels of government and the private sector. A Crown corporation (Parc Downsview Park) is also involved at Downsview. The CSA is also hampered by its lack of funds.

``It's not the simplest project by any stretch of the imagination,'' Pipe said. ``But at least now we've taken one of the variables out of the mix and we've moved on Downsview.''

[Joe MacCarthy]

Soccer site is booted
Downsview Park talk is premature
By MIKE KOREEN -- Toronto Sun

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2005/09/08/1207420-sun.html

The Canadian Soccer Association's plan to build a 20,000-seat stadium at Downsview Park is not even close to becoming reality.

In the wake of a report confirming the CSA had chosen Downsview as its site yesterday, City of Toronto politicians blasted the association for backing out of a idea to build at Exhibition Place and the CSA confirmed it still needs some funding to help foot the $55-$60 million bill.

Toronto Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone said the city was interested in spending "in the (mid-to-high) single-digit millions" to help erect a facility at Exhibition Place, not anywhere else. The CSA sent out a letter last month indicating Exhibition Place was the desired location.

"I'm scratching my head at this," Pantalone, who cited environmental and transportation concerns, said.

"This is not the best place to ensure we have the proper customer base (for the facility)."

City councillor Maria Augimeri, who is responsible for the area where Downsview Park is located, is furious with the federal government for not consulting the city on the matter. The feds are slated to put up $27 million and the provincial government is expected to contribute $8 million, with the rest coming from private investors. However, the CSA has not sent its final proposal for funding to the federal or provincial governments.

Augimeri said previous events at Downsview Park have led to plenty of illegal parking in her Ward 9, blocking in residents and not allowing emergency services to access the area properly.

"This is going to wreak havoc on our community," she said. "It is absurd that they would do this without consultation. They're going to need to connect with our sewers (to run the facility). This puts me in a position where I'd say to our mayor, 'Let's not let them flush their toilets.' How else are we supposed to deal with this arrogance?"

CSA chief operating officer Kevan Pipe said he remains hopeful Toronto will help financially. He also admitted not all funding is secure for the facility, which needs to start being built by March 1, 2006 at the latest to ensure it is ready for the world youth soccer championships in July 2007.

"We've got a little ways to go," said Pipe, who has not revealed potential private investors. "We are marching toward that ($55-$60 million) mark."

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., which wants to place a Major League Soccer pro team in the CSA-operated venue, could be a small financial contributor to the stadium.

"(The CSA) will probably need some help," MLSE president/CEO Richard Peddie said. "I don't want to show our hand. It won't be (the bulk of the) $25 million (that MLSE commits), but we can help in many ways."

[toronto_soccer]

that's not all bad news. who would want a stadium at downsview park? i really hope they go through with their plan to build at the exibition grounds.

[Kezman9]

i really want to go to some games when the youth world cup comes to canada, and i dont want to fly out to friggen montreal to watch them, so does any one know whats going on with this soccer stadium thats going to be built in toronto, i heard it might be built in downsview.

[Joe MacCarthy]

i really want to go to some games when the youth world cup comes to canada, and i dont want to fly out to friggen montreal to watch them, so does any one know whats going on with this soccer stadium thats going to be built in toronto, i heard it might be built in downsview.City of Toronto has offered 9.5 million to have the stadium at the Ex. Still up in the air but a decision has to be made in the next 6-8 weeks.

[Kezman9]

City of Toronto has offered 9.5 million to have the stadium at the Ex. Still up in the air but a decision has to be made in the next 6-8 weeks.
i see you read the same artical in the star as i did. but i need a for sure anwser this is bugging me

[Joe MacCarthy]

i see you read the same artical in the star as i did. but i need a for sure anwser this is bugging meWell I wouldn't let it bother you :) Andy Sharpe made the 6-8 week statement and that the CSA has a Plan B and C.

It's an Ontario political football and the politician's are blowing it. Too bad it's not like Vancouver where the stadium should be announced within days and Montreal who have already done so.

[Kezman9]

Well I wouldn't let it bother you :) Andy Sharpe made the 6-8 week statement and that the CSA has a Plan B and C.

It's an Ontario political football and the politician's are blowing it. Too bad it's not like Vancouver where the stadium should be announced within days and Montreal who have already done so.
why couldnt we just us the sky dome?, its done well for the champions world serise games that have made there way to toronto. i went to the celtic roma game and the serbia italy game and they were great games, and it seemed that the sky done was a great place for them.

[Joe MacCarthy]

why couldnt we just us the sky dome?, its done well for the champions world serise games that have made there way to toronto. i went to the celtic roma game and the serbia italy game and they were great games, and it seemed that the sky done was a great place for them.I'll see if I can dig up the article for you. It is extremely difficult and costly for a turf installation in the Rogers Centre due to lack of drainage. It could be the Plan B if the stadium deal goes belly up but there would be a scheduling issue.

Ontario needs a soccer home. The time is now but the politician's are blowing it.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Politician's seem to be getting along now...

Peddie wants action on soccer stadium

By PETER MALLETT
Friday, September 30, 2005 Page S5

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050930/SOCCERSTAD30/TPSports/Other

Richard Peddie, the president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, warned yesterday that foot-dragging on a new soccer-specific stadium for Toronto is threatening attempts to attract a Major League Soccer franchise.

"We will not bring an MLS franchise to Toronto without a stadium, a stadium is very critical to that ambition," Peddie said.

The Canadian Soccer Association's chief operating officer, Kevan Pipe, acknowledged yesterday that plans to build a 20,000-seat, $60-million stadium on federal land at Downsview Park in the city's north end have been put on hold after the city of Toronto indicated it would offer financial support to a stadium at Exhibition Place.

The CSA will now concentrate on Exhibition Place as a venue for the 2007 world youth championship and a possible MLS franchise.

"We have let the federal government, the mayor and everyone involved know that we support the project, but we are encouraging them to get on with it because time is wasting if we want an MLS team and the world championships here," Peddie said.

The latest about-face by the CSA occurred after indications from Toronto Mayor David Miller that $9.5-million in funding could be approved by city council on Oct. 26. Getting the stadium built on time is now the biggest problem.

Peddie is involved in discussions with MLS commissioner Don Garber, who is bullish about expanding to Canada and the prospects of a soccer-specific stadium being built in Toronto.

The 12-team U.S.-based league was established as a condition of the awarding of the World Cup tournament to the United States in 1994. The league already has soccer-specific stadiums in Denver, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Columbus, Ohio, with plans for stadiums in Washington, Chicago and New York.

Pipe said the Toronto stadium could be built in as little as 14 months and that construction could begin as late as January and still be completed on time. The project would receive $28-million in federal funding, $8-million from the province and private investment from unidentified sources.

Besides Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal have been announced as host cities for the 2007 under-21 tournament, but Pipe has hinted that if a stadium can't be built in time, another city would be awarded Toronto's host designation.

Although Joe Volpe, the federal minister responsible for Ontario, had originally supported the proposal to help develop 148 acres of federal land at Downsview Park, his assistant Stephen Heckbert told The Globe and Mail yesterday that his office supports the latest stadium proposal and realizes the time to get the stadium built is now.

Three previous proposals to build a soccer-specific stadium in Toronto were abandoned in the planning stages, leading many insiders to question whether the CSA can get the job done in time for the tournament, scheduled to kick off in July of 2007.

"There is no need to reflect on the past," Pipe said. "We are delighted to see the city is doing what they are doing right now. Sometimes in this country things can really work -- we now have all three levels of government and the private sector working together."

[Joe MacCarthy]

Site at Ex becomes favourite for soccer stadium

By JENNIFER LEWINGTON AND PETER MALLETT
Wednesday, October 5, 2005 Page A15

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20051005/STADIUM05/TPNational/?query=soccer+stadium

Exhibition Place roared ahead yesterday as the preferred location for a new soccer stadium, to be built for a world championship here in 2007.

"We're not very site neutral now," said Richard Peddie, president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., speaking after a meeting at city hall. "We are quite site specific. We like Exhibition Place."

Yesterday's meeting, held in the office of Mayor David Miller, included a representative of the Canadian Soccer Association, officials of MLSE, one of Mr. Miller's top aides and city officials.

All those at the meeting stressed the time pressure to make final decisions.

"We are really at the witching hour," CSA president Kevin Pipe said. "We have to put details to bed very quickly."

Participants at yesterday's closed door meeting refused to discuss financial commitments by MLSE.

But The Globe and Mail has obtained a Canadian Soccer Association memo that suggests the owner of the Leafs and Raptors may be prepared to invest "in excess of $10-million" for the building of a new facility and a possible "multimillion-dollar commitment against potential operating losses."

The Sept. 30 memo, written by Mr. Pipe, also confirms that the owners of the Toronto Lynx of the United Soccer League would be free to negotiate terms and dates for future games at the proposed facility. The CSA memo also assumes that MLSE will be "successful" in its bid for a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Toronto for the 2007 season.

Official details about the stadium and its building partners won't be announced until the end of October, an official from the CSA said last night.

In early September, federally-owned Downsview Park in the north end of the city seemed to have the edge as the site for the 20,000-seat stadium to be built at a cost of $60-million to $65-million. Federal Immigration Minister Joe Volpe, the regional political minister, was a known backer of Downsview Park.

But a spokesman for the minister said yesterday it is up to the Canadian Soccer Association, as the project proponent, to determine the best venue.

"We are site neutral," said Steve Heckbert, a spokesman for Mr. Volpe. He noted that the location of the proposed stadium has changed several times, first at Varsity Stadium, and later at York University.

Mr. Heckbert emphasized that the federal government stands by its pledge to put up $27-million for the project. Another $8-million has been promised by the provincial government.

Last month, Mr. Miller said he will seek council approval later this month to chip in $9.5-million for the stadium, assuming it is located at Exhibition Place.

Mr. Heckbert said "if the city wants to be site specific about their funding, that is a conversation between the city and the Canadian Soccer Association."

Even with the public dollars committed, the soccer association still needs private-sector backers to finance the balance -- possibly up to $25-million.

Mr. Peddie said he hopes to go to his board of directors in the next couple of days to figure out the company's next move, but made no funding pledge.

"We would like to see a stadium built and if we can help we would love to help," he said.

Although the CSA national board of directors has in the past favoured a Downsview stadium, Mr. Pipe says he will call a meeting for next week to discuss the latest developments.

The location of the stadium, to be built for the world youth soccer championships in July, 2007, is a source of political friction at city hall. Some but not all councillors in the north end of Toronto would like Downsview to get the nod while others, like Mark Grimes (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) are pulling for Exhibition Place.

[Kezman9]

so you making it seem as if toronto is going to get games for sure, is this true? cuz of all these plan b's c's e's etc... i hope so, and is the qualification going on now or are the teams already final for it?

[Joe MacCarthy]

so you making it seem as if toronto is going to get games for sure, is this true? cuz of all these plan b's c's e's etc... i hope so, and is the qualification going on now or are the teams already final for it?Is Canada going to host the games for sure, yes. And don't let anyone trolling here tell you otherwise.

Will there be games in Toronto, most likely. Simple logic gives these scenarios, there is 35 million dollars on the table irregardless of the City of Toronto, and MLSE. If the new stadium fails what is Plan B?

Here is a direct quote: "My door is open to discussion, Rogers Centre is a great centre for soccer, especially now that FIFA has approved Field Turf." said Paul Godfrey, the president/CEO of the Rogers-owned Blue Jays, who also oversees the dome. The problem here is scheduling with the Blue Jays.

There are turf issues but should be easily solvable. Because there is no drainage at present, having a turf field in the Rogers Centre for more than a couple of nights would be a disaster. It is extremely delicate because it can't be watered like a normal field. Water like that would turn it to mush. This is from an article about the last guest teams to play on turf at the Rogers Centre. It is also extremely costly, upwards of one million to lay temporary turf.

They could play on FieldTurf as precedent was set for that at W17? Championships in Finland over a year ago.

Plan C - Bob Young in Hamilton has offered to save the day. He would be happy to accept 35 million in refurbishments to Ivor Wynne stadium and stage the games there. There is probably another scenario to hold the games in GTA that I am missing (not Vaughan)

Worst case scenario, no games in the GTA. Highly unlikely.

Look forward (days) to an announcement on the Vancouver stadium which is said to be nicer than the one in Montreal. It may not be used at these games, however. They might play at an expanded Swangard.

I don't think the qualification has started but Canada will be there for the 3rd time in a row.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Leafs soccer saviours?
By ROB GRANATSTEIN, CITY HALL BUREAU
http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2005/10/05/1249099-sun.html

Just like a soccer game, the quest for a new soccer stadium in Toronto has featured a lot of passing the ball, but no scoring.

Now it's into extra time, and the Canadian Soccer Association and the city have summoned a striker with deep pockets, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. (MLSEL), to salvage the game.

After a closed-door meeting in the mayor's office yesterday, MLSEL president Richard Peddie said if the $60-million stadium is to be built, it will be at Exhibition Place.

"We're not very site neutral now, we're quite site specific," Peddie said. "We like Exhibition Place."

The federal government originally backed a stadium at Downsview Park, but that is all but dead, with both MLSEL and the city pushing for Exhibition Place.

The Leafs want to get a Major League Soccer team and have them play out of a new 20,000-seat stadium.

"We love the concept, we like the location, but there's lots to do in a real hurry," Peddie said, adding he'll take the proposal to his board later this week.

The Canadian Soccer Association has secured $27 million from the federal government, $8 million from the province and $9.5 million from the city -- if council votes in favour of the project -- leaving a $15-million gap.

Some of that money will come from naming rights for the stadium. MLSEL may be counted on for the rest of the cash. City finance staff are still crunching the numbers to make sure it works for Toronto.

The other problem is time.

"A decision has to be made," said Etobicoke Councillor Mark Grimes, a driving force to get the stadium at Exhibition Place.

City council meets starting Oct. 26, and if approval isn't won then the stadium will not be ready to host the FIFA under-17 world championship in 2007.

Shovels must be in the ground in January, Grimes said.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Maple Leaf Sports commits to helping build 20,000-seat stadium

By PETER MALLETT
Thursday, October 6, 2005 Page S2
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20051006/STADIUM06/TPSports/?query=soccer+stadium

The owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors confirmed mounting speculation yesterday that they will become involved in the construction of a soccer-specific stadium at Exhibition Place.

"We'd be willing to put in money to make this thing happen," Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. president Richard Peddie said. "We had been sitting on the fence for some time about a stadium and it was time to get off the fence."

Yesterday's announcement came after officials from the Canadian Soccer Association, MLSE and the city met behind closed doors to discuss building a 20,000-seat, $62-million facility in time for the 2007 FIFA World Youth Championship.

The stadium would also be the home of a Major League Soccer expansion franchise. MLSE is negotiating with the league to launch a team for the 2007 season.

A copy of a confidential internal memo, authored by CSA chief operating officer Kevan Pipe, indicated MLSE "was prepared to commit total funds well in excess of $10-million" to the stadium project. Peddie cautioned that an exact dollar figure can't be confirmed until the MLSE board approves the proposal.

The memo also stated MLSE was "prepared to financially backstop the operation of the stadium with a multimillion-dollar commitment against potential operating losses."

The CSA memo came as a response to owners of United Soccer League franchises in Canada -- The Toronto Lynx, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps -- and their concerns about competing with a rival league and possible future expansion to their cities.

"We are very close to finalizing a deal with Major League Soccer and it is really contingent on a soccer stadium being built. The league is not interested in awarding a franchise without that stadium in place," Peddie said.

"There is a window of exclusivity involved here, but I don't see it like that. [MLS commissioner] Don Garber wants to make sure the league expands to Toronto -- let alone the rest of Canada."

Lynx owner Bruno Hartrell estimates he and his wife Nicole Hartrell have lost more than $5-million since they took over complete operation of the club in 2000 from business partners who terminated their relationship with pro soccer in Toronto.

While the team will enter into its 10th year of operation next season, it plays home games virtually unnoticed in front of small crowds at tiny 3,000-seat Centennial Stadium in Toronto's west-end Etobicoke area. Its former home, Varsity Stadium, fell to the wrecking ball in 2002 .

Hartrell said he expects approval from the CSA and MLSE for the Lynx to also play their home games at the new stadium, expanding the number of professional soccer dates at the facility to 28 from 14.

"We've survived now for 10 years with 2,000 fans per game," Hartrell said. "We expect to do much better in this new facility and I'm sure the Maple Leafs [MLSE] have done their research and they obviously expect to do well in the game of professional soccer."

The choice of Exhibition Place as the stadium site is the latest of several options that soccer's governing body has planned for Toronto.

The original plan in 2003 was to build at Exhibition Place. But after coaxing from the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, the proposed stadium site shifted to University of Toronto later that year and then York University late in 2004 before the Argonauts backed out as a stadium partner in May, 2005.

On Sept. 8, Pipe indicated the CSA would build the stadium on federal lands at Downsview Park in Toronto's north end before another switch -- this time back to where it started at Exhibition Place, with the latest Sept. 27 announcement.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Funny how we haven't heard news about the stadium design itself. Was the idea to take out the upper deck on this design?

http://www.canoe.ca/Argos/News/2004/10/17/Insidestadium280x197229.jpg

http://www.canoe.ca/Argos/News/2004/10/17/Campus290x206.jpg

[Joe MacCarthy]

Or is it this?

http://tinypic.com/ea4509.jpg

http://tinypic.com/ea455g.jpg

[Joe MacCarthy]

Soccer deal still in play
MLSE has month to land MLS team City council will talk it over Oct. 26

JIM BYERS AND RANDY STARKMAN
SPORTS REPORTERS

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1128635426989&call_pageid=1044529386722&col=1044529386490

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has just a month to close a deal to bring a Major League Soccer team to Toronto for 2007, a top MLSE official said yesterday.

Backers of a proposed 20,000-seat soccer stadium at Exhibition Place say the deadlines are manageable. But they say there are still a variety of groups that have to provide their stamp of approval before construction can begin in January.

MLSE President Richard Peddie yesterday acknowledged that his group, which owns the Leafs and Raptors, would put millions of dollars of its money into the stadium, which has been pegged at a cost of $60 million. Peddie has repeatedly said MLSE would like to buy into Major League Soccer, which operates 12 teams south of the border, and bring a team to Toronto.

"It was our preference to be a tenant in a building, but to be a tenant in a building that doesn't exist doesn't work," Peddie told the Star. "The only way to get the building done is for MLSE to step up. We not only bring our expertise to the project of knowing how to build a major stadium on budget and on time, but we also have the few million missing to get a quality stadium built."

The federal government is supposed to kick in $27 million for the stadium, which will host games in the FIFA world youth soccer championships in the summer of 2007. Another $8 million is to come from Queen's Park, while the city of Toronto recently pledged $9.5 million. It's believed MLSE will contribute $8 million or more for the facility, which could be built so it can be easily expanded to 25,000 or even 30,000 seats.

Peddie said MLSE would run the stadium and would provide a short-term guarantee against operating losses.

Peddie said MLSE has "exclusivity to get a Major League Soccer franchise. But it's disappearing and other cities are anxiously waiting on the sidelines."

MLS chief operating officer Mark Abbott didn't want to comment on the timing of an MLSE application for a soccer team. But he said yesterday he's been in regular contact with MLSE and the CSA and that Major League Soccer's board of governors could vote on a Toronto franchise at any time.

It's been reported the last two teams awarded by MLS — clubs in Salt Lake City and L.A. — cost nearly $10 million (U.S.).

In addition to being home to an MLS club, Pipe said the Ex stadium could be a new home for the Toronto Lynx of the United Soccer League.

Pipe said he's not anticipating any problems in meeting the various deadlines to get the Ex stadium built. The CSA's board will discuss the issue Oct. 15, while the Exhibition Place board of governors will vote sometime after that. Toronto city council is supposed to debate the matter Oct. 26.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Toronto soccer stadium closer to happening
By NEIL DAVIDSON

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/2005/10/18/1268102-cp.html

TORONTO (CP) - Plans for a soccer-specific stadium in Toronto moved one step closer Tuesday when the major players in the plan struck a deal to manage the proposed facility.

The Canadian Soccer Association, City of Toronto and Maple Leafs & Sports Entertainment concluded an agreement on how to run the stadium.

There are still several more hurdles still to cross before the 20,000-seat venue becomes a reality but the management deal is important. The stadium will become the property of the City, which owns the land, and Toronto officials were unlikely to approve $9.5 million of city funding unless they were happy with the plan to run the venue.

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which needs the stadium for its bid for a Major League Soccer expansion franchise, is expected to run the venue at Exhibition Place near the waterfront. As such, it had its own expectations for a management deal.

And the Canadian Soccer Association, as the go-between and deal-broker, needed both sides to be happy.

Those goals seemingly accomplished, the stadium project now goes before several key groups.

First up is the Exhibition Place board of governors, which meets Wednesday on the issue. It has to approve the project.

The stadium also has to get the green light from city council's policy and finance committee on Oct. 20 and then from the full council (44 councillors and the mayor) on Oct. 26.

Major League Soccer gave MLSE and the City until Oct. 31 to sort out the stadium issue, threatening to look elsewhere for an expansion home unless the issue was settled.

The federal government has pledged $27 million with another $8 million from the provincial government. If the city provides its $9.65 million, that leaves a little more than $17 million needed for the $62-million project.

Naming rights and a contribution from MLSE are expected to make up that shortfall.

The 12-team MLS added two new franchises this season: Real Salt Lake and FC Chivas, which plays out of Carson, Calif. Those expansion franchises cost $10 million US apiece.

MLS says the expansion price tag this time will be "slightly higher."

The league is looking for a second expansion team in 2007, with the leading candidates Cleveland, Philadelphia, Houston, Milwaukee and St. Louis, Garber said.

Exhibition Place is located opposite Ontario Place on the lakefront. It used to be home to the Toronto Argos and Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium, and currently houses the American Hockey League's Marlies at the Ricoh Coliseum.

[Brantford_Tim]

Or is it this?

http://tinypic.com/ea4509.jpg

http://tinypic.com/ea455g.jpg


This is the one i believe that was selected, and IMHO the better of the two,
not that the other one was bad at all. I just glad this thing is getting the go ahead at long last. Maybe there is some good things ahead for canadian soccer.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Stadium's finances a concern
Proposed soccer venue short $2M
By DEAN McNULTY -- Toronto Sun

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Ca...270810-sun.html

No matter how you do the math, a proposed 20,000-seat soccer stadium to be built on the CNE grounds still is nearly $2 million shy of its estimated $64-million construction cost.

And the starting price of stadiums, no matter how small, rarely bares any resemblance to its final tally.

The City of Toronto and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. -- owners of the Maple Leafs and the Raptors -- have agreed in principal to build the facility that will house an expansion Major League Soccer team owned by MLSEL and be home to the 2007 FIFA under-17 world championship.

City council approved a scheme this week that would see MLSEL ante up $18 million, the city $9.8 million, the province $8 million and the feds $27 million for the project.

According to the deal, the city would be the owner and landlord of the stadium, with MLSEL signing a long-term contract for its proposed soccer squad.

Construction of the stadium on the site of the Canadian Autosports Hall of Fame is scheduled to start in January, just enough time for completion by the 2007 season.

MLSEL has an Oct. 31 deadline to get approval for the stadium in order to get a MLS franchise.

But not everybody is happy that local taxpayers will have to bear the the brunt for almost $10 million of the stadium's building costs, plus a continuing contribution in annual operating costs.

At a meeting yesterday of the Canadian National Exhibition board of governors, concerned citizen Alan Kasperski spoke against the plan.

"This is plain and simple an example of taxpayers subsidizing professional sports," Kasperski said.

Kasperski claims that the city has no business entering into a deal that would benefit commercial operations like MLSEL.

"MLSEL built the Air Canada Centre at a cost of $250 million using all private money," he said. "So why can't those same people pay for their own soccer stadium?"

Kasperski said that there appears to be a rush to okay this deal so that MLSEL can get its MSL franchise in time for the 2007 season.

"Why can't they play in the Rogers Centre?" he said. "There are a number of MLS teams that currently share National Football League stadiums in their cities."

Kasperski's main beef is based on the fact that there are facilities owned by the city that would fit the bill for amateur soccer.

"Lamport Stadium only needs a re-fit that would lift it from an eyesore to a usable multi-sport facility that would seat 10,000 or more at much less cost than building a brand new stadium at CNE," Kasperski said.

Kasperski noted that a similar sized soccer stadium in Chicago started at $75 million US but ballooned to $95 million when completed.

MLSEL president Richard Peddie said the negotiations were difficult and he's not calling it done until it has full council approval, but he's convinced this stadium can make money for both sides.

"We're a business and we look for a rate of return," Peddie said.

Council's finance committee meets today to give its seal of approval to the deal.

-- with files from Rob Granatstein.

[toronto_soccer]

one small note about the latest 2 franchises in mls. real salt lake paid $10 million expansion fee while cd chivas had to pay $25 million. chivas paid 10 mil for expansion, another 10 for playing in l.a. galaxy's region, and another 5 mil for sharing the home depot centre.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Soccer deal is a good one

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Fidlin/2005/10/26/1279150-sun.html

When public officials start talking about sports facilities, history tells us to be skeptical. Suspicious, even.

The old "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" rule applies.

What happens, then, when you fool me 10 times? Or 20, as politicians have done over the generations?

So, if nothing else, the great stadium debate of 2005 already has revealed plenty of agnostics among us and that's healthy. These kinds of deals need more scrutiny, not less.

Having said that, at some point this week, we imagine city council is going to vote overwhelmingly to put its stamp of approval on a $72.8-million Exhibition Place stadium deal that will finally give this city's soccer afficionados a first-class facility and a professional soccer team to play in it.

And, as long as we can believe the deal as it has been represented, council will have done the right thing. Such a stadium is long overdue, though we wish the soccer community and that includes the Canadian Soccer Association, could have played a larger financial role in the proceedings.

As it stands right now, a larger financial role is defined as a nickel, a dime, a quarter. Anything. The CSA purports to represent millions of soccer players and fans, yet when it comes to drumming up a little dough, they are both hopeless and helpless.

So, we are going to pay for this 20,000-seat stadium with public money but if anybody thinks this is the next SkyDome fiasco, then he hasn't read the fine print.

First of all, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is assuming responsibility for all construction cost over-runs and there is a real chance there will be over-runs. Once they get approval, construction will have to be maintained at a breathtaking pace to get the building ready for the start of the Major Soccer League season in April 2007, well ahead of time for the world under-20 championship later that summer. At best, MLSEL will have about 15 months to get the job done.

"We have assumed all the financial risk on construction," said MLSEL CEO Richard Peddie, "and, yes, we're tight for time. As far as we're concerned, everything should have happened yesterday."

Second, MLSEL is going to cover annual operating losses up to $250,000 and share equally with the city any losses beyond that. In addition to running the stadium, MLSEL will own and operate the Major League Soccer team but any losses incurred by the team will have no bearing on the profit or loss on stadium operations. The MLS team will pay rent commensurate with other teams in the league and well in line with those paid by major tenants in other stadiums.

Of course, MLSEL doesn't expect to lose money on the operation of the team, or the building.

"We're in this because we wanted the team," said Peddie. "We think Toronto is ready for a team like this. And we also believe we can put enough events in there to make the stadium an economic success, as well. We expect to be able to fill 100 dates."

The entire pitch will be enclosed, with seating all around, though only about 2,500 seats will be located in the end zones.

An important feature, perhaps a lookahead to the day a few years from now when the Argonauts want out of the Rogers Centre, is that the stadium will be constructed in a way that 10,000 seats could be added at a later date. It is entirely likely that, if the Argos ever come up for sale, MLSEL will be among the suitors.

During the 18 days of the annual Canadian National Exhibition, the stadium would be available for various events related to the Ex and, at other times when it is not in use by its regular tenants, a number of community and cultural events will gravitate to the stadium. You also can expect the new park to see plenty of international soccer friendlies, as well.

In the final analysis, it is hard to imagine such a place becoming a white elephant, simply because of its location in the midst of all the facilities that already exist at the CNE grounds.

So, all you skeptics, take your best shot. The ghosts of stadia past surely have earned all your suspicions. This time, though, the deal looks clean.

---

THE COST OF A SOCCER STADIUM

A look at the proposed soccer stadium at the CNE:

- Cost: $72.8 million

- Financial breakdown:

- Federal government $27 million

- Province of Ontario $8 million

- City of Toronto $19.8 million (cash, land)

- Maple Leaf Sports and Ent. $8 million

- Naming rights: $10 million (to be sold by MLSEL)

- Ownership: City of Toronto

- Management: MLSEL (20-year contract)

- Target date: Spring 2007

- Construction cost overruns: MLSEL

- Profit: Shared equally between city and MLSEL

- Losses: MLSEL responsible for first $250,000, annually. City and MLSE share equally all losses beyond that.

[RaulMadrid7]

It would be great to finally have a descent soccer stadium here in Toronto.

And I can guarantee many soccer fans here will attend etc...

But it's going to take alot more than this to expand the soccer atmosphere here since it's dominated by Hockey and Baseball which are in my opinion the most boring sports on the planet to watch.

By the way what's gonna happen to the Toronto Lynx?

[Joe MacCarthy]

The politicians and their ilk have done their best so far to screw it up but it looks like everyone is finally on board.

The fate of the Lynx I would say is up to the Hartrells. The decision they have to make is whether they want to remain in the USL or if they can somehow negotiate a minor league agreement with MLSE. I have my doubts about that.

By the by Raul, why doesn't your sig have a Canadian NT in it? :)

[Joe MacCarthy]

Canadian Soccer Association
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Exhibition Place Stadium Proposal Approved

http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=2339

http://www.canadasoccer.com/images/media/stadium_ex.jpg
Photo: Brisbin Brook Beynon, Architects

Ottawa, Ontario - The Canadian Soccer Association and its partners - Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the Ontario and Federal Governments as well as the City of Toronto - have been given the approval of Toronto City’s Council to construct a 20,000 seat soccer-specific stadium on the grounds of Exhibition Place.

City council voted 25 to 13 in favour of the stadium project.

'I applaud the council for acting in the best interest of the City of Toronto, for a wide variety of community groups and all Torontonians in general. The stadium and its construction will create jobs, drive economic development and tourism, and create a larger stage for Toronto to hold international sports and entertainment events. It will also support further growth for soccer in Canada,' said Richard Peddie, President of MLSE.

'We look forward to working with the three levels of government as we prepare for construction of the stadium in early 2006 and while we finalize our franchise agreement with Major League Soccer.'

The $62.8-million stadium is being built specifically for the staging of the FIFA World Youth Championship - Canada 2007 that will kickoff in July 2007 in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria and will be the largest single-sport event ever held in Canada.

The biennial event is second only to the FIFA World Cup™ in size and scope and will showcase the most talented under-20 soccer players in the world. The tournament has been the coming-out party for some of the game’s top players - Maradona, Saviola, Raúl, Marco Van Basten, Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Thierry Henry, Adriano, Roberto Carlos, Bebeto and Dunga as well as Canada’s Craig Forrest and many members of the current Men’s World Cup Team including Julian de Guzman, Paul Stalteri, Atiba Hutchinson and Iain Hume.

The facility will also be a regular home for both the Men’s and Women’s National Teams as well as a home for thousands of players in the Greater Toronto Area. The City of Toronto-owned stadium will have an air-filled bubble erected over the playing surface during the winter months, guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days of community usage throughout the year.

The city council vote now paves the way for the stadium be the home of Toronto’s newest professional sports franchise.

Major League Soccer (MLS) Commissioner Don Garber announced on October 11, 2005 that Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment had been granted the exclusive rights through October 31, 2005 to negotiate an agreement to acquire the rights to a Major League Soccer expansion team that will commence play in Toronto in 2007.

'Toronto would be an excellent addition to Major League Soccer under the leadership of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, one of the preeminent sports and entertainment companies in the world,' Commissioner Garber said. 'We are enthusiastic about bringing an MLS team to Toronto and are prepared to host the 2008 All-Star Game and an MLS Cup in Toronto by 2012.'

Funding for the project will be come from a number of sources.

The Federal Government, through Infrastructure Canada, has agreed to contribute $27-million while the Ontario Government has committed a further $8-million.

MLSE has agreed to pay a total of $18-million ($8-million toward the construction and a further $10-million to secure the naming rights for the stadium). The group has also agreed to provide a $2-million guarantee against operational losses.

The City of Toronto will contribute $9.8-million and will own the stadium. In the agreement struck with the City of Toronto, Exhibition Place, the CSA, and MLSE in mid-October, the sports and entertainment company would be responsible for the management of the facility.

[Brantford_Tim]

The only real problems with this is the artifical turf :red-card: . Will the CSA play any internationals here? Will any foreign teams want to play on it? Are the argo's
going to end up here via MLSE ownership?

[Brantford_Tim]

The politicians and their ilk have done their best so far to screw it up but it looks like everyone is finally on board.

The fate of the Lynx I would say is up to the Hartrells. The decision they have to make is whether they want to remain in the USL or if they can somehow negotiate a minor league agreement with MLSE. I have my doubts about that.

By the by Raul, why doesn't your sig have a Canadian NT in it? :)

Bruno has been bad mouthing this project from the start...who needs him now?.....noooooooobody

[Brantford_Tim]

It would be great to finally have a descent soccer stadium here in Toronto.

And I can guarantee many soccer fans here will attend etc...

But it's going to take alot more than this to expand the soccer atmosphere here since it's dominated by Hockey and Baseball which are in my opinion the most boring sports on the planet to watch.

By the way what's gonna happen to the Toronto Lynx?

I'll be at the games

[Joe MacCarthy]

The only real problems with this is the artificial turf. Will the CSA play any internationals here? Will any foreign teams want to play on it? Are the Argo's going to end up here via MLSE ownership?I was saying that a long time ago about MLSE and the Argos. They were looking at buying the Argos or getting a stake in it when the initial U of T shenanigans were going on (IIRC) It's easy to see that MLSE will become the sports conglomerate trying to operate every sports entity in the city (save the Jays) with cross promoting and various media channels.

I wonder if the Argos will work a deal with the Roger's Centre a la the Alouettes. If they move to this new stadium as Argo ownership has hinted in five years time (when their RC contract is up) the stadium would have to have a capacity of 30,000 (up from 20,000)

In the CFL, averaging 25,000 in attendance is the break even point. Obviously the Argos can't do that in a stadium seating 20,000, same for the Whitecaps/Lions. The Montreal Alouettes are able to compensate for their 20,000 seat stadium by playing their final season games in 60,000 seat Olympic Stadium. McGill Stadium will also be expanded to seat 25,000 by 2007.

Steve Simmons (notoriously negative writer) has just written a very positive article on the resurgence of the Argos who attracted 40,000 vs Hamilton and will possibly sell out there playoff date(s) (over 50,000)

Re the artificial turf, I wrote a big post for it at the US soccer forum.
http://forums.soccerfansnetwork.com/showpost.php?p=513461&postcount=12

It's the way of the future whether fans/players like it or not. It's the only way for the public and the pros to share access to that stadium. Turf could not take that abuse with the amount of use it will get. They're putting a bubble on it for winter use as well.

We played well on it at our WCQ qualifier in CR (we lost) better than we did at two poor condition turf fields in Edmonton and Kingston. FieldTurf is still a better alternative to most Concacaf fields. If it's a qualifier other countries will have to play on it, if it's a friendly it's their (other country's) choice.

They've targeted six international games for the first year at the new stadium (that's men, women, age groups).

[Joe MacCarthy]

MLSEL wants a busy building
By MIKE GANTER -- Toronto Sun

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2005/10/29/1284075-sun.html

Now that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. has approval for a building for its soon-to-be named Major League Soccer team, it foresees no problems keeping that building buzzing.

A day after city council approved a deal which will see a $63-million stadium built at the CNE, MLSEL president and CEO Richard Peddie was already onto the next task: Getting the building started.

"Our focus right now has to be construction," Peddie said yesterday.

Peddie did not say how the building will be utilized by MLSEL and the city.

"We've done the model on (limited) dates," Peddie said. "We'll be the lead tenant with over 40% of the attendance and 40% of the events."

Somewhere in the neighbourhood of 100 days will be taken up by community usage while there also will be concert dates, perhaps a handful of visits by the Canadian National Rugby team and a minimum of 21 events by the Toronto Lynx and the Lady Lynx of the USL.

Nicole Hartrell, the owner and chief operating officer of the Toronto Lynx Soccer Club said yesterday she has a "written and verbal agreement that we will be a major tenant" at the new stadium.

Hartrell said she believes her organization can average 6,000 fans a night in the new building which will seat upward of 20,000.

Peddie said concert dates should help round out the stadium schedule but he believes the options for the facility are limitless.

"It is really a city building that will have the flexibility for us to be creative," Peddie said.

There was plenty of concern that this deal was rushed through the approval process. Peddie said it would not have been completed otherwise.

"There was a lot of talk Thursday about deferring it," Peddie said. "If they had deferred it, it would have been over. Major League Soccer was not waiting and we could not have guaranteed it would have been built on time if it went past (Thursday)."

Peddie and MLSEL chairman Larry Tanenbaum will be heading south to Dallas on Nov. 12 for the MLS board of governors meetings.

"There's still a ton of paper work to be done, but (the franchise) was all contingent on getting a (stadium) deal done," Peddie said.

According to Peddie, the first shovel must be in the ground by January to ensure an opening date of June 2007.

That will give MLSEL a few dates to test the facility before playing host to the 2007 World Youth Soccer Championship beginning July 1.

[Toke-E-Yo]

I dont like it at all. I think that Toronto should opt for a little bit mroe...futureristic kind of design, this one is so simple, so plain so...boring.

look at some of these new ones that are beign constructed in Germany!
http://clem.mscd.edu/~bystczyc/Cyber_files/image049.jpg http://www.soccertravel.com/images/wc2006/Stadiums/munich.jpg http://worldcup.dir.bg/photo_html/stadiums/jap_miyagi.jpg http://www.soccertravel.com/images/wc2006/Stadiums/dortmund.jpg

[Joe MacCarthy]

A simple question for you, who will pay for it. If you want SSS stadiums in Canada they are not going to draw over 20,000 spectators at the best of times. The business people involved in soccer in Canada (Kerfoot, Saputo, MLSE) know that. Hell, they could barely get 35 million for Toronto. So the stadiums are going to be small (size and cost)

Secondly, the Big Owe cost over one billion dollars, yes $1,000,000,000, the SkyDome six hundred million. Do you honestly think anyone would fund a stadium in Canada whose initial costs are near one hundred million like those in the photos. Government's learned their lesson, and there aren't enough private entrepreneurs with an interest in soccer. The only two I can think of (Steve Stavro and Frank Stronach) weren't interested in MLS in Toronto.

I'd like to see something like that as well but it ain't gonna happen. If some people here would stop trying to copy European ideas and champion Canadian ones we would be a lot better off.

It's nice to see a roof on Hitler's old playpen.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Keep Ups: Stadium of dreams and nightmares
Gareth Wheeler
11/1/2005

http://tsn.ca/columnists/keep_ups.asp

Well, it's official. The proposed Toronto soccer stadium is set to become a reality, with Toronto City Council's 25-13 approval for the Exhibition Stadium site, finally giving the Canadian Soccer Association a stadium to call home. A new 20,000 seat facility in prime real estate with the potential for expansion … boy don't the Argos wish they were on board for this one!

It has been a long road for the CSA. Years of negotiation, partnerships, messy break-ups, and disappointment, the CSA should be commended for persevering and getting what they set out for. The process was sped up over the last couple weeks with Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment jumping on board. Its desire to bring an MLS team to the city of Toronto for 2007, combined with an October 31st deadline set by the MLS on whether or not Toronto would build a stadium, made the decision process a bit rushed. The stadium proposal was thrown in front of Toronto Council, where Mayor David Miller steadfastly supported the initiative and was able to obtain the desired votes to go forward with the project. An easy process, it was not.

Many tax-payers groups, councilors, and one out-spoken sports radio host vehemently opposed the use of tax dollars to fund the stadium, citing the monies should be used to support other more important expenditures. True, Toronto's roadways are, well, let's just say, have seen better days, and Toronto's police force could really use some more scratch to fund their ever more difficult fight against crime. But in the end, the offer on the table was just too good to ignore. For a measly $10 million of city monies, Toronto gets a stadium. In business terms, $10 million cannot even pay for half of Alex Rodriguez annual salary! For this $10 million, Toronto doesn't have to worry about A-Rod's lack of production in the post-season, but rather gets a product we will be able to see results from, not just in the city of Toronto, but nation wide.

After all the votes were cast and the project had the green-light to go-ahead, this one radio personality showed no restraint in voicing his complete displeasure of the stadium. Long opposed to public money being used to fund various other athletic endeavours, this stadium initiative was as easy of a target as any for criticism. It is not hard for critics to argue about where out tax dollars should go, but the argument becomes just that much easier when soccer is the culprit. Despite having the highest participation rate across Canada, despite our country's ethnic diversity and undying support for the game at all levels across the world, and despite the game's universal appeal, our media makes a point of pushing soccer to the periphery. Perhaps the lack of soccer coverage is not systematic, but instead may just be more convenient to ignore, or slander, a game many do not understand. Thus, the week-long of slandering by this individual, though not wholly inaccurate, goes a long way in highlighting the sheer ignorance of certain sectors of the sports media in their coverage of the game.

To be fair, he is not entirely off in his commentary. There are concerns about MLSE's role in the project, only contributing $8 million towards the $62.8 million project, but still receiving stadium revenues. The city will run the stadium but MLSE profits? This concern is well taken as the last thing the community wants to see is the stadium changed from a public initiative into one for private gain. Undoubtedly, MLSE got a ripe deal, putting minimal investment into the stadium they will profit from, if successful. However, it should not be overlooked that MLSE has a huge stake in the business of not only bringing a MLS franchise to Toronto, but making it a successful and profitable one. This means investment into the quality of the team, marketing of the product, and reaching out to the community. If done the right way, yes, they can rake in a nice little profit. But at the same time, this will benefit sports and particularly soccer fans across the country. The fact is MLSE, or another private investor, was entirely necessary to get this product off the ground. There was no way the CSA and public funding alone would be enough to get the stadium deal done. So the re-direction of profits to MLSE will have other tangible benefits, most importantly being the development of soccer in this nation.

First and foremost, there is a huge soccer following in this country, and more directly to the issue, in Toronto. It is a true urban sport that can be not only played, but enjoyed for an affordable price in North America. The problem with soccer development in this country has not been the numbers or interest, but rather the ceiling placed on our kids because of the lack of soccer infrastructure in place. At the heart of the matter has been no centre-piece, no one facility that the CSA can build around. Not only no centre-piece for our national program, but no top-level professional teams to boost general interest in major Canadian cities. Does this mean a professional soccer team cannot survive in such a market? At this point, the number of soccer-crazed fans and those active in and around the game seem to suggest that a MLS franchise can be a hit in a market like Toronto.

The mere presence of a national stadium speaks volumes to the commitment we are making to our soccer program. As the old saying goes, excellence breeds excellence. At the same time, mediocrity breeds mediocrity. When we start providing the facilities and financial commitment our players deserve, we will see benefits through their on-field performance. It is easy to say that our men's national side sits 88th in the FIFA rankings, and that hardly merits the finances to build a national soccer stadium. I would take an alternative approach, saying 88th in the world with no stadium and lack of public monies is quite remarkable. That being said, our women's program has done a fantastic job developing young players. Their collective success directly correlates with the lack of financial commitment other nations make to their women's national sides. Canada has gone above and beyond to provide the best they can to our young ladies, but up until this time, we have still fallen short, unable to beat the Germany's and USA's when it matters most. With young players like Lang and Sinclair, and now a re-affirmed commitment to soccer in this country, a bright future surely lies ahead. It is no coincidence the rise of the American national soccer program is connected with the rise in participation rates among youth, and the implementation of a successful domestic league. The MLS has done a fantastic job marketing their product, with the league featuring many members of the US National team. They have turned these players into stars, and the league and the national program have benefited accordingly. The same can be done in this country as well. We may not have quite the financial fire-power to pay for success, but we can at least put our players in a position to succeed. There are an abundance of up and coming star Canadian soccer players, just needing a platform to let their talent shine through.

A top-level professional team in Toronto will give our homebred players a chance to become household names in our sporting landscape. There is no reason every Canadian soccer fan shouldn't be familiar with Dwayne de Rosario. We should all have all heard about young Canadian Julien de Guzman's scoring against soccer powerhouse Real Madrid last week. But instead of hearing about de Rosario being short listed as MLS player of the year or de Guzman's success at Deportivo, we get to hear about a 4th line winger on some obscure NHL team south of the border sustaining a lower body injury Fair, not really, but that's the reality of the sports coverage in this country. The pending arrival of MLS in this country may go a long way to re-shaping the way we look at soccer from a domestic standpoint. Montreal has done a fantastic job promoting the Impact in the 'A' league. The same can be said of the Whitecaps in Vancouver. But a team in soccer's biggest league in North America in Canada's largest media market has the potential to turn a lot more heads.

More media coverage will also come via the FIFA World Youth Championship. How would it have seemed if Canada's largest sporting event, Olympics aside, did not include its largest city? Not only will it provide a bigger showcase for the game of soccer to our national audience, but will also give our young players an opportunity to make names for themselves. These are the very players who will benefit from having a MLS team, a national stadium, and the new national commitment to soccer. It is easy to lose sight of all the possible benefits of $10 million when you are solely looking at things from an economic perspective. You cannot put a price tag on everything in life, as intrinsic and generational benefits must be considered. That being said, the commentary by one radio personality speaks volumes about the short-sightedness used to view our soccer program. The stadium signals more than just an MLS franchise in Canada or a home for our national team. It signals a changing of the culture, the way the Canadian public sees the game of soccer.

- Our Canadian Youth team just wrapped up a tour of England with a 1-0 victory over Everton FC's U-18 side, with Gavin McCallum scoring the lone marker. Dale Mitchell should be very happy with the 3-1 record compiled on the tour, with Canada's only loss coming to Manchester United's Youth side.

- More Canadian news, British Columbian midfielder Keegan Ayre has started a two-week trial with Hibernian. The 17-year-old Canada youth international is also wanted by Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich Town, Dundee and West Ham United.

That's all for this week, send your opinions, thoughts and concerns to gwheeler@tsn.ca

Happy November,
Gareth Wheeler, TSN.ca

[Joe MacCarthy]

Today on SoccerCentral

Didn't catch it today but zacRWE of Vs is saying that according to MLSEL CEO Richard Peddie, there are 4 separate contracting teams and designers. They are looking at all the SSS in the US and will make an assessment and choose a design.

So the rendering above IS a bit premature.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Construction to start on Toronto stadium without Ottawa funds
By PETER MALLETT
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060112.wxstadium12/BNStory/Sports/

Construction of a $62-million soccer stadium will start next week without final approval of federal funds.

Officials at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment have confirmed that crews will begin work on the 20,000-seat stadium in the northwest corner of Exhibition Place as early as Monday.

MLSE executive vice-president Bob Hunter said in an interview that construction will be pushed forward even though $27-million of funding has not been given final approval by the federal government.

"We are somewhat at risk right now because we are proceeding without final approval -- we believe in this project so much," Hunter said. "The contract has been awarded to build the stadium, there is a design team on site and they will start excavation next week."

Conservative finance critic Monte Solberg told The Globe and Mail's Ottawa bureau yesterday that if his party forms the next government, it will honour all federal infrastructure program commitments, which would include the Toronto stadium.

Hunter said he could not disclose details of the building contracts or architectural firm involved until an official ribbon-cutting ceremony planned after the federal election.

The stadium is scheduled to play host to the 2007 world youth soccer championship and also be the home of a Major League Soccer expansion franchise owned by MLSE and set to begin play in 2007.

MLSE will oversee the project and has agreed to underwrite any losses in construction as part of a deal struck in December with the Canadian Soccer Association and three levels of government.

The City of Toronto will provide $10-million worth of property at Exhibition Place along with $9.5-million in funding, while the Ontario government will give $8-million.

The rest of the needed funds is expected to be covered by selling the stadium's naming rights.

Yesterday, construction plans received another twist when it was learned that part of the old Hockey and Sports Hall of Fame building -- specifically its canopy and famous sports mural -- will be incorporated into the stadium.

While the Hockey Hall of Fame moved to its downtown location in 1993, the Sports Hall of Fame is closed and is looking for a new location.

Hunter stressed the importance of getting shovels in the ground soon so that the stadium can be ready for the Major League Soccer season, which will likely begin in April of 2007, and for the under-20 tournament, which will kick off in late June or early July of 2007.

"We are months behind where we would like to be, but are confident that we can make it," Hunter said. He cautioned that the MLS expansion franchise might have to play many of its first games on the road or some of its home games at the nearby Rogers Centre if the stadium is not completed on time.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Stadium still on track
CSA: Tories unlikely to kill deal
By PERRY LEFKO -- Toronto Sun

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2006/01/25/1410972-sun.html

A change in the federal government likely won't change plans to build a soccer stadium at Exhibition Place.

That's the opinion of some people connected with the project and eyeing its development said yesterday when contacted by the Toronto Sun following the victory by the Conservative Party in Monday's federal election.

"We're very happy and very delighted," Canadian Soccer Association chief operating officer Kevan Pipe said. "We don't anticipate there will be any difficulties. We think it will be a positive result by the Conservative government."

The proposed $63-million stadium, which is slated to have a seating capacity of 20,000, is scheduled to be ready for the the world under-20 soccer tournament, July 1-22, 2007.

The stadium will be funded by all three levels of government -- $27 million by the federal, $8 million by the province of Ontario and $9.8 million by the city of Toronto, which is also providing the land -- and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. MLSEL, which will manage the stadium, has guaranteed to pay the remaining $18.2 million, some of that through naming rights to the stadium. MLSEL is also picking up any cost overruns.

The project still requires federal Treasury Board approval.

MLSEL executive vice-president Bob Hunter said independent of the governmental change, time is critical.

CAN'T WAIT

"We can't wait," he said. "We're going ahead right now. We can never make that schedule if we sat and waited."

Hunter said as soon as the cabinet is put in place by incoming Prime Minister Stephen Harper, calls will be placed by the CSE and the city of Toronto to the minister whose portfolio covers the stadium project.

Monte Solberg, the finance critic for the Conservatives, was recently quoted as saying if his party is elected it would honour financial commitments for roads and sports-related projects green-lighted by the Liberals.

"In my heart of hearts, I don't think (a change in the government) will change anything," said Strathcona Group/Fieldsports general manager Alan Kasperski, who has been publicly critical of the stadium due to the rushed process by the municipal government.

He sent Solberg an e-mail last week to ask about his party's commitment to the project, but hasn't received a reply.

"I just wanted to see whether there's a way they will reverse (the government's commitment) and whether it deserves the funding," he said. "I don't think it does. I believe in process and doing it the right way."

One opinion expressed is that because the Conservatives did not make any significant gains in Ontario, which is a Liberal stronghold, they wouldn't try to stop the project because it would impact negatively on the party if it hopes to become stronger in the province in the future.

[Joe MacCarthy]

T.O. to host under-20 finale
By NEIL DAVIDSON

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2006/01/26/1412782-cp.html

TORONTO (CP) - Citing the prospect for more profit, the Canadian Soccer Association has awarded the showcase final of the 2007 men's FIFA Under-20 World Cup to Toronto over Edmonton.

Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium is three times the size of the 20,000-seat Toronto venue planned for Exhibition Place near Lake Ontario, but the CSA says its figures showed a Toronto final on July 22, 2007, would be more profitable.

"We believe the yield to the association for the final will be in excess of $1 million," association COO Kevan Pipe said after a news conference Thursday. "We don't know if the same analysis could have held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. We haven't had a history of being able to achieve that ever in the city with so many tickets in a smaller population region.

"And certainly in Toronto there's been multiple, multiple events in the last year and a half, two years, that have had multimillion gates."

Edmonton drew more than 47,000 to watch Canada take on the U.S. in the final of the inaugural women's world under-19 championship in 2002. But Pipe noted that those tickets were discounted, with a tournament pass costing just $5.

"It was a very inexpensive ticket, but the focus in fact for that event was to put bottoms in seats as opposed to the financial return."

To meet the $1-million gate projection, the average ticket for the Toronto final would have to cost $50.

There is more of a focus on the bottom line for the 2007 men's under-20 tournament, second only to the World Cup in terms of size among FIFA competitions. The 24-country event has a budget in excess of $30 million with more than 500,000 spectators expected.

"We have to take a much more financial approach to this decision," Pipe said.

Toronto will also host the opening game of the tournament.

Other host cities are Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Victoria.

The tournament will kick off July 1, 2007, with Canada playing in Toronto, which will host 13 matches in all. The Canadian team will then fly to Edmonton to play its two remaining first-round games.

Edmonton will host five opening-round matches, plus two round-of-16 games, a quarter-final game and a semifinal game.

And, perhaps in an attempt to take the sting of losing the final to Toronto, Edmonton could be home to the Canadian team deep into the tournament if it keeps winning.

Toronto will also host quarter-final and semifinal games with the other quarter-finals in Montreal and Vancouver.

Ticket prices for the tournament will be released by June 1, after approval from FIFA. The CSA wants to take advantage of the World Cup in Germany this summer to spur sales.

Pipe said there was nothing political about the choice of Toronto, saying the new Tory federal government has already said it will honour prior commitments. The previous Liberal government had committed $27 million to the $62-million Toronto stadium.

"We have no reason to believe that there's any hiccups at all," Pipe said.

The stadium site is being prepared for construction, he added.

Pipe also said Montreal and Vancouver are both solidly behind the event, now that the CSA has agreed to take over responsibility for any financial risk for the tournament, rather than leave it to the regional hosts.

"The financial projections for this tournament right now are quite positive, so we believe the risks involved are fairly minimal," Pipe said.

A FIFA inspection team will visit all six host cities in early April.

All 52 matches of the tournament will be broadcast, with 180 countries expected to show some of the event. Pipe said organizers hope to have every game available on Canadian TV.

Edmonton will get first crack at seeing the Brazilian under-20 team, which has agreed to play three games against its Canadian counterpart in May. The teams will meet May 19 in Edmonton and May 22 in Victoria with a third game set for Vancouver although no date has been set yet.

[Joe MacCarthy]

FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007
Thursday, January 26, 2006
It’s Final – Toronto to Host FIFA U-20 World Cup Championship Game

http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=2386

Ottawa, Ontario – The Canadian Soccer Association and the City of Toronto announced today at a joint media conference at Toronto’s City Hall that the City of Toronto has been selected as the host for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Final.

Toronto will also host the tournament opener and the 3rd Place match. Both the opening day and final day will be played as double-headers.

The final has been scheduled for July 22, 2007. Dates and times for the other matches will be finalised by FIFA at a later date.

“On behalf of the National Organizing Committee for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007, I am pleased to confirm that the new National Soccer Stadium at Exhibition Place in Toronto will be the host site for the Championship final of this, the second largest FIFA Championship on Sunday July 22, 2007,” said Canadian Soccer Association President Andy Sharpe.

“We were fortunate to have two wonderful presentations from both Toronto and from Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium and it proved to be a case of choosing what we felt was the better of two great options. We look forward to a sold out stadium on July 22 next year and throughout the event.”

And when you look at the details surrounding the City of Toronto, it seems like the logical choice for hosting ‘The World’s Game’.

The City of Toronto is the largest city in Canada, the Capital of the Province of Ontario and the 5th largest in North America with a population of 2.5 million. Over ¼ of Canada’s population lives within a 100-mile radius of Toronto.

“I am really proud,” said Toronto’s Mayor, David Miller.

“Toronto is a tremendous soccer city with 250,000 registered players in the region, including my children. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase our incredible city, to the world.”

The city is a unique cultural mosaic with over 100 languages spoken and has a population represented by over 170 countries of origin, making it an ideal host for FIFA’s second largest event.

The top twenty language spoken in Toronto are: English, French, Italian, Chinese, Cantonese, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog (Pilipino), Tamil, Mandarin, Hindi, German, Greek, Urdu, Russian, Polish, Punjabi, Arabic, Persian (Farsi), and Vietnamese.

In addition to its renowned multicultural appeal, Toronto is the media and corporate capital of Canada with over 200 radio, television, newspaper and publishing companies and over 300 ethnic publications, including 5 non-English daily newspapers. Toronto is also the fourth largest media and corporate cluster in North America.

The FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 will take place in Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, and Toronto with the tournament opener set for July 1, 2007.

In addition to the three match days, each venue will host Round of 16 matches.

Montreal and Vancouver will join Edmonton and Toronto as hosts of quarter final matches with Edmonton and Toronto also hosting the two semi finals.

Canada U-20 Men’s National Team Announces Brazil Games

The Canadian Soccer Association has finalized an agreement with the Confederaçao Brasileira de Futebol (Brazilian Football Confederation) that will see Brazil’s U-20 National Team travel to Canada for a series of games against Canada’s U-20 Men’s National Team in May 2006.

The first match of the series has been earmarked for Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium on May 19, 2006. The second will be played three days later on May 22 at Victoria’s Centennial Stadium on the campus of the University of Victoria.

Negotiations regarding a third match in Vancouver are close to being finalised and information regarding this date will be released when known.

Specific details regarding the kick-off times and tickets for this series will be announced shortly.

“Any time you have the opportunity to compete with the world’s top soccer nation it is an honour as well as a massive test,” said Canadian Head Coach Dale Mitchell.

“We are delighted to get them here in Canada and give our boys a taste of what the summer of 2007 will be like. It will be a big challenge for us but one that I’m sure will help us down the road.'

Broadcasting and PA Announcement – Please note that the official title of the Canadian Championship is ‘FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007’. Any reference to the tournament should be made using this official FIFA title.

[Joe MacCarthy]

T.O. lands soccer final
By PERRY LEFKO -- Toronto Sun

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2006/01/26/1412652-sun.html

The Ex will mark the spot for the final of the world under-20 soccer tournament.

The Canadian Soccer Association in conjunction with the City of Toronto is slated to announce today the new stadium scheduled to be built at Exhibition Place will play host to the final of the under-20 tournament, July 22, 2007.

The under-20 runs July 1-22 in five separate Canadian cities.

While officials connected with the CSA and City of Toronto, which has pledged $9.8 million toward building the $63 million, 20,000-seat stadium, were closely guarded about the announcement, several sources confirmed it.

Edmonton had been considered a strong candidate to host the final game because of its stadium capacity of some 60,000 combined with previous experience playing host to big soccer tournaments, but there has been a push to showcase the new Toronto soccer facility.

"It does make sense that Toronto with all its glory (in the new stadium) should host the final game and it will attract 20,000," speculated one soccer insider.

Another source said that while there was a big push by Edmonton to play host to the final game, announcing Toronto as the site could be a tactic to make the incoming federal Conservative Party live up to its pre-election remark to honour infrastructure programs that had been greenlighted by the fallen Liberal government. The Liberals had committed $27 million from the federal level, combined with $8 million from the province. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. has guaranteed $18.2 million through stadium naming rights and private funding.

The project, which begins its first major phase with the demolition of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame sometime next month, has yet to receive approval from the federal Treasury Board. The Liberal fall will create a new turnover on the board and there is no set timetable when incoming Prime Minister Stephen Harper will announce his new cabinet.

CANADA DOWNS JAMAICA

Canada booked its ticket to the world under-20 women's soccer championship in Russia with a 2-1 win over Jamaica in the semi-final of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in Veracruz, Mexico.

[Joe MacCarthy]

What were they thinking?
Edmonton not buying CSA's reasons
By DEREK VAN DIEST -- Edmonton Sun

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2006/01/27/1414321-sun.html

Allan Bolstad isn't buying it.

The head of the Edmonton site organizing committee for the 2007 men's FIFA Under-20 World Cup has trouble with the Canadian Soccer Association's rationale for staging the final in Toronto.

Yesterday, the CSA awarded the championship game to Toronto citing potential for a bigger profit at a yet-to-be constructed 20,000-seat stadium.

This despite the fact the final in Edmonton would be played at Commonwealth Stadium -- which is three times larger.

"We are very disappointed with the decision," Bolstad said. "We think they are missing a golden opportunity to showcase the final in front of 50,000 people."

The 24-team tournament, which was awarded to Canada, will showcase some of the best young soccer talent in the world.

Edmonton will still play host to nine games, including two of Canada's preliminary matches. They will also host a quarter-final and a semifinal. But the jewel of the event is the final.

"We believe the yield to the association for the final will be in excess of $1 million," CSA COO Kevan Pipe told The Canadian Press yesterday in Toronto. "We don't know if the same analysis could have held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. We haven't had a history of being able to achieve that ever in the city with so many tickets in a smaller population region.

"And certainly in Toronto there's been multiple, multiple events in the last year and a half, two years, that have had multimillion gates."

In 2002, more than 47,000 attended the final of the Women's Under-19 championship in Commonwealth Stadium. Prior to the 1994 World Cup in the United States, more than 50,000 showed up to watch Canada tie Brazil 1-1 in an exhibition contest.

"We find that hard to believe," Bolstad said of the CSA's financial projections.

"We showed them we could make $1.2 million in revenue by selling 55,000 tickets at a $20 average ticket price."

Bolstad and his committee made the pitch last week in Vancouver. They also had the support of the city, which pledged $550,000 in cash and services.

In order for Toronto to meet a $1-million projected gate, they would have to sell tickets at an average of $50.

Regardless, Pipe said it made better financial sense to stage the final in Toronto.

Not so, according to the Edmonton site committee.

"We had a very strong bid and considering Toronto did not have financial backing from the city we were quite miffed," Alston said. "We were left scratching our heads. We were told this decision would be made on a financial standpoint and from what we can see, those numbers don't add up at all."

Alston also pointed out complimentary tickets for the final need to be offered to FIFA directors, tournament organizers, sponsors and volunteers.

The Edmonton proposal was offering 3,700 complimentary tickets.

"You can do that in a 60,000-seat stadium," Alston said. "But not in a 20,000-seat stadium."

Toronto is also playing host to the opening game of the tournament on July 1. Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Victoria are the other host cities.

Pipe said the decision was not political. However, Alston believes more than just monetary issues played a hand.

"We'd understand if the CSA said it was Toronto's turn," he said. "We've had a number of games out West and maybe they're trying to shift the focus out East."

[mrdeeds]

I am no Edmonton apologist by any means, but I do have to say that the West got jobbed again. The selection of Toronto as the final only makes sense in terms of trying to secure financing for the stadium.... but that's about IT!:mad2:

[Joe MacCarthy]

The question came up at another board about if the final design or artist rendering of the Exhibition Place stadium has been revealed. As far as I know it has not.

There is preliminary site preparation work now underway but as yet no official ground turning/ribbon cutting or updated design plans etc.

I thought I would just post a little visual history of the Toronto stadium's evolution here for future reference.

Yes, it will be a new design which as far as I know none of the Canadian soccer boards has seen or yet posted. It may just be a slight redesign of the final design submitted.

http://tinypic.com/ea4509.jpg

http://tinypic.com/ea455g.jpg
The original CSA design

http://i1.tinypic.com/noioms.jpg
U of T Varsity Centre design

http://www.canoe.ca/Argos/News/2004/10/17/Insidestadium280x197229.jpg

http://www.canoe.ca/Argos/News/2004/10/17/Campus290x206.jpg
York University design

http://www.canadasoccer.com/images/media/stadium_ex.jpg
The Exhibition Place/Downsview design

Good article on Toronto stadium timeline (until Nov 2004)

Brick by brick - The Argos' stadium deal ...
By PERRY LEFKO, TORONTO SUN
November 4, 2004
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/Sports/2004/11/04/699775.html

ON THE morning of Sept. 29, the first-year owners of the Argonauts were summoned to the University of Toronto for a meeting that would forever change the future of the football club. It would be the latest meeting -- and, as it turned out, the last -- in the plans to build a $70-million football/soccer stadium on the hallowed Varsity grounds.

No sooner had the Argos owners met the U of T's new interim president than they were told the school had decided to discontinue plans to build the facility. Howard Cynamon and David Sokolowski looked at one another utterly speechless, completely caught off guard. As Cynamon recalled, it was like being hit by a stun gun.

Originally announced as a 25,000-seat stadium, the design had been shrunk by about 5,000 because of traffic and noise concerns from the neighbourhood and factions within the school. But there had been no indications-- at least to the Argos owners -- that the U of T planned to drop the stadium ball.

The meeting continued for another 60 to 90 minutes, during which Cynamon and Sokolowski made a proposal to personally add an extra $14 million to the rising cost of the project and cover any subsequent overruns.

"They said they would take 24 to 48 hours to think about that," Sokolowski recalled. "We thought the 48 hours would give us and the school the opportunity to sit down and assess our proposal further."

Cynamon and Sokolowski left the meeting and spent a couple of hours outside in the parking lot, watching a girls soccer game and wondering what had just happened. All the while, the university executive continued to talk about the project and, as it turned out, peer out the window at Sokolowski and Cynamon.

And then it happened. The U of T called an audible.

U of T's vice-president and chief advancement officer, Jon Dellandrea, approached the Argos owners and indicated the university had reconsidered and decided to formally withdraw from the project. While Dellandrea could not be reached for comment, Sokolowski said he had been told by the school official that there were people in the university who felt that, regardless of the cost of the project, it was inappropriate to have a private/public relationship with the Argonauts. Moreover, there had also been serious concerns by residents in the area.

Dellandrea told Sokolowski and Cynamon the school planned to announce its withdrawal with a press release the following morning, although the story already was being leaked.

"It was like you just got up from a beating and somebody kicks you in the head again," Cynamon said. "At that point our hearts were ripped out of our bodies."

"We were also told this was going to have (the U of T) governing council vote (in December)," Sokolowski said. "It never even got to the committee on the way to the governing council. It was pulled before it even got into the process. For whatever reason the university decided it was too much pressure or they didn't want to be associated with the Toronto Argonauts and the Canadian Football League; that it felt the business model wasn't strong enough."

Cynamon and Sokolowski had to gather their emotions and be at the SkyDome a couple hours later to watch their team play host to the Calgary Stampeders.

"We got to the game, but frankly I couldn't even tell you what happened," Cynamon said. "It was a haze. It was a cloud. I think we were trying to cover up with our bad acting that something was wrong. I don't remember who I saw that night. I don't remember what I said. That was really a bad moment."

The Argos beat the Stamps 49-22.

AFTER U OF T withdrew, the Argos owners called Kevan Pipe, the Canadian Soccer Association's chief operating officer. The federal and provincial governments agreed earlier in the year to pay a combined $35 million toward the cost of the project if the CSA secured the rights to the World Youth Championship. That happened in July.

Pipe was in Toronto, preparing for his own meeting with the U of T the following morning, when the Argos owners called.

"I was pretty shocked," Pipe said. "It came totally out of the blue. We heard there were some rising costs, but we had already met with the architects to look at some solutions to contain some of those costs and those solutions had been reached."

The next day Pipe made a call to FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, to make sure the setback would not jeopardize Canada's chances of playing host to the soccer championship. FIFA indicated its desire to keep the tournament in Canada and to give the CSA additional time to work out the stadium dilemma.

BECAUSE SOKOLOWSKI and Cynamon had vowed to build a stadium, they had to devise a quick change in strategy and go to the hurry-up offence. While the U of T issued a press release explaining its decision to back away from the project because of escalating costs -- an idea Cynamon denied quite emotionally in a radio interview -- the plan to shift to an alternative stadium site already had begun. Sokolowski phoned York University's chairman of the board, Marshall (Mickey) Cohen. The two had known one another from a previous deal Sokolowski's company, Tribute Communities, entered into with the university to build 400 homes on the perimeter of the school's property. In the summer of 2003, when Sokolowski's name started to surface as a potential buyer of the Argos, Cohen called him wondering if it was true. When Sokolowski confirmed it, Cohen told him the team needed its own stadium and that York had plans to build one for its own needs, so it could be a perfect fit for both parties.

Sokolowski agreed, but the stadium project shifted back to U of T when Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. suddenly jumped into the mix in December of 2003 with intentions to partner with the school on a multiple sports complex/shopping centre in the Bloor/Devonshire corridor. The Argos had no choice but to watch those developments because they potentially would be included at some point, possibly with MLSEL buying a percentage of the team.

Some three months later, MLSEL withdrew from the project because of the low return on investment and the Argos, along with the CSA, joined together in resurrecting the project at the U of T.

Now, following various twists and turns at the U of T, Sokolowski wanted to know if York still had an interest in building a stadium.

"So, you want your old room back?" Cohen jokingly asked Sokolowski.

ENTER JOE VOLPE, the federal minister responsible for Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area. For the $27 million federal government funding to continue to be part of the project, it required a partnership with a public institution. Exhibition Place, which had long been mentioned as a possible site by both the Argos and the CSA, was owned by the province and municipally operated by the City of Toronto. The city could supply land on the site but couldn't provide any funding. Volpe said Toronto Mayor David Miller had called him earlier in the year indicating his preference for Varsity over the Ex. In fact, according to Volpe, Miller said the Ex "was just completely out of the picture."

So Volpe focused his attention on York after the failed Varsity project and contacted the school's president Dr. Lorna Marsden. York had a group of executives already talking internally about the stadium project, but wasn't prepared to move forward without government support.

Coincidentally, Marsden happened to be in Ottawa when Volpe contacted her and the two continued their discussion. Marsden indicated York's desire to make the project happen.

Volpe also spoke to the mayor of Vaughan, North York councillors, federal cabinet ministers, GTA caucus colleagues and the CSA to gauge whether they were interested in maintaining the project. He received a positive endorsement from everyone.

ON OCT. 3, Sokolowski, Cynamon and their business manager huddled at York with its vice-president of finance, Gary Brewer, and a representative of Capital Canada, a consultant/financial house engaged by the university to help out with negotiations and provide advice.

The meeting took a few hours during which the financial splits of the deal were discussed along with a concept -- provided by the Argos -- of how the stadium would be built and operated so that it physically and culturally reflect the university's needs and realities.

Following phone and e-mail exchanges, the parties met three days later in the offices of Capital Canada and banged out the broader terms of the deal.

FINAL PARTICULARS

On Oct. 11 -- Thanksgiving Day -- York officials and the Argos put together the final particulars of the deal so it could be presented to York's 32-member board of directors. The deal consisted of the federal and provincial governments contributing $35 million, the university adding $15 million and the Argos covering the balance of the projected $70-million stadium.

A conference call was set up for Oct. 13 at 8 a.m. Some 20 board members were rounded up on the short notice and Brewer took them through the terms of the deal. The call lasted about an hour.

"The board asked all the right due-diligence questions and were absolutely unanimous in their enthusiasm -- students, staff, faculty, external governors," Marsden said. "They gave me permission to go ahead and make the deal on those terms."

Marsden called Volpe and indicated unanimous support for the project from the university's governors. Miller also was briefed.

On Oct. 15, York officials issued a press release indicating an important announcement at the school on Oct. 18. By this time, the word was out that the deal was done.

IT TOOK only 11 business days to do the deal, but the seeds were sown long before that because of the Argos' relations with York and the co-operation of the CSA. But it was Volpe who proved to be a key pointman.

Volpe expressed the importance of making the deal happen at York or the government would remove its financial support.

"I just told everybody 'listen, if you guys aren't in, we're not in. Period,' " Volpe said. "It's a big slap in the face to everybody, it's a big black eye for Canada if this thing doesn't go. But we're not in the business of shoving money down anybody's throat. We're in the business of investing for Canada and Canadians, and if private interest, public interest, academic interest don't see the value in this, why should we?"

Had negotiations taken too long it could have added excess delays to the building process, which would have impacted on the completion of the stadium in time for the soccer championships.

"They didn't have as elaborate a process as the University of Toronto," Volpe said. "But it needed to be done quickly otherwise the whole thing would have gone up in smoke."

"It tells you how far along we were with York when we chose U of T," Cynamon said. "We had a deal we could have announced the same day with York. We were that close.

"We just picked the wrong date."

[Joe MacCarthy]

Soccer stadium win for MLSE
Could reap $100 million over 20 years. City now in talks to add hotel to plans
Feb. 21, 2006
RICK WESTHEAD BUSINESS REPORTER
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1140475845051&call_pageid=968867503640&col=970081593064&t=TS_Home

http://www.thestar.com/images/thestar/img/060221_soccer_stadium_300.jpg
The $62.5 million city-owned soccer facility is going up at Exhibition Place.

The Toronto Maple Leafs' parent company stands to collect up to an estimated $100 million worth of sponsorship revenue over 20 years after obtaining the corporate naming rights to the city's new downtown soccer stadium from a consortium of public-sector partners.

Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, the juggernaut privately held sports concern with assets that include the cash-rich Maple Leafs, basketball's Raptors and the Air Canada Centre, has agreed to pay $10 million over the next 20 years for the right to sell naming rights and other sponsorships for the facility, already under construction at Exhibition Place. That means MLSE is free to keep any sponsorship revenue it collects. And it seems to be on the verge of collecting a windfall, said several sports industry sources.

Meanwhile, Toronto Councillor Joe Pantalone said yesterday plans for the new stadium have expanded to include a hotel. The city is in talks with the owners of the Windsor Arms Hotel about building a hotel at the Exhibition Grounds, he said.

The title sponsorship for the 20,000-seat stadium may generate anywhere from $2.5 million to $4 million, said a source familiar with the stadium's financing. That means, if MLSE was able to secure a deal worth $3 million a year, the company could generate $60 million over the next 20 years.

The sports company also has the right to keep any revenue collected from associate sponsors. Industry executives suggested those contracts are worth at least $250,000 a year. MLSE should be able to retain at least eight such companies in sectors such as automotive, financial services and telecommunications, and that could generate a further $40 million over the next 20 years.

Construction of the new soccer facility began last month and it has already helped the Canadian Soccer Association secure next summer's world Under-20 championships.

But to get that tournament, one of the world's biggest sports events, soccer's governing body demanded that the city promised to have a new stadium built beforehand.

"What you ended up with was a group of professionals at Maple Leaf Sports negotiating with politicians who were under the gun to get a deal done because the stadium had to be built to get the Under-20 tournament," said a source familiar with the negotiations.

Maple Leaf Sports executive vice-president Tom Anselmi said the company's agreement ``isn't a sweetheart deal.

"Soccer is an amazing sport in the rest of the world but it's not a slam dunk here," he said.

Anselmi said that while MLSE does keep money raised from selling the stadium's title sponsorship, it splits lower-tier agreements, such as those for pouring rights with a brewer, with the city.

"This whole deal for us only makes sense if we sell 15,000 seats a game," he said.

The $62.5 million stadium will be owned by the city. The federal government will contribute $27 million while the province has made an $8 million pledge.

Toronto has agreed to provide land worth $10 million and $9.8 million in cash. MLSE has been responsible for contributing and raising $18 million.

Pantalone said he doesn't begrudge MLSE turning a profit on the project.

"If it's their risk in putting the money up, and their expertise going out and selling it, it should be their reward," said Pantalone, who was involved in negotiations between the city and other stadium stakeholders.

MLSE also stands to generate revenue from the sale of luxury suite tickets — there are plans to build at least 10 private boxes — as well as income from tickets, parking and concessions.

[Calif]

Nice Stadium!

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to Steve B at Vs for headsup

Work begins on Toronto soccer stadium, with tight budget and deadline
http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/shownews.jsp?content=R032835AU

TORONTO (CP) - The ground has been broken. Excavation machines dot the fenced-off site and hard hats are mandatory.

The national soccer stadium is slowly taking shape at Exhibition Place, separated from Ontario Place and Lake Ontario by the strip of Lakeshore Boulevard that serves as part of the annual Champ Car race course.

Work on the project will ramp up this summer. Come November, the shell of the stadium should be plain to see.

There is not much time. The $62.9-million venue is due to be completed May 1, 2007, with the world under-20 soccer championship kicking off July 1.

"It's a very tight schedule and it's a very tight budget," said Bob Hunter, executive vice-president of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and general manager of the Air Canada Centre.

With $18 million sunk in the stadium, MLSE and Hunter are driving the project - although the owners of the NHL Maple Leafs and NBA Raptors hope to get $10 million of that investment back via naming rights.

MLSE also paid the $10-million US expansion fee for the Major League Soccer team that will be the stadium's prime tenant, starting with the 2007 season.

So, soccer is high on the MLSE priority list at present.

Hunter estimates he spends more than half his day on the stadium project. And MLSE will have 15 people running the stadium when it is finished, with another 30 to 35 operating the MLS franchise.

Hunter's staff is already well on the way to the MLS team's name, uniform and marketing campaign.

"We think we're pretty close. And we think people will like it," Hunter said in an interview in his Air Canada Centre office.

Previous stadium plans at the University of Toronto and York University were scrapped as costs grew and the CFL's Argos, once a driving force, opted to stay at the Rogers Centre.

So the fiscally challenged Canadian Soccer Association, which has been shepherding the stadium project like a single-minded but thrifty cowboy corralling his herd, came to MLSE.

The sporting giant, which had been eyeing adding soccer to its sporting empire, took up the challenge. A soccer stadium may not be a cash cow in North America, but it's another ribbon to the MLSE sporting bow.

Hunter says construction costs will not rise on his watch.

"This is going to be a very basic, basic stadium," he explained. "The good thing about it though is it's just for soccer. We're barely building it to do concerts."

http://www.thestar.com/images/thestar/img/060221_soccer_stadium_300.jpg

With 20,000 seats and stands just one metre from the FieldTurf artificial playing surface, it will be an intimate soccer experience.

Temporary seating will expand the capacity to 25,000 during the FIFA championships, which will be shared with Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, Ottawa and Montreal.

Of the $62.9 million, the federal government is contributing $27 million and the province $8 million. Ottawa has actually yet to fork over the money, but there is no reason to expect a change of heart. MLSE is plowing ahead in the meantime.

The city, which is kicking in a shade under $10 million and providing the land, may own the new stadium but MLSE will operate it under a 20-year agreement.

Passers-by will soon notice the structure.

"The field will be in by November. . .. all the bleachers will be done this summer, because they just won't have time to get to it in the spring. So you'll see a lot happen very quickly," Hunter said. "You'll be able to tell it's a stadium by November-December."

The lower bowl of the stadium's west grandstand, which will be a two-tier structure, will be concrete. The top tier and the east side of the stadium will be prefabricated steel trucked to the site.

The west side, which will house the press box and suites, will have 10,000 seats with another 6,500 on the east and some 2,500 in the south end.

The north end will not feature much seating. Instead it will be a plaza area that will overlook the bowl.

The MLS expansion team will play 18 to 20 home games a year and have to start on the road in April 2007 because the stadium won't be quite ready yet. The goal is to play two MLS games before the FIFA championships opens.

A bubble will cover the playing surface during the winter, with the field split into three. From roughly Nov. 1 through March 15, the indoor area will available for rentals and community use.

"You are going to be able to phone up and say 'Can I rent that field from 9 to 10 on Thursday night?' And if it's available, yes we'll rent it."

The field will be rented at "market rates," but Hunter acknowledges "this kind of now sets a new market."

They have yet to come up with a price.

"But it's got to be reasonably priced or if not, it's not community used," he added.

Hunter hopes the Toronto Lynx of the United Soccer Leagues will play there but no deal has been struck yet.

The plan for the stadium is to break even or make a bit of money.

"I can tell you this thing is by no means is it going to throw up a lot of cash," Hunter said.

The MLS team will pay the city rent according to MLS-market lease rates.

Seeing the MLS team won't break the bank, he promised.

"Tickets are going to very reasonably priced. This is not hockey and it certainly isn't basketball either. This is a Marlies ticket or a junior hockey ticket. This is a $20-to-$30-max dollar ticket."

"We're going to attract kids and families that participate and people that connect to the national team."

The CSA has committed to six dates a year and will share the practice ground and training facilities.

Location of the MLS team's practice facility is still up in the air. Hunter says league officials and coaches have suggested they need a natural grass training surface. Ideally they want it in walking distance of the stadium.

Hunter and his staff have made the most of MLS resources.

MLSE staff have attended MLS broadcast, marketing and operational meetings.

Hunter has been down to Dallas twice to see Pizza Hut Park, which opened in July and hosted the MLS championship in the fall.

"Very nice," Hunter says of the Dallas venue, "And we stole a lot of good ideas from them."

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to bmac at Vs for headsup

FIFA team to inspect Canadian stadiums
PETER MALLETT
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060405.DIGE05-9/TPStory/?query=soccer

An inspection team from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association is to arrive in British Columbia today to begin a tour of Canadian host cities for the 2007 under-20 World Cup. The FIFA team will wrap up the tour with a news conference in Toronto on April 12 at which further details of a planned 20,000-seat soccer stadium are expected to be announced.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Just for kicks
MLSEL: T.O. soccer stadium will benefit community
By MARK KEAST - Toronto Sun
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2006/05/13/1578226-sun.html

http://i1.tinypic.com/zl7qyo.jpg
The new logo, the Toronto FC is unveiled in Toronto on Thursday May 10, 2006. It is the 13th team in Major League Soccer and begins play in 2007. (SUN/Veroncia Henri)

With all the hype surrounding Toronto's new 20,000-seat soccer stadium these days, one question stands out: Will community associations really have fair access to it?

Those from Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., who were at Thursday's launch of its new Major League Soccer franchise -- chairman Larry Tanenbaum, president and CEO Richard Peddie, executive vice president Bob Hunter, and Tom Anselmi, executive vice-president and chief operating officer -- all talked about how they expect Toronto FC to be dwarfed when it comes to access to the soccer stadium on the CNE grounds.

MLSEL, with financial help from all three levels of government, is building the facility and is on the hook for cost overruns, but the city owns it.

The pro soccer team will be around for nine months of the year. With a dome to be placed over the facility during the winter months, local soccer associations, plus those running clinics and the like, will be able to rent it for whatever market-rate fee the city sets -- say, $150 per hour.

Hunter says MLSEL has to provide the city with a minimum of 50% access time to the community at market rates.

That is why, as Peddie says, Ontario Soccer Association executive director Guy Bradbury and a group of local soccer association kids were on hand at the news conference. For optics, at the very least.

Peddie says the MLSEL board was sold on a venture with a projected return on investment, "significantly lower than we normally ask for," convinced that the project has "benefits tougher to quantify," that go beyond ticket and sponsor revenue. There are the 100 million people worldwide, they say, who will be watching the FIFA under-20 world championship in July 2007. More kids watching and playing soccer means new generations of healthy, granola-eating MLSEL customers, we guess.

Peddie says the members of the board are citizens of the city too, concerned about youth crime and other local societal ailments. No doubt those comments will be greeted with chuckles by those who see the corporate giant as a shameless profit-seeker hoodwinking us sheep and looking to land whatever that minimum return on investment their teacher's pension fund overlords demand of them.

Still, without seeing the details of the agreement, with the levels of government involved, we'll have to assume it's a good thing for local soccer.

Bradbury is sold. With soccer growing in Ontario -- 440,000 members, 10,000 referees, 35,000 coaches -- the top concern for the OSA is the facility situation. That includes fair access to what is currently available, the need to build more and shore up the decrepit state of many that are out there.

It does raise the question of the private sector helping to get more sports facilities built. Hunter says MLSEL looked at buying a multi-plex hockey facility and operating it itself, in part to house a practice facility for the Maple Leafs and Marlies. But they couldn't make it work from a cost perspective.

"We're just not in the adult hockey or community hockey league business," Hunter said.

Therein lies the gap. As Karen Pitre, a consultant working with the city to draw up an action plan to help address the facility issue, says: "We're good at building big sports facilities, but the infrastructure that's non-existent is the level below that ... the soccer fields to train kids so they can get to those big facilities. You can't make money on the community facilities."

MLSEL says it is involved in the soccer deal for the good of the community. But it isn't in this for autographed soccer balls. Peddie says they are city builders. They are brand builders, too. And the city needs to make money on this deal. MLSEL covers the first $250,000 in losses. After that, those losses are split by MLSEL and the city. They split the profits.

Any hope of attracting private dollars to the sports community to build hockey rinks and community soccer fields or swimming pools will come down mostly to wealthy benefactors looking to give because it's good for the community. That is what the culture and arts community has accomplished.

Or, some company needs to be sold on something such as brand awareness. Pitre says it will be up to the sports community to get better organized and do a better job of setting and selling what those returns on investment are.

Still, they may want to look to the soccer stadium deal for pointers on the subject. There is a reason Mayor David Miller called in MLSEL, as Peddie says, to bail out a project that was sinking fast. MLSEL has both the deep pockets and the business acumen and would have been happy just to be tenants in the soccer stadium.

"It's the city's job to deploy its resources to improve our quality of life, and (private/public partnerships) is one way of doing that," Anselmi said.

[Joe MacCarthy]

National Soccer Stadium at Exhibition Place
PCL Constructors Canada Inc.
http://www.pcl.com/projects/Active/0900345/index.aspx

Project Description

The new National Soccer Stadium, located on the Exhibition Place grounds near downtown Toronto, features a 'horseshoe' design for the seating bowl with the north end remaining open for a variety of functions including an event plaza. The seating distribution is approximately 10,000 on the west, 7,000 on the east and 3,000 on the south for a total of approximately 20,000 seats.

The design incorporates most of the enclosed program area on the west side of the stadium at grade level. This event level includes such things as player change rooms, training and weight rooms, warm-up rooms, press conference rooms, TV production and so forth. A mezzanine above this event level will contain office space and a VIP club area which will have direct access to approximately 500 club seats.

http://i6.tinypic.com/122lx60.jpg

http://i5.tinypic.com/122lx80.jpg

Live webcam of construction of the National Soccer Stadium at Exhibition Place. You must enter a user name of "guest" and password of "guest". (requires JAVA).
http://207.35.152.209/home/homeJ.html

Exhibition Place Media Centre
http://www.explace.on.ca/mediacentre.html

[Joe MacCarthy]

Canadian Soccer Association
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Partners Officially Launch the National Soccer Stadium at Exhibition Place
http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=2470

Ottawa, Ontario – The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) and its partners – Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Limited (MLSEL), the Ontario and Federal Governments as well as the City of Toronto today officially declared the National Soccer Stadium at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario a reality.

The Federal Government, through Infrastructure Canada, has agreed to contribute $27-million while the Ontario Government has committed a further $8-million. The City of Toronto will contribute the land and $9.8-million and will own the stadium. MLSEL has agreed to pay a total of $18-million ($8-million toward the construction and a further $10-million to secure the naming rights for the stadium). The group has also agreed to provide a $2-million guarantee against operational losses.

"Having just been elected as the President of the CSA in May, I'm delighted that the National Soccer Stadium at Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto has become a reality as it will become the major venue for the CSA and all of our National teams for many years to come," stated Colin Linford, President, CSA.

Construction of the 20,000 seat soccer-specific stadium on the grounds of Exhibition Place has already begun and will be managed on behalf of the City of Toronto by MLSEL.

"Following almost four years of intensive work today is a celebratory day for everybody in Canadian Soccer. I wish to pay tribute to all three levels of government as well as our private sector business partner (MLSEL) for working together with us in such a collaborative way in order to bring this stadium to reality and in time for the start the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007," said Kevan Pipe, COO, CSA

“For the first time in the game in our country we finally have a soccer specific, state of the art home which we look forward to using on a regular basis for all forms of soccer programming, including community usage during the winter when a full sized inflatable bubble is installed.”

Canada vs USA

Canada’s U-20 National Team will be hosting the United States in a two game series beginning at 7:00 pm on Friday, July 7th, 2006 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. The teams will meet again on Sunday, July 9th at 7:00 pm at Richardson Stadium at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

July 7 - CANADA vs. USA – Presented by adidas
Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON – 19:00 ET

July 9 - CANADA vs. USA – Presented by CIBC
Richardson Stadium, Kingston, ON – 19:00 ET

FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007

In 2007, Canada will host the World’s finest youth players in six cities across the country – Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Burnaby, and Victoria – with the tentative dates for the tournament set for June 30-July 22, 2007.

The biennial event is second only to the FIFA World Cup in size and scope and will showcase the most talented under-20 soccer players in the world. The tournament has been the coming-out party for some of the game’s top players - Maradona, Saviola, Raúl, Marco Van Basten, Luis Figo, Ruiz Costa, Thierry Henry, Adriano, Roberto Carlos, Bebeto and Dunga as well as Canada’s Craig Forrest and many members of the current Men’s World Cup Team including Julian de Guzman, Paul Stalteri, Atiba Hutchinson and Iain Hume.

Last held in CONCACAF in 1983 in Mexico, Canada’s most recent participation in this event occurred last June in the Netherlands from June 10 - July 2, 2005.

Canada enjoyed it’s its best ever finish in a World Championship in December 2003, losing to eventual silver medalist Spain on a golden goal in the quarter finals in the United Arab Emirates.

For more information regarding the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007, please visit www.FIFA.com.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Toronto hit with soccer fever
Feds kick in $27M for MLS Stadium
By ANGELA PACIENZA
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2006/07/04/1667978-cp.html

http://i6.tinypic.com/1z210eb.jpg
The governments of Canada and Ontario and the City of Toronto officially announced the signing of a contribution agreement for the construction of a new 20,000-seat soccer stadium at Exhibition Place. (CP PHOTO/Aaron Harris)

TORONTO (CP) - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty caught soccer fever Tuesday, formalizing the government's share of building a stadium to house Canada's first Major League Soccer franchise.

He said the federal government will kick in up to $27 million, as promised last fall, for the construction of the open-air venue, located on the city's waterfront. The $62.9 million facility is due to be completed on May 1, 2007. The timing of the financial agreement coincides with the FIFA World Cup underway in Germany.

Flaherty said he hopes Canada will be able to compete in the next tournament, taking place in South Africa in 2010.

Canada is currently ranked 83rd in the world.

"Perhaps in a few years we will become a real force in the international soccer community," Flaherty said.

Kevan Pipe, chief operating officer of the Canadian Soccer Association, called the new stadium "a new beginning" for the sport because it will house the country's first Major League Soccer franchise, Toronto FC.

He expects the Toronto club will prompt other cities, such as Montreal and Vancouver, to seek franchises of their own.

More importantly, the professional team will develop soccer players for the national team so that Canada can go on to future World Cup tournaments.

"The acquisition of the franchise is going to have a significant impact on our ability to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa," Pipe said.

Canada has qualified only once before, in 1986.

Alongside the federal contribution, Ontario is kicking in $8 million and Toronto $9.8 million for the 20,000-seat stadium.

The remainder will be footed by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., which will manage the facility.

The stadium will play host to various community and global soccer tournaments, including the men's FIFA Under-20 World Cup in July 2007.

The high-profile international competition will be one of the largest single-sport events ever held in Canada. Games will be spread across the country in Edmonton, Burnaby, B.C., Victoria, Ottawa and Montreal.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Politicians hail soccer stadium
FIFA Under-20 World Cup -- with a potential 600 million TV viewers -- to be held in the sports field next year
By ROB GRANATSTEIN -- Toronto Sun
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2006/07/05/1669137-sun.html

Fans at the Grand Prix of Toronto race this weekend will notice a new sight-line obstruction: The city's $62.8-million soccer stadium at Exhibition Place.

Taking advantage of World Cup soccer fever kicking Toronto right now, politicians gathered at the construction site yesterday to pat each other on the back.

The stadium will host the FIFA Under-20 World Cup next July. It's billed as the second-biggest soccer tournament in the world, with a potential TV audience of 600 million.

ON SCHEDULE

Bob Hunter, senior vice-president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, said the stadium is on time. The south grandstand is well-underway, while the frame of the permanent west grandstand is moving along quickly. It's also on budget, Hunter said.

"We've actually been able to add a few amenities -- a bigger video board, some LED message boards, and an upgraded sound system."

The stadium will be owned by the city and managed by MLSE, which has committed $18 million to the project. MLSE will also field a Major League Soccer team, Toronto FC, at the stadium starting next year.

Hunter said there's huge interest in the naming rights for the stadium from major companies, and a deal should be announced in the fall.

MLSE has guaranteed the city $10 million from the rights to put a corporate name on the stadium. It's also taking any risks for construction cost over-runs.

Toronto has put in $9.8 million plus land; the province added $8 million and Ottawa provided $27 million

The city will get to use the soccer stadium for free for 14 days a year. That time will be devoted to the city's 13 priority neighbourhoods, school groups and other underserved community groups.

COMPETITIVE RATES

Residents will also be able to book the field, and get it at competitive rates.

Mayor David Miller said the stadium will give skilled players a chance to play at home, and that should help Canada get to the World Cup.

"When you look at our under-20 players, we're pretty competitive," Miller said.

He added the bubble covering the field in the winter will be a huge boost, letting players practise year-round.

"This kind of facility was totally absent from the city."

[Joe MacCarthy]

CIBC turns down naming rights to T.O. soccer stadium
By NEIL DAVIDSON
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2006/08/31/1790069-cp.html

TORONTO (CP) - CIBC has long been a marquee sponsor of the Canadian Soccer Association, but the bank apparently has no problems with Toronto's new soccer stadium being named after the rival Bank of Montreal.

The chief operating officer of the CSA said CIBC, by virtue of its relationship with the association, had first crack at the naming rights. That was part of the CSA's deal with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which had bought the naming rights.

"CIBC were given first opportunity so we fulfilled all obligations," Kevan Pipe said Thursday from Ottawa. "They were deeply appreciative of that opportunity to be first in line to consider that.

"It (the stadium) has always been identified as a totally separate project, so no conflict, no issues, no story, no nothing."

Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment paid $10 million for naming rights as part of its contribution to the 20,000-seat, $64-million stadium near the Toronto waterfront. MLSE owns Toronto FC, the expansion Major League Soccer team that will be the stadium's major tenant, and will run the venue.

MLSE refused comment on a report Thursday that the BMO naming rights deal could be worth as much as $27 million over 10 years to MLSE. An MLSE spokesman said the company would comment once an agreement was finalized.

The stadium is due to debut May 11, with opening ceremonies and the Canadian under-20 team hosting a "frontline, top-line, world-class opponent," Pipe said. The senior women's team will also probably have a game at the new venue in May.

The World Cup men's team probably won't play there until the fall of 2007 because of the restrictions on available dates in soccer's international calendar.

The stadium will be a key component in the world under-20 championships that Canada is hosting next summer.

[Joe MacCarthy]

BMO buys stadium rights from MLSE
August 31, 2006 Sportsnet.ca News
http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/article.jsp?content=20060831_115955_5540

TORONTO (CP) -- Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, the privately held sports concern that owns hockey's Maple Leafs and basketball's Raptors, has agreed to sell naming rights to its new soccer stadium in downtown Toronto to the Bank of Montreal.

Two sources familiar with the agreement told the Toronto Star that the pact with BMO is expected to be announced in September.

The contract is said to be worth as much as $27 million over 10 years, in line with what many sports industry officials expected.

Maple Leaf Sports obtained the corporate naming rights to the city's new downtown soccer stadium from a consortium of public-sector partners after it agreed to pay $10 million over 20 years for the right to sell naming rights and other sponsorships for the facility, currently under construction at Exhibition Place.

Besides selling the title sponsorship to the new 20,000-seat stadium, where Major League Soccer's Toronto FC will play its home games, MLSE also has the right to keep any revenue collected from associate sponsors. Those contracts, with the likes of car companies and brewers, are likely to be worth at least $250,000 a year, industry sources said.

(Toronto Star)

[Joe MacCarthy]

T.O.'s newest playground
By LANCE HORNBY -- Toronto Sun
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2006/09/21/1872908-sun.html

http://i9.tinypic.com/2illw0w.jpg
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. COO Tom Anselmi announced a partnership with BMO Financial Group, who acquired the naming rights to Toronto's new soccer stadium on Wednesday. (Toronto Sun File/Veroncia Henri)

Someday, there could be a Canadian soccer star worthy of having a new stadium named in his or her honour.

That hoofer might well get his or her start at Toronto's new 20,000-seat soccer facility, which was christened BMO Field yesterday at a press conference on the Exhibition grounds.

BMO Financial Group and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. reached agreement on a 10-year deal for naming rights and sponsorship of both the Toronto FC team in Major League Soccer and various grass roots soccer projects.

Pressed for details on the value of the naming rights, MLSEL chief operating officer Tom Anselmi would not disclose a dollar figure.

"(MLSEL) invested $10 million up front, took all the risks on construction, we took the risk on getting a (partnership) deal with the city of Toronto ... it's a good deal for both BMO and ourselves," Anselmi said.

Construction is set for completion in May of 2007.

Toronto is to be the MSL's 13th team, and the first to have a soccer-specific stadium, though commissioner Don Garber said yesterday he is shooting for many more such stadiums as the league expands toward 16 teams in 2010.

BMO Field also will have a bubble over it in the winter months, adding 150 days a year to its lifespan for community use.

"We've seen a number of good buildings around the league and we're stealing some ideas," Anselmi said.

Garber talked of more friendlies between top European teams and the MLS and Anselmi thinks such contests are a natural fit for Toronto once the stadium is broken in with the FIFA youth tournament next summer.

"No one is lined up yet, but we've discussed some different opportunities," Anselmi said. "(Coach) Mo Johnston might have had a cup of coffee with someone, but a lot of it is done through MLS.

"We want to do a lot of (those exhibitions). We will target it toward what interests the community most; be it Italian, Greek or Portuguese and do it sometime in our opening year."

MLSEL president Richard Peddie said Toronto FC's relationship with the youth soccer culture would work both ways and eventually produce home-grown talent.

"I've also noticed the Leaf players warm up with a soccer ball in the hallway an hour before each game," Peddie added. "Maybe we'll get them down here to play our soccer team."

[Joe MacCarthy]

BMO Field
http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/t280/stadium/

Toronto FC will have their home at the new BMO Field soccer-specific stadium currently under construction. The stadium, which will seat 20,000 fans, also will be a new major home of the Canadian National Teams.

The location of Toronto's newest sporting facility is on the grounds of Exhibition Place will have access to Toronto's transit systems, along with ample parking.

http://i9.tinypic.com/40aar2o.jpg

http://i9.tinypic.com/4deqmqg.jpg

Parkdale_FC has posted some great construction photos at BigSoccer.
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412838

The stadium looks like it is going to be a lot more attractive than some naysayers had posted after seeing the architectural renderings (posted previously). Red seats...perfect for Canada's National Stadium.

[Cevap]

they should put a roof over the seats..it will look more classy

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to Can. in UK at Vs for headsup

Players still hoping that new stadium's surface will be turfed
Peter Mallett
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060928.SOCCERTURF28/TPStory/TPSports/OtherSports/

Several of Canada's top soccer players hope to persuade the builders of Toronto's new soccer stadium to go on a nature kick.

The Canadian Soccer Association has insisted on an artificial FieldTurf playing surface at the 20,000-seat, $64-million BMO Field, which is nearing completion at Exhibition Place. But several national team players are pleading for a natural grass surface.

"It [FieldTurf] kills the culture of the game," said Julian de Guzman of Toronto, a midfielder with Canada's World Cup team and Spanish First Division club Deportivo La Coruna. "This stadium is supposed to be our new icon for soccer in the country, and the approach seems to be very cheap. It is a step backward in my eyes."

De Guzman's Canadian teammate, Tottenham Hotspur defender Paul Stalteri of Brampton, Ont., also gives the surface bad reviews.

"The best salesman in the world couldn't sell me on it [FieldTurf]," he said. "I hope in my career I never have to play on it."

But the CSA is comfortable with its decision, chief operating officer Kevan Pipe said. "There is absolutely zero chance of natural grass being installed," he said.

Pipe said FieldTurf has met the highest possible standard -- the 2-star certification -- of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association. He said the surface will be installed in early November and will be ready for play when the facility opens next May. That's when expansion club Toronto FC will open its first Major League Soccer season.

FieldTurf is a synthetic fibre playing surface with a base of sand and rubber made to simulate natural grass. The Montreal-based company has sold its product to several National Football League and Major League Baseball teams and U.S. colleges. The Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and baseball's Toronto Blue Jays play on FieldTurf.

Peru used the surface for the 2006 under-17 World Cup, and the Union of European Football Associations recently approved use of the surface.

"The 2-star surface debuted for our China exhibition matches in Newfoundland last month, and both the women's national teams of China and Canada loved it and cancelled their training on real grass," Pipe said.

Charmaine Hooper of Ottawa, a veteran of Canada's national team, denied Pipe's claims of support from women players, saying she played on the surface last summer for the W-League's New Jersey Wildcats.

"I absolutely hate it," said Hooper, 38. "These people who are passing or making it okay for us to play on these surfaces, they don't play on the stuff and they don't know. In general, most players don't like it."

Hooper said her feet hurt after only a few days of playing on the surface. She said the surface soaks up heat, and the ball takes strange hops and doesn't run the same way as on real grass.

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owner of Toronto FC, is overseeing construction of the stadium.

Toronto FC head coach Maurice Johnston hopes to recruit some of Canada's top players for his club, and is aware of concerns regarding the playing surface.

"Any player who doesn't want to play on FieldTurf is not someone who we would be interested in having on our team," Johnston said through a team spokesman.

That won't sit well with many of the club's potential signings, including national team and Houston Dynamo midfielder Dwayne De Rosario of Toronto.

"I am definitely 100-per-cent pro grass," De Rosario said. "If they get grass in there instead of an artificial surface, it would be easier to draw better players and teams from Europe to play exhibition games and the fans will respect the team."

In Vancouver, the Whitecaps of the United Soccer Leagues are planning to build their own soccer-specific stadium. Owner Greg Kerfoot has insisted that the playing surface must be grass.

TSN soccer analyst Dick Howard is a member of the FIFA technical committee that originally approved FieldTurf in 2001. He said the committee will be monitoring the situation.

"I think time will tell concerning this issue," Howard said. "The surfaces are getting more sophisticated and we will see it used more and more eventually."

FieldTurf co-founder John Gilman defended his product. He said most of the criticism comes from players who likely have not played on a surface that was properly maintained.

"Having a natural-turf stadium makes the facility unusable and uneconomical," Gilman said. "You have to use the stadium day in and day out for it to be a multiuse facility."

[Joe MacCarthy]

Stadium key to MLS success: Commissioner
JAMES CHRISTIE
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061019.SPORTMEDIA19/TPStory/Sports

Don Garber refuses to be daunted by past failures of pro soccer in Toronto.

The commissioner of Major League Soccer chalks up the optimism to detailed planning, controlled spending, a soccer-specific stadium and fake grass.

It may rankle purists that Toronto FC will play the beautiful game on an artificial field, but the concession to the realities of Canadian weather is the only way a Toronto team can succeed -- and Garber is adamant it will succeed.

"The facility would never have been built if we had insisted on natural turf. There wouldn't be enough dates for use to make it viable, there'd be no bubble for winter use, no community involvement," Garber said yesterday in Toronto, where he addressed the Sports Media Canada awards luncheon.

Achievement award winners included Doug Beeforth, president of Sportsnet, broadcaster Dave Hodge of TSN, columnist George Johnson of the Calgary Herald and Stacey Allaster, president of the Women's Tennis Association. Allaster was chosen sports executive of the year, the first woman to receive the honour.

Without the artificial surface at the $62-million stadium project, to be known as BMO Field (The Bank of Montreal bought naming rights), a key part of the league's program would be missing. The stadium wouldn't be feasible and a world-class market would be wasted, Garber said.

"If we had to give them grass, we couldn't give them anything," Garber said.

"We made it a core principle to play in soccer-specific stadiums. People don't want to go to oversized football or baseball stadiums to watch soccer. If we had to continue to play in American football stadiums, this league would have failed. They are too large, not event-friendly, the clubs wouldn't have the revenue streams, all of that.

"MLS is going about building a league differently than others have," Garber said.

Other pro entities in soccer and football, such as the XFL (Extreme Football League) and WFL (World Football League), haven't imposed the same kind of controls that the MLS is using. The league is ready for Toronto and Toronto is ready for the league.

"The league has had slow, conservative, logical growth," he said.

The league has cable and over-the-air broadcast agreements in place to bring in revenue. There's a $2-million limit on salaries and on how clubs spend other money. All contracts are signed and approved by the league, not the individual clubs. The MLS will compete globally for talent without owners outspending each other into bankruptcy.

"Our owners have money. They own franchises in the National Hockey League, National Football League and National Basketball Association. If they wanted to, they could go out and buy players to be competitive with the like of Manchester United or Chelsea or Juventus. But the market's not sophisticated enough for that."

Toronto FC is owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owner of hockey's Toronto Maple Leafs and basketball's Toronto Raptors.

But the cosmopolitan Toronto market has great potential for soccer if it gets a product that's professional on and off the field, Garber said.

"Clearly, Toronto is a different city than it was before. We see Toronto as a global city, like Paris and London and New York, not Columbus, Ohio," he said.

"In Toronto, one of the challenges is the depth of understanding of the game. It's an ethnically diverse population, from countries with a love for the sport. The Greek population, the Italian population, they get the game and we have to make it attractive to them."

The MLS also has a goal to make the teams media-friendly from the technology standpoint. All new buildings will have fibre-optic and wireless capacity.

Teams have a restriction on imports, four a team with the balance domestic talent. Toronto FC will be allowed three U.S. players among its "domestic" personnel.

Toronto may not challenge for championships for years, but at least it has the advantage of being the only expansion team in 2007, "so it is not competing with other teams for players not protected in the expansion draft."

The expansion draft takes place in late November.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to Elias at Vs for headsup

THE GAME
No room for Argos at new soccer stadium
STEPHEN BRUNT
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061207.wsptbrunt7/TPStory/Sports/columnists

Rising now on the grounds of Exhibition Place on the Toronto waterfront is BMO Field, a sight that inspires different feelings in different people.

For the soccer crowd, it's the long-awaited home for their favourite sport, for the men's and women's national sides, for a new professional team, Toronto FC, and for next summer's FIFA under-20 World Cup.

For the skeptics, it's a boondoggle, yet another instance of public money being squandered in the interests of a wealthy private concern, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Major Soccer League franchise, and which will operate the stadium.

Whatever the viewpoint, whatever the math, that last concern diminishes the more the venue can be used for purposes other than those that directly benefit the folks who have already made their $18-million investment back (and then some) by peddling naming rights for $27-million over 10 years.

To that end, here's a fact that some might find surprising. They won't be able to play Canadian football in the new park.

The stands at the south end, built on permanent foundations, sit right in the middle of where the end zone would be. Length-wise, the field simply won't fit.

So knock off a few of those possible alternate uses for the place — Vanier Cups and high-school football championships, for example, which certainly cuts into the public-good argument. And of course, BMO Field cannot now serve as the home of the Toronto Argonauts.

That last option isn't one that the current owners of the Canadian Football League team are willing to acknowledge. They have a lease at the Rogers Centre and will tell anyone willing to listen that they're more than happy in the cavernous dome.

Privately, though, it wouldn't be shocking if their noses were a bit out of joint at what's happened here, considering the tortured history of the Argos' own doomed stadium projects at the Varsity and York University sites, considering that they feel as though they didn't receive nearly the same political support when they were trying to go it alone, and considering that some day, moving into more intimate quarters might make enormous sense for the franchise.

A complicating factor is that one of the principals in MLSE, Larry Tanenbaum, is also one of the prime movers behind bringing a National Football League franchise to Toronto. He and Argos' co-owner Howard Sokolowski may have a long-standing, mostly friendly relationship, but the optics certainly aren't good.

Perhaps the existence of the Argos, and by extension, of the CFL, isn't as much of an impediment to Tanenbaum's NFL dreams as some believe. Still, for the Mayor of Toronto, David Miller, a significant booster of BMO Field, the fate of the Argos has been a bit of a motherhood issue. In that context, it is a bit unseemly for a project that has benefited from approximately $45-million in public funds to be designed so as to cut off one of the Argos' possible escape routes in the case of an NFL invasion.

According to MLSE executive vice-president Bob Hunter, no malice was intended. The decision to build as they did was a purely practical, financial one. "We knew that we couldn't build a CFL stadium at that price," he said, pointing out that the budgets for both the Varsity and York projects were in excess of $100-million, versus $62.9-million for BMO Field.

It was always going to be a soccer-first stadium. They had to get it built fast, in time for the MLS season opener next spring. They were limited in the design by its footprint (there is a new road close behind the south stand and no space to grow beyond the open north end). They weren't inclined to take on the extra cost of making the bleachers movable (as they would have been at Varsity), allowing for a Canadian football field's 110-yard playing surface and 20-yard end zones.

Certainly it would have been preferable to max out the possible uses for the park. "But you can only max out if you can do it under your existing budget," deputy mayor Joe Pantalone said Thursday.

And if some day, the Argos would like to move to BMO Field? They'd be more than welcome, Hunter and Pantalone agree. Just come up with the money to knock down and rebuild the end stands and expand the seating capacity by five or 10 thousand. The seating alone would cost, in today's dollars, approximately $15-million. Then there would be the expense of demolishing and redesigning/rebuilding the south stand, which Pantalone estimates at "a few handfuls of millions of dollars."

Of course, the Argo owners would undoubtedly be asked to pay for that themselves, without the benefit of a sweetheart deal for the naming rights.

They could be forgiven for feeling that they've been outflanked, as so many have over the years, by those clever hockey/basketball/soccer guys down the street.

[shevafan]

Thats good that the argos are staying at rogers centre. Its much better to have a field just for soccer.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Some photos of BMO Field construction progress

http://i13.tinypic.com/2uo0sg0.jpg
September 29, 2006
http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/t280/stadium/construction/

http://i10.tinypic.com/2it3iat.jpg
(Ian Duke/Duke Aerial Photo)
December 2006
http://www.dukeaerial.com/

[mrdeeds]

Looking good. It will be nice to have a dedicated soccer stadium at the Centre of the Universe:rolleyes:

[juanpabloangel]

interesting reading

[Joe MacCarthy]

Take a tour of Toronto FC's BMO Field
By Mike Ulmer/TorontoFC.ca
http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20070212&content_id=83512&vkey=news_t280&fext=.jsp&team=t280

http://i17.tinypic.com/35hig0g.jpg
BMO Field is on schedule to open at the start of the '07 season.
(TorontoFC.ca)

With a walk through the unfurnished rooms and windswept concourses of BMO Field, one can already recognize the future of professional soccer in Canada.

"We see this as the top-of-the-line soccer specific stadium in Canada," said Marc Petitpas, general manager of BMO Field and the Ricoh Coliseum.

BMO Field, being built as we speak at Exhibition Place, is spectacular, even in its unfinished form. By April, the doors will be hung, the latest generation of FieldTurf will be applied and a facility the likes of which the city has never seen will begin accommodating visitors.

BMO Field will offer ample views of the Toronto skyline, the kind of vistas modern baseball parks like PNC Park in Pittsburgh and Jacobs Field in Cleveland have incorporated into stadium architecture. Fans will find a one-of-a-kind stadium where disabled patrons will be allocated some of the closest seating to the field. Every detail has been taken into account for the comfort and enjoyment of the 20,000 fans who will witness Toronto FC's first season in Major League Soccer beginning April 28.

Also, there is no dome here.

"Its the only place in Toronto where fans can sit outdoors and enjoy the elements at a professional sporting event - whatever the weather," said Paul Beirne, director of business for TFC. "Our fans will face Mother Nature head-on and they embrace the opportunity to support their team in all four seasons."

The tour begins at what will be the reception area in the Northwest corner of the stadium. Ticket staff, communications personnel, business operators, coaches and sales managers will have their own office, as will the BMO Field staff.

Down the hall and one passes into a vast group VIP location. The room will offer food and beverage for premium club customers who can then pass unencumbered from the lounge to their seats in the stands. The lounge, accentuated with deep leather couches and high-top tables, can handle 300 clients at a time.

Take the side stairs to the ground level and arrive at the community dressing rooms. There are eight of them with access to the field. A bubble will be installed on the pitch for winter play and national team development program. The same floor houses FC's spacious gymnasium. A side wall is devoted to windows so the outside environment is never far away.

Honeycombed around the ground floor are referee rooms, a home dressing room for the Canadian Soccer Association, a medical examination room and a gargantuan dressing room for FC which includes a huge changing area, a TV production space, media workroom, press conference area and hot and cold tubs. In all, the FC dressing room is about 2,000 square feet, the size of a medium house.

Exit through the closest door. That leads to the Supporters Section, a 4,000-strong section at the Southwest corner of the grounds.

"This will be, by far, our loudest section," said Petitpas. "A lot of the supporters in cities like Chicago don't even sit down. They make more noise than two or three times the people and they are organized and ready to go in Toronto."

"The supporters at BMO Field are part of the show," said Beirne. "We have high expectations of them. ... Their voices need to be heard not only in Parkdale, but across the country."

The concession area between the first and second deck of the West grandstand is the most elaborate of the stadium.

"We want to represent the ethnicity of Toronto," Petitpas said. "That's why we're looking at everything from fish and chips to samosas."

This summer's FIFA U-20 World Cup will feature games at BMO Field. Additional press and medical rooms, mandated by the soccer body, will be converted once the tournament is over. The final game will be played July 22.

TFC have already sold the 30 suites between the first and second deck and are considering building an additional six suites for next season. The suites accommodate a dozen people on a patio with room for four more at the bar. Two free-standing group sales pavilion locations can also accommodate parties of 150 people.

Did we mention the latest generation FieldTurf, a mammoth $1 million scoreboard in the north end of the stadium, two ancillary boards and seven portable stand-alone cart operations dispensing food, drink and souvenirs?

All of which, operators know, guarantees nothing.

No matter how great the foresight, bad execution can ground any opening. Petitpas aims to make sure it doesn't.

"Look, we know people will come but we also know if the food is bad or the beer is warm, people also have a lot of other places to go," he said. "That's why we are working so hard to get everything right."

[Joe MacCarthy]

Photos courtesy of Toronto FC MLSNet (http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/t280/stadium/construction/)

http://i16.tinypic.com/4csg4gl.jpg

http://i14.tinypic.com/3478c2e.jpg

[tdr]

^ that's great :)

[Joe MacCarthy]

Photos courtesy of
toronto.fc.mlsnet.com (http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/t280/stadium/construction/)

http://i14.tinypic.com/2ldglko.jpg

http://i16.tinypic.com/2n68zo9.jpg

http://i13.tinypic.com/30t1f6v.jpg

http://i11.tinypic.com/4868ug9.jpg

http://i17.tinypic.com/4grum2c.jpg

http://i17.tinypic.com/43r1bb6.jpg

[shevafan]

is that 100% real grass?? it looks so nicely done.

[Joe MacCarthy]

FieldTurf - FIFA 2-star certification - the highest possible standard

http://i12.tinypic.com/2ag5ic9.jpg

[juanpabloangel]

The stadium looks even better when there are people filling it! Is Canada getting another MLS slot, do you think??? If Toronto is doing so well, maybe they should.

[Joe MacCarthy]

The stadium looks even better when there are people filling it! Is Canada getting another MLS slot, do you think??? If Toronto is doing so well, maybe they should.Toronto has exclusive rights for the Canadian market until around 2009 IIRC.

Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps are both great organizations backed by big money, Joey Saputo and Greg Kerfoot respectively. If either wants in MLS, they will be, likely around 2010.

Each has stadium plans Montreal here (http://forums.soccerfansnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=35436) and Vancouver here (http://forums.soccerfansnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=35435)

[juanpabloangel]

Why no 4th end on the montreal plan? The ball is round... they will need a big net behind the goal!! Better to put paying spectators! But I like that Canada could have 3 teams in by 2010, from the main areas of Canada... especially if they fill it like Toronto. I am a Melbourne Victory fan in Australia, though I live in Argentina and support River Plate. That team started with 18000 capacity, and have had to move to a stadium of 55,000 in a dome with removeable roof, for sheer numbers of fans... and will eventually end up in a proper rectagular stadium next to the original home, with capacity for 33,000 expandable to 40k. There is a lot of clamour to get safe standing... as in Germany. Mainly for the end where the most vocal fans gather. Perhaps this in an option for Montreals end!!

[Almir11]

i have been here maybe to watch 5 games and played one of my games on it its the best field i have ever played on !!

[BavarianRed]

i was at BMO field today to watch Toronto Fc vs Real Salt Lake a very extertaining game which resulted 1-0 to toronto fc :)
great atmosphere in the stadium lots of booing and what not lol.......

[juanpabloangel]

yes from what I can see on the tv, the atmosphere is great, shame they have no room for more fans!