too small for national stadium for soccer or the argonaunts. maybe good enough for MLS. shortsighted if spending $60Million, largely government money. at least it's downtown and not up north at York.
$60M soccer stadium set for Toronto
Downsview Park to hold facility for 20,000 fans
Venue would be home to possible pro franchise
JENNIFER QUINN
SPORTS REPORTER
Downsview Park has been chosen as the site for a 20,000-seat soccer stadium, and its main tenants could be Canada's first Major League Soccer franchise.
After months of uncertainty over where the $60 million stadium should be built — and with the 2007 FIFA world youth championships looming — the Canadian Soccer Association has decided to focus its efforts on the site at Keele St. and Sheppard Ave. W.
The pro soccer franchise could become the latest part of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment's expanding empire, though president and CEO Richard Peddie said yesterday nothing has yet been signed.
The soccer association had been looking for a site since previous deals to build at the old site of Varsity Stadium and at York University fell through. The association looked very seriously at Exhibition Place — and had the support of Mayor David Miller and Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone — but instead decided to build the facility in the city's north end.
"We're very happy with the way things have been evolving," Kevan Pipe, the association's chief operating officer, said yesterday. "We are focusing our efforts on Downsview Park for a whole bunch of good reasons."
One of those reasons is location.
"Downsview is in the geographic centre of Toronto," Pipe said. "It is in the city of Toronto. It's in the 416 area code."
And it's on federal land, which has been virtually vacant for years. Pipe said $27 million of federal money would be available to build the new facility, which includes a "winter inflatable bubble" roof so it can be used year-round. The Downsview site also has the support of Vaughan Mayor Michael Di Biase, whose city had been bidding for the stadium.
Another $8 million will come from the province, Pipe said, and there's also significant private investment, though he declined to be specific. Additionally, naming rights to the stadium — which could come from soccer association partner IMG Canada — will be worth an additional $10 million to $15 million.
The goal is to have the shovels in the ground by the new year and have the stadium ready to go for April 2007, Pipe said. That would mesh well with the kickoff of the pro soccer season, and later that year teams competing in the FIFA world youth championships would play their first game in July.
The stadium would also strengthen Canada's bid for the 2011 Women's World Cup, Pipe said. But the anchor tenant of the site would be the city's pro soccer expansion franchise, and a new stadium is an intrinsic part of any deal.
Major League Soccer is looking for two new teams for the 2007 season, and league officials have visited the city and spoken with both the association and Maple Leaf Sports, league spokesman Dan Courtemanche said in an interview from New York.
"Toronto is at the top of our list when it comes to cities or markets we're looking to for 2007," he said. "We think the addition of a Canadian team ... would be a great addition for Canadian soccer and for Major League Soccer."
Peddie said his company, the dominant force in Toronto professional sports, is optimistic about bringing a pro soccer club into the fold.
"We haven't done a deal, but we like what we see," he said. "We like the league. We like the commissioner. And we think it could work here.
"I'm confident we could probably do a deal."
If the deal is completed and an expansion franchise comes to Canada, it will be Major League Soccer's first team outside the United States. The expansion fee is said to be $10 million (U.S.), and it already has franchises in Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles.
And if Maple Leaf Sports does end up with the soccer team, that would make it the owner of four of the city's eight pro or semi-pro teams: the NHL's Maple Leafs, NBA's Raptors, AHL's Marlies and the soccer franchise.
The company would also control three of the four major sporting venues in the city, with only the Rogers Centre out of its grasp.
Stephen Heckbert, a spokesman for Joe Volpe, the federal minister closest to the issue, said yesterday that a number of venues had been considered since the York University deal fell through, including sites in Hamilton, Vaughan, Oakville and Mississauga.
"Our goal at the federal level is to ensure that the market research bears out the location," he said
$60M soccer stadium set for Toronto
Downsview Park to hold facility for 20,000 fans
Venue would be home to possible pro franchise
JENNIFER QUINN
SPORTS REPORTER
Downsview Park has been chosen as the site for a 20,000-seat soccer stadium, and its main tenants could be Canada's first Major League Soccer franchise.
After months of uncertainty over where the $60 million stadium should be built — and with the 2007 FIFA world youth championships looming — the Canadian Soccer Association has decided to focus its efforts on the site at Keele St. and Sheppard Ave. W.
The pro soccer franchise could become the latest part of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment's expanding empire, though president and CEO Richard Peddie said yesterday nothing has yet been signed.
The soccer association had been looking for a site since previous deals to build at the old site of Varsity Stadium and at York University fell through. The association looked very seriously at Exhibition Place — and had the support of Mayor David Miller and Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone — but instead decided to build the facility in the city's north end.
"We're very happy with the way things have been evolving," Kevan Pipe, the association's chief operating officer, said yesterday. "We are focusing our efforts on Downsview Park for a whole bunch of good reasons."
One of those reasons is location.
"Downsview is in the geographic centre of Toronto," Pipe said. "It is in the city of Toronto. It's in the 416 area code."
And it's on federal land, which has been virtually vacant for years. Pipe said $27 million of federal money would be available to build the new facility, which includes a "winter inflatable bubble" roof so it can be used year-round. The Downsview site also has the support of Vaughan Mayor Michael Di Biase, whose city had been bidding for the stadium.
Another $8 million will come from the province, Pipe said, and there's also significant private investment, though he declined to be specific. Additionally, naming rights to the stadium — which could come from soccer association partner IMG Canada — will be worth an additional $10 million to $15 million.
The goal is to have the shovels in the ground by the new year and have the stadium ready to go for April 2007, Pipe said. That would mesh well with the kickoff of the pro soccer season, and later that year teams competing in the FIFA world youth championships would play their first game in July.
The stadium would also strengthen Canada's bid for the 2011 Women's World Cup, Pipe said. But the anchor tenant of the site would be the city's pro soccer expansion franchise, and a new stadium is an intrinsic part of any deal.
Major League Soccer is looking for two new teams for the 2007 season, and league officials have visited the city and spoken with both the association and Maple Leaf Sports, league spokesman Dan Courtemanche said in an interview from New York.
"Toronto is at the top of our list when it comes to cities or markets we're looking to for 2007," he said. "We think the addition of a Canadian team ... would be a great addition for Canadian soccer and for Major League Soccer."
Peddie said his company, the dominant force in Toronto professional sports, is optimistic about bringing a pro soccer club into the fold.
"We haven't done a deal, but we like what we see," he said. "We like the league. We like the commissioner. And we think it could work here.
"I'm confident we could probably do a deal."
If the deal is completed and an expansion franchise comes to Canada, it will be Major League Soccer's first team outside the United States. The expansion fee is said to be $10 million (U.S.), and it already has franchises in Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles.
And if Maple Leaf Sports does end up with the soccer team, that would make it the owner of four of the city's eight pro or semi-pro teams: the NHL's Maple Leafs, NBA's Raptors, AHL's Marlies and the soccer franchise.
The company would also control three of the four major sporting venues in the city, with only the Rogers Centre out of its grasp.
Stephen Heckbert, a spokesman for Joe Volpe, the federal minister closest to the issue, said yesterday that a number of venues had been considered since the York University deal fell through, including sites in Hamilton, Vaughan, Oakville and Mississauga.
"Our goal at the federal level is to ensure that the market research bears out the location," he said
