Pro Stadium? Please read.

[Johnnie Monster]

Hi there,

Some of you know me from the Southsiders / Voyageurs. Good to see some stadium discussion here.

This is a crucial time for the stadium proposal. If we really want to see this thing happen, we really need to get our elected officials off their asses and working the phones to make sure we don't lose out on this amazing $90 million gift to the community.

Right now, most MPs, MLAs and city councillors are playing it safe. They'll give you the tired old line, "Well, it's between the Caps and the Port Authority to work out, and it's not appropriate for us to get involved."

This is complete horse crap.

Over the past five years, all three levels of government have had opportunities to make this thing happen, especially the city of Vancouver.

During this time BMO Stadium and Stade Saputo have been conceived, planned, approved and built. Neither facility was even on the radar at the time Kerfoot started this ridiculous and frustrating process.

If you're sincerely interested in doing something about this, I strongly suggest you start with the mayoral hopefuls.

Feel free to copy & paste the letter below, and please post any responses you receive here. It's important that we get these guys on the record.

* * * * * * * * *

Dear Mr. ????

As it is my understanding you intend to seek the Mayor's office in the next civic election, I would appreciate your thoughts on the Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium debacle, and your specific plans, if any, to finally resolve it.

Greg Kerfoot was courted by former mayor Larry Campbell to build this project nearly five years ago.

Since then, Toronto and Montreal have both come from behind to plan, design and build their own state of the art soccer stadiums in a fraction of the time, while we are no further ahead.

As a result of this bungling, Vancouver missed out on an opportunity to host the FIFA U20 World Cup and several other high profile international sporting events. So much for Vancouver being an "Olympic city."

As we speak there is recent news that Canada's national men's soccer team will square off against perennial world champions Brazil… it's just a shame the match will be at Qwest Field in Seattle instead of our own privately funded waterfront stadium.

My specific questions to you are as follows:


1. In the event that the Vancouver Whitecaps are unable to reach a land swap agreement with the Vancouver Port Authority in the next 90 days, will you or will you not support the construction of the stadium on the land Mr. Kerfoot already owns?


2. What, if anything, would you do to **drastically** expedite the rezoning application and approval process once a formal submission has been submitted to city hall by the Whitecaps?


3. Would you support or oppose action by the provincial government to expedite construction of the stadium and circumvent municipal red tape as per the powers afforded to them under the Significant Projects Streamlining Act?

In fairness to you, please note that I intend to share your responses with others in the soccer and business communities.

Sincerely,

?????
* * * * * * * * *

The mayoral candidates are:

Sam Sullivan (NPA)
mayor@vancouver.ca

Peter Ladner (NPA)
clrladner@vancouver.ca

Raymond Louie (Vision)
clrlouie@vancouver.ca

Gregor Robertson (Vision)
info@gregor08.ca
gregor.robertson.mla@leg.bc.ca

Allan De Genova (Vision)
adegenova@sutton.com
info@allandegenova.com

David Cadman (COPE)
clrcadman@vancouver.ca

 

[johnnybluenose]

...and email or write your local MP and MLA's.

In reality all 3 arms of the government are really only interested in one thing, Office.

If you let them know that this is a big issue for you then they are forced to have an opinion. Many times 3-4k votes are enough to pull someone out of a seat and plunk a new one in....

The Motivated NIMBY's and squeky wheel works for them, why can't it work for us?

Bill Curries website has links to the website in which you can find your MLA and MP for your riding.

 

[johnnybluenose]

Johnnie what do we do if we don't live in Vancouver Proper as far as the upcoming civic election?
I myself don't carry a really big stick vote wise if I live in Langley do I?

IMHO the civic government of the COV carries a lot more that just the weight of Vancouver Proper. Metro-Vancouver and the Lower Mainland at large relies heavily on the COV and their decision making processes.

 

[Johnnie Monster]

There's two guys in particular I would also put some pressure on.

The first is Lawrence Cannon, who is the Minister responsible for Transport Canada, which oversees the Port Authority that is presently stonewalling the land transfer with the Caps.

Get him here: Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca

Another guy who I think needs to see some pressure is David Emerson, who is the MP for Vancouver Kingsway. He's currently the federal minister for international trade (another Port connection there) and also for the 2010 Olympics.

Emerson has a lot to lose if an election is called - if you'll recall (no pun intended), he won his seat as a Liberal, then defected to the Conservatives shortly afterwards. That pissed off a lot of voters, so his political future isn't so certain.

That said, Emerson has major clout, and he has a unique opportunity to be the first Vancouver-based MP who's out there championing this cause.

Emerson's e-mail: emersd@parl.gc.ca

The other Liberal and Tory MPs from Vancouver have thus far been invisible.

Even worse, NDP MP Libby Davies has been in outright opposition to the stadium, while at the same time she's on the record as supporting legalized brothels in the neighbourhood instead.

 

[Johnnie Monster]

Johnnie what do we do if we don't live in Vancouver Proper as far as the upcoming civic election?

First off, please write the e-mails anyway. You're not obligated to divulge what city you live in.

At the same time, please don't say anything misleading like "I'm a Vancouver resident and taxpayer" if you're really not. While you might think it gives your letter more importance in the eyes of the recipient, those tactics would give the pro-stadium movement a black eye if you were found out. You'd just be giving the NIMBYs more ammo too - they'll argue that Vancouverites don't want the stadium, hooligans from the Fraser Valley do.

You should all know that if you live in Surrey, Langley, New West, etc your voice is still very, very important.

If you happen to receive any kind of half-assed evasive response from a politician who won't give you the straight goods because you're not a Vancouver resident, be sure to let them know this:

"Regardless of where I live, if you and your party are not prepared to resolve this stadium issue, soccer supporters across BC and Canada will be mobilizing in great numbers to support the campaigns of candidates who will."

 

[johnnybluenose]

So far I have received two automated responses, one from Gregor and one from the Mayor.

also messages have been sent to Lawrence Cannon and David Emerson, I truly belive Libby Davies and Hedy Fry (Where are those burning crosses again ) are a waste of time.

 

[FriendsofSoccer]

If you happen to receive any kind of half-assed evasive response from a politician who won't give you the straight goods because you're not a Vancouver resident, be sure to let them know this:

"Regardless of where I live, if you and your party are not prepared to resolve this stadium issue, soccer supporters across BC and Canada will be mobilizing in great numbers to support the campaigns of candidates who will."

Amen Johnny!

 

[Dude]

Guys,

How far do you want to push this?

Thinking outside the box a bit, I'm thinking of a three way strategy:

1. Send a note to all of Greater Vancouver's MLAs
2. Send a note to all your friends / familly that may have an interest, and tell them they can help by petitioning the SAME MLAs
3. Send a note to the Provincial Soccer Associations, and under the theme of advancing Soccer Canada's agenda, encourage them to petition their members.

#3 is a stretch, but if one or two of those members actually forward the e-mail to their members, a vitual snowball affect of support could be fired right back to both the MLAs in this area, and their local MLAs.

Just using the good old intraweb, I've created a couple of lists. Let me know REGS if you mind that I post these list, and a couple of sample letters.

 

[Polska]

i sent the link of this thread to the boys at team 1040. hope ya all dont mind.

 

[FriendsofSoccer]

Dude...you've got a good grip on what we need to do! I don't consider #3 a stretch by any means. The BCSA has been cooperative with us in the past...they just need some direction as to what to do.

While it would be great to get MLA's involved, the power right now rests with FEDERAL M.P.s . The Port lands are owned by the Feds, and there's not a thing the Province can do to help things along other than influence MPs. That's where we really need the focus. The snowball effect idea is awesome!

Cheers,
Bill Currie

 

[Dude]

I think so. It's all about making a lot of noise. Sick of the NIMBY minority voice being heard over the rest of us. People just need direction.

Regs: awaiting your permissing to post a sample letter w/ lists.

 

[Dude]

Regs- you can go ahead and edit / delete this if you find it is more than your site wants to handle.

I'm sending this to the head of every Provincial Soccer Association:

If you are receiving this e-mail, I am writing you as a concerned Canadian Citizen who loves the Beautiful game of soccer, but frustrated with the current state of our game in this country, and urging you to help in any way possible to try and advance a cause that is common to us all: improving the game at a National level.

As you may or may not be aware, The Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club has been on the record as willing to finance and proceed with construction of a soccer specific stadium located in the Vancouver area. The intent of the stadium, among others, is to be the home of Whitecaps FC teams, as well as a suitable BC based host venue for International caliber games, and World Cup Qualifiers. The Whitecaps are also on the record as stating that it is their desire to have their club playing in the top Professional league in North America, which is widely considered to be the MLS. The MLS has expressed a strong desire to expand to Vancouver, with the major stumbling block being the lack of a suitable facility.

As influential executives involved with the game, I think you can agree that one of the (several) major barriers to our domestic players and national caliber teams becoming more competitive on an international stage is the lack of a true professional league based in Canada, where players can not only play & train domestically against the highest caliber competition available in North America, but a league where they can be reasonably compensated to focus 100% of their efforts towards the pursuit of becoming the best footballers they can be.

To this end, as an interested party in advancing the game at the Provincial and National levels, you must agree that Canadian Soccer NEEDS THIS FACILITY!

The facts:

~Whitecaps owner Greg Kerfoot intends to privately finance Waterfront Stadium.

~Mr. Kerfoot owns a block of land on the Vancouver Waterfront in the Gasstown Area that he has proposed as the future site of Waterfront Stadium.

~This land, and site as it was originally proposed, is an impediment to the day-to-day operations of the Port.

~The Vancouver Port Authority (a Crown Corporation) and Vancouver Whitecaps have been in negotiations to discuss a suitable "land swap" for the past 15 months.

~On Wednesday, April 23, Patrick McLaughlin, the Director of Planning and Development for the Vancouver Port Authority intentionally leaked selected private details of their negotiation regarding the Whitecaps stadium to a reporter from local news station CKNW.

~The Whitecaps disputed the details leaked as fraudulent, and have offered their own release with their interpretation of the state of negotiations.

As a concerned Canadian system that loves this game, I have little interest in the political side of this dispute, but what I do know is that a private businessman has expressed interest in building a private facility at his own expense that will not only help in revitalizing a run-down area of the city, but will more importantly serve as a much needed, even critical home base for the highest level of Professional football in Canada, as well as a world class facility that can be used by our National level soccer teams.

Again: this proposal calls for PRIVATE FINANCING. It is absurd to allow political red tape stand in the way of this project.

I think as interested citizens, we are now in a position of having to speak out, and of having to push all interested levels of government to put pressure on the VPA to work co-operatively with the Whitecaps, and move this project forward. Again, being that the VPA is a Federally owned Crown Corporation, we as taxpayers have a legitimate voice to express with regards to their operations.

I am asking you, as a Provincial director for Soccer that falls under the CSA who has a VESTED INTEREST in seeing this project move forward in the best interest of CANADIAN SOCCER, to please petition your members to send a letter to their local MP and demand that they put pressure on the Crown Corporation to work in good faith and move this project forward.

Some key contacts who I'm sure will love to hear from your members:

• Lawrence Cannon: Minister responsible for Transport Canada, which oversees the Port Authority that is presently stonewalling the land transfer with the Caps. Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca

• David Emerson: MP for Vancouver Kingsway & current Federal Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver–Whistler Olympics. emersd@parl.gc.ca


Also, following is a list of Vancouver Area MPs (Liberal and Conservative members selected only):


Abbotsford
Ed Fast
Fast.E@parl.gc.ca

Delta-Richmond East
John Cummins
Cummins.J@parl.gc.ca


Langley
Mark Warawa
Warawa.M@parl.gc.ca


Newton-North Delta
Sukh Dhaliwal
Grewal.G@parl.gc.ca


North Vancouver
Don Bell
Bell.D@parl.gc.ca


Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam
James Moore
Moore.J@parl.gc.ca


Richmond
Raymond Chan
chan.r@parl.gc.ca


South Surrey - White Rock - Langley
Russ Hiebert
Hiebert.R@parl.gc.ca


Vancouver Centre
Honourable Hedy Fry
Fry.H@parl.gc.ca


Vancouver Kingsway
Hon. Emerson, David
Emerson.D@parl.gc.ca


Vancouver Quadra
Honourable Stephen Owen
Owenwen.S@parl.gc.ca



Vancouver South
Honourable Ujjal Dosanjh
Dosanjh.U@parl.gc.ca


West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast
Blair Wilson
Wilson.B@parl.gc.ca

 

[dutch13]

Not bad response time...

Hello Michael,

Thank you for your recent message regarding the construction of a new soccer stadium on Vancouver’s waterfront. I appreciate you taking the time to contact me about this issue.

As your Mayor, I am completely supportive of this initiative. In addition to personally championing the stadium during several meetings in Ottawa, I have encouraged Council and city staff to expedite our approval process once the negotiations between the Port and Whitecaps are complete.

Prior to this recent round of negotiations, our government expressed our openness to constructing a new soccer stadium on City owned land outside the downtown core. However, the Whitecaps preferred a waterfront location.

Building a new privately funded soccer stadium is entirely dependent on a complex negotiation between the federally controlled Port of Vancouver and the Whitecaps.

While I share the frustration of many fans, I am hopeful that these negotiations will prove fruitful and that this proposal can come back to Council for approval in short order.



Sam Sullivan
Mayor
City of Vancouver
Tel: (604) 873-7621
Fax: (604) 873-7685

 

[johnnybluenose]

ah, yes it was quick, but it failed to address the three questions to be posed in the email.

good for you Polska for relaying this onto the TEAM1040, not that Regs needs free advertising . but that I believe this and the southsiders forum to be the two best places for fresh up to date and true (albeit biased pro stadium) information on the stadium dealings and goings-on.

 

[Regs]

Reedie works for team 1040, pretty sure they are aware of the issues

Excellent stuff from everyone, though I see Dude forgot the point in his letter saying he loves the beautiful game but wants his kid to play hockey

If you read Sam's "reply", he actually speaks out of both sides of his mouth like a true politician - does anyone else see it?

 

[Johnnie Monster]

~This land, and site as it was originally proposed, is an impediment to the day-to-day operations of the Port.

If you'll indulge me for a second, this is incorrect.

The various sites proposed within Kerfoot's waterfront lands were deemed unfavourable by city council as a result of the stadium's proximity to Gastown DTES, and incompatibility with planning objectives for the heritage character of the neighbourhood. That's why he's trying to swap for land further west.

There is/was nothing about Kerfoot's land that interferes with the Port operations.

That said, the Port did come out with some nonsense the other day about how a stadium on their lands (post swap) would interfere with things.

This allegation holds very little water and caught many of us who have been following the issue by surprise.

The only explanation that the Port has given for this statement is that they want to ensure rail access is never interrupted.

But Kerfoot has already entered into an agreement with the rail companies ensuring they'll stay right where they are in perpetuity.

For starters, he's building above the tracks, not on them. And as the new landlord to the rail companies (it used to be Fairmont Hotels), he collects lease payments from them through the future. Of course he wants the railyards to stay!

So what's the Port's problem then?

It looks like the Port is choked at having missed the opportunity to buy the rail yards from Fairmont, and now they're holding the stadium hostage as a result.

They've made it clear that they want 100% of the rail yards, and anything less than that "interferes with the Port."

Well right now they own 0%, and the Port is operating just fine. So what gives?

Unless they're planning to launch flying rail cars and spaceships over the proposed site's airspace, this allegation was just plain silly.

Bottom line is that the trains will continue to operate as they did before. So unless the Port has unstated motives here (condos, maybe?), their so-called "concerns" have no substance.

Fortunately, it looks like they are back at the negotiating table since this bizarre allegation thanks to media & political pressure. Hopefully Larry Campbell can help facilitate something here, but we can't sit back and expect him to do it himself. Other politicians must make a stand, pronto!

 

[Dude]

I'm sure you are 100% correct, but publicly this is what we've learned, and it is simply there to help drive home the point that Federal Employees are standing in the way of this project. Honestly, in the big scheme of the theme of my letter, that point is moot.

And Regs, you sly bastard, the boy chose hockey over soccer. I'd have loved it if he'd have chosen soccer, because I love coaching, but when you are a kid and you get to see and experience what is in front of you, and what you can strive for, it is easy to see why he chose hockey.

Now fcuk off, I'm busy.

 

[TheRob]

Dude. You are a citizen. Not a system.

I love you man.

 

[trece verde]

Dude:

You illiterate bumpkin from Langley, there's only one "s" in Gastown.

Well done. I'm forwarding this on to the rest of my kids' club (Grandview Legion).

Trece

 

[Dude]

That's what I get for penning a letter in mere minutes in between my efforts to take over the pollution control equipment universe.

~**** off, I'm busy.