Toronto Stadium....Downsfield???

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

The good news we've been waiting for in Toronto. The Feds got their way. It's Downsview and a $60 million complex based on $27 mill from the Feds, $8 mill from the Province, $10 to $15 mill in naming rights from IMG and some unspecified private investment to make up the difference:-

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1126043418799&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes

The rumour was always that the stadium announcement would be first then MLS so things are looking good for MLS expansion in 2007.

Here's the Keele St and Sheppard Ave W location on Google maps:-

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Toronto&ll=43.738794,-79.487715&spn=0.059148,0.120352&t=h&hl=en

Close to the main east west 401 highway through Toronto and a subway line terminates on the opposite side of the old airforce base.

[Joe Stoker]

Tip o' the hat to Toronto, the CSA, and all others who are bringing this to fruition. Congrats to all Toronto soccer fans. Time for a top-notch pro club to fill the bill.

Us oldtimers will always have our memories of dear ol' Varsity, but the present and future, according to those who should know, is spelled north side. Best of luck.

So, BBTB, guess it'll be short time before we again start bandying nicknames.

Imagine if Tim Horton's shells out for stadium naming rights. Will the media then refer to it as the Donut Depot or Donut Hole? You could have a kiddie's club called the Timbits. Cheerleaders? The Tarts, of course.

Have fun.

PS: Can't resist... Blizzard, Falcons, Toronto City. Pick one.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

We should maybe wait until shovels start hitting the dirt before discussing the fine points but unless Kevan Pipe is completely insane the funding sources he has mentioned are all in the bag and they all OK'd his going public at this point. Everything is still contingent on a WYC 2007 venue inspection by FIFA next month hence all the woulds and shoulds in the story. On the donut thing Coffee Time might be more likely than Tim Hortons. They are owned by a Greek-Canadian businessman who used to run a CPSL team with a large budget and who sponsored the OSA's Soccer Centre until recently but hopefully the use of "the Donut Hole" would be strongly discouraged in that scenario. :) The team name has got to be the Blizzard IMO but people who don't remember the NASL tend to see things differently so we'll see what happens. I think the rights to the Toronto Blizzard name would have to be bought in much the same way the Cosmos name would be for New York but I forget the details.

[Stan Collins]

What? Not Toronto Metros/Croatia? ;)

Congrats.

[Captain Canuck]

Toronto Smog, Toronto Gridlock or Toronto Black Squirrels are the front-runners. :)

[RealGooner]

Where is DoyleG??????? :D

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Where is DoyleG??????? :D

It's definitely tempting to crow at this point after the behavior of certain individuals on here but we should maybe wait until the shovels are in the dirt just in case one of the 0.01% probabality scenarios that are causing all the shoulds and woulds in the newspaper story unfolds and they get the last laugh on us. I'm highly confident at this point, however, given that this clearly forms only part of a much larger federal government strategy for developing Downsview Park to include a National Institute of Sport that the Province of Ontario is involved with as well:-

http://www.cscontario.ca/english/achieve/ACHIEVECurrent.pdf

I suspect the CSA and MLSE preferred Exhibition Place but at the end of the day the person writing the largest cheque is usually going to be the one making the location decision .

[SoccerPrime]

I wonder how many draft picks Toronto MLS will give up to get Dwayne De Rosario from the Earthquakes in 2007?
JK

Congrats! I hope it does actually happen up there.

[piltdownman]

Congrats on actually getting something that seems like it wont fall through.

I put in my vote for Toronto Black Squirrels. Sure the Blizzard had some history with the NASL, but attendance wise the Metros did better. Not to mention that the Blizzard name hasn't been used in so long. Two teams Metros and Metro Stars with such similar names in the same league would be a bad idea. A long time ago I thought Universe was a good name because Toronto is 'The centre of the Universe', but with the Galaxy in LA that also might get confusing. Speaking of the Galaxy does anyone know if their name is play on the NASL Cosmos?

Also important in the article it mentions expansion is still only $10 million, and not the $25 million that it had been rumored to be increased to.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Congrats on actually getting something that seems like it wont fall through.

Fingers crossed for similar good news in Vancouver in the not too distant future. Once one city gets in hopefully the pressure to keep up with the Joneses will nudge things along to a successful outcome in the other.

[DoyleG]

Where is DoyleG??????? :D

Read the article

[RealGooner]

It's definitely tempting to crow at this point after the behavior of certain individuals on here but we should maybe wait until the shovels are in the dirt just in case one of the 0.01% probabality scenarios that are causing all the shoulds and woulds in the newspaper story unfolds and they get the last laugh on us. I'm highly confident at this point, however, given that this clearly forms only part of a much larger federal government strategy for developing Downsview Park to include a National Institute of Sport that the Province of Ontario is involved with as well:-

http://www.cscontario.ca/english/achieve/ACHIEVECurrent.pdf

I suspect the CSA and MLSE preferred Exhibition Place but at the end of the day the person writing the largest cheque is usually going to be the one making the location decision .

Not to mention the free land which removes the land cost factor. And in the long run, Downsview is a part of Toronto that needs a boost, we can't have all our eggs in the downtown basket, downtown is booming now so why not inject some life into a different part of town.

[wufc]

Speaking of the Galaxy does anyone know if their name is play on the NASL Cosmos?

Also important in the article it mentions expansion is still only $10 million, and not the $25 million that it had been rumored to be increased to.
I always get confused about the Cosmos name, as it was short for Cosmopolitans but many people say that it was related to space Cosmos. I'm have no idea about the Galaxy inspiration, but thank god it replaced the original name: the Los Angeles Traffic

I hope that MLS keeps its expansion fees low. I like to bash AFL too much, but I must again, as their expansion fee is $18 million and a team sold for less than half that recently, and AFL also forced a team to fold (Indiana Firebirds) rather than have it sell at a low price so that the expansion fee didn't look stupid.

[RealGooner]

Read the article

You werent mentioned in it, so whats your point? LOL

C'mon Doylie, you know us COTFU guys owe you a few digs.... :cool:

[RealGooner]

Fingers crossed for similar good news in Vancouver in the not too distant future. Once one city gets in hopefully the pressure to keep up with the Joneses will nudge things along to a successful outcome in the other.

Good point, for me the goal was always to have Canada's 3 biggest cities in the MLS. The Canadian players from those 3 teams should form a nucleus around which the players in Europe can be added to form the MNT.

[Krammerhead]

You werent mentioned in it, so whats your point? LOL

C'mon Doylie, you know us COTFU guys owe you a few digs.... :cool:

Here's what Doyle wants you to read:

"Venue would be home to POSSIBLE pro franchise

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.

"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."

"WE HAVEN'T DONE A DEAL, but we like what we see," he (Peddie) 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."

The words in capital letters should leave you guys cause for concern. Clearly there is no done deal.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Given the history of this project is that careful wording a surprise, Krammerhead? From what I can see they clearly do have the funding lined up (unless we hear a retraction/denial from the Feds, Ontario or IMG in the next couple of days) to make a 20,000 seat stadium happen. The key at this stage is probably convincing FIFA when they arrive for their inspection tour next month that it can be built on time.

[Captain Canuck]

The words in capital letters are cause not to begin the celebrations yet, but I don't think they are "cause for concern". My main cause for concern, if there is one, is that its Pipe who is saying that the CSA is very happy with the way things have been evolving, and any time he's happy it makes me a bit nervous.

What we were told before was that the stadium location debate was getting in the way of the stadium announcement. It appears that the debate is over, so naturally people are treating this as good news.

[Stan Collins]

I wonder how many draft picks Toronto MLS will give up to get Dwayne De Rosario from the Earthquakes in 2007? The thought actually occurred, but your timing couldn't be any worse: he's gone from good player to franchise-type player this year for SJ, and unless the team got moved, there's no way they'd part with him without getting the farm in return.

[Stan Collins]

The words in capital letters are cause not to begin the celebrations yet, but I don't think they are "cause for concern". My main cause for concern, if there is one, is that its Pipe who is saying that the CSA is very happy with the way things have been evolving, and any time he's happy it makes me a bit nervous.

What we were told before was that the stadium location debate was getting in the way of the stadium announcement. It appears that the debate is over, so naturally people are treating this as good news. Yeah, in any other walk of life, that language would be code for "it's a done deal, we're just CYAing."

In soccer in N.A., you learn not to be quite that optimistic.