Re: MLS in Ottawa? It'll never fly. Ottawa is best suited to join USL-1, if Melnyk wants to bring professional soccer to Ottawa. Especially if that league continues to grow with the likes of Tampa Bay joining. Of course, if this upsets whinny paranoid freakazoids like the thing above, then I say bring it on!
Re: Ottawa??!!?? Rubbish! There is no Ontario law banning someone from owning 2 sports teams in the same city. Ballard owned the TiCats because they were desparate for an owner and, at the time, the Argos were relatively ok (being corporately owned at the time). He got them for a song and tried to save them.....no other reason. Melnyk owns the Majors for the same reason he built a field turf football stadium at St. Mikes.....he went to the school and loves it. When the school re-entered the OHL they bit off more than they could chew (financially) so he bought the team from them and kept the Majors alive. The Ice Dog thing, again, has nothing to do with the law. After +/- 5 years of trying to find a new rink for the Majors (a rink that could hold enough people and generate enough revenue to support the operation) it became clear one was not going to materialize. So he came up with the idea of moving them to Mississauga. Only problem...there already was a team in Mississauga. So he struck a deal with the league....he would buy the Ice Dogs (who were for sale) with the intent of selling them to an ownership group in another market so as to free up the lease on the Hershey Centre. Then, once the Ice Dogs were sold/moved, he would move the Majors to Mississauga. He lost money on the purchase/re-sale of the Ice Dogs, but it still cost him less than a new rink would have cost. There is no law forbidding Mr. Melnyk from owning another sports team in Ottawa. In fact, people were begging him to get involved in the RR/Renegades in the past. If there was such a law, presumably it would not just apply to sports teams and there would a ton of Tim Horton's franchises on the market as their ownership was declared "illegal". First time ever a blatantly wrong posting has prompted me to register on a board just to point out how wrong it is!!!!
Re: Ottawa??!!?? I've got to admit. The only thing crazier than Ottawa getting a MLS team and a SSS is the Ontario Parliament passing an anti-business law like not being able to own two teams in one city. I mean is it sports teams or all franchises? Either one makes zero sense. What about MLSE who own the leafs and FC Toronto. Aren't the guys behind the Blue Jays trying to bring the Buffalo Bills to town? Ontario is a fairly pro-business Province, I just don't see this kind of rule being passed, let alone being kept on the books. I just can't imagine what the impetus for such a law would be. The only thing that makes any sense is if MLS is trying to get an All-Canadian division with Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver. Problem is Ottawa is a ghost town for sports. People mention Calgary and Edmonton too but both of those have terrible soccer records. Calgary Boomers were a disaster since day one, the Drillers at least kept their head above water but the Aviators soured Edmontons name in soccer for years to come. I know Alberta is awash in oil money (paid for in part by me filling up at $ 4.09 a gallon) but I just don't see a scenario where any city without a USL 1 team in Canada can get in. Good luck though. Isn't Melnyck originally from NYC btw?
Re: Ottawa??!!?? MLSE owns the Leafs, Raptors, Marlies and TFC....all pro teams, all playing in Toronto!! The rumoured prospective owners of NFL in Toronto are a partneship between Ted Rogers (founder and majority shareholder of the company that owns the Blue Jays) and Larry Tannenbaum (part owner of MLSE). Yep.....hard to figure that out....why a province would have a rule restricting ownership at the city level (if you believe the law as described exists it would allow you to own two or more teams in Ontario as long as they were not in the same city......hard to fathom). Mr. Melnyk is of Ukrainian descent, not sure if he was born there or here but I am pretty sure he grew up in Toronto.
Re: MLS in Ottawa? Here's the CBC web link with this story: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2008/06/19/mls-ottawa.html Does this mean there could be a future plan by MLS for a Canadian expansion round in two or three years? I'm not sure what to make of this.
Re: MLS in Ottawa? Well, it's an interesting diversion... MLS in Ottawa. But I have to say, I think it's unlikely. Just goes to show, Garber & Co will talk with anyone... particularly when such talk will pressure other potential franchisees to belly up. Melnyk's got the cash (the OSC not withstanding), but I struggle to understand why he would think Ottawa would support MLS (or USL-1 for that matter). I suspect there is no fire behind the smoke, but who knows? I can't imagine MLS' interest in Ottawa being genuine... more likely designed just to pressure Saputo and Kerfoot to finalize their applications... and it doesn't hurt US candidate cities "anxiety/cooperative attitude level" to have one more name thrown into the hat... say what you will about Mr. Garber, he's very good at creating demand for money losing business franchises... Oh, and to the fellow who said they had great stadium... well, Lansdowne is crumbling... there is a plan to refurbish it, but nothing's been done yet. And Melnyk's recently revealed plan is to build his own SSS anyway.
Re: MLS in Ottawa? My guess is that he (Melnyk) is just investigating an idea on how to use the excess land that he has around Scotiabank Place. I know they have looked at things like offices and hotels in the past and he is probably just enticed by the success of TFC to think "would soccer work". Since he owns that land and all of the parking around the arena would be available for any new stadium his cost would be lower than someone building afresh somewhere else. He may, also, be able to drive up the rents that the various restaurants pay him to operate at Scotiabank Place since they would now have, theoretically, customers coming 12 months of the year. Given his interest in sports generally (hockey and horseracing) and his European background, he is likely intrigued by this as a possible use of the land. Just guessing. Would it do worse than in Boston or New York? Kinda shocking to me when I see the attendance at a Red Bull visit to New England and see an announced attendance of 10.5k!
Re: MLS in Ottawa? There have been talks of this type of thing for a few years now.From rumors there have been things talked about soccer stadiums a smaller arena and a minor league entertainment complex.The probeam now is the amount of stadiums arenas in the works in ottawa.
Re: MLS in Ottawa? http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2008/06/19/canada_2010_world_cup/ Anyone hear of this before?
Re: MLS in Ottawa? Just saw this...Very cool! http://ottsun.canoe.ca/Sports/OtherSports/2008/06/20/5931891-sun.html
Re: MLS in Ottawa? Melnyk to take kick at MLS Hugh Adami The Ottawa Citizen Friday, June 20, 2008 If the city wants another reason for a major overhaul of Frank Clair Stadium besides a new CFL team, how about a Major League Soccer franchise owned by Eugene Melnyk? The owner of the Ottawa Senators is exploring the possibility of acquiring an MLS club. But he is in a long queue that includes some U.S. cities on top of Montreal and Vancouver. Montreal already has a new stadium and one is in the works in Vancouver -- both having the primary purpose of luring the MLS, the highest level of professional soccer in North America. Read more at the link above
Re: MLS in Ottawa? Would a USL-1 team in Ottawa sweeten the pot enough for renovating Frank Clair stadium? As MLS gets better and more popular, USL-1 does, too. Don't discount the worthiness of this league. And as we have seen, it is a stepping stone to MLS. If you have strong ownership, your own stadium, and a couple years of USL under your belt, then it probably helps with an MLS bid. - Paul
Re: MLS in Ottawa? Let's be honest, considering that Frank Clair was in such bad shape that they had to demolish half the stadium you are looking at a situation where the cost to renovate the stadium would be so high as to make it financially just as feasible to build a new stadium. I doubt the city is going to stump up the cash for that, so the ownership would have to, which increases start-up costs by at least $40M and perhaps as much as $100M. The internet bubble bursting really hurt the city, unless Melnyk is willing to absorb all those costs or that nutbar of a CEO at Corel who paid $1M for a dress made of gold for his wife step up to eat all those start up costs I don't think Ottawa is a realistic target.
Re: MLS in Ottawa? Thats not quite the truth. The south lower stand that just got demolished (capacity 6400), was built in 1909. The other stands , north (14,500) and upper south (7,800) were built in 1967 and are in fine shape. Not to say they're exactly new... but this is an old time stadium like the grounds of europe where stands were built when needed not all at once. Rip out the upper south and build a 3 sided lower bowl with suites, keeping the fully Roofed north and you got a nice stadium. not to say a new stadium wouldn't be nice either.. and that's the buzz. .. about going USL.. good place to start
Re: MLS in Ottawa? Just finished reading this thread, and it motivated me to register. Here's my take: Ottawa is not a bad sports market overall. Sure, teams have left as they have in other cities (I'm looking at you Vancouver and Montreal!) but the Ottawa Senators are 3rd in league attendance for 2008, actually out-drawing Big-League cities like Toronto : http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?year=2008 So let's call it even and say that past "other sports" history will not/should not determine whether Montreal, Vancouver, or Ottawa get an expansion franchise. What personally gives me hope for Ottawa are the following: - Eugene Melnyk. The Sens-owner is a rare class-act of an owner, he knows what he is doing and has the money to go it alone if he wants to; - Soccer-culture in Ottawa. I've seen first-hand 25,000+ fans really get into matches involving sides like Panama, the Czech Republic and North Korea at last year's U-20 World Cup tournament. Unlike the CFL, tournaments such as the Euro and World Cup are heavily promoted and watched in pubs, and are discussed around water coolers. Not to mention all the soccer jerseys and car flags. IMHO Eugene Melnyk should have no trouble convincing MLS that he can recreate in Ottawa some of the passion and success that exists with TFC in Toronto. The real question is what kind of a direction the MLS wants to take with expansion.
Re: MLS in Ottawa? Looks like there will be a formal bid: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/sports/story.html?id=e0d15339-f453-49b6-a99c-bb5aef600cbc
Re: MLS in Ottawa? Ha! I though of this thread as soon as Garber mentioned Ottawa at the all-star game. Ottawa is a long shot, not doubt. But hell the original thread starter got never made any sense.
Re: MLS in Ottawa? That tells us what we already knew. NO stadium.. hence stadium plans, kinda like St. Louis, Toronto or Philly had to come up with. Ottawa doesn't have a successful USL team named Impact or White Caps, neither did most MLS cities Melnyk has money. "All that is being floated here is a trial balloon that will need to stay afloat for years and years before this city can hope to become a genuine franchise hopeful." Well that's what we expected.. after all 2013 is 5 years off. I don't see how it's a reality check. It's what we all already knew.
Re: MLS in Ottawa? Exactly. No one anywhere is questioning the fact that Ottawa is clearly in the back of the line - and by a long shot. But with an interested billionaire, the are now in line. And as St Louis shows, getting the billionaire part is more important even than a stadium. And as tricky as it is moving up the line, most notably because of the need for a stadium, getting in line in the first place is the hardest part. And they've done that. No doubt even if Ottawa makes it someday, it will be after MLS has already reached the 20 team mark. Nonethless, if you're an "MLS Ottawa" supporter, you have far more reason for optimism than people in numerous American cities with similar or larger populations.