Whitecaps Stadium | 15,000 seats | proposed

[officedweller]

Thanks for posting - Good article.

[excel]

cool article, thanks for posting.

[TwoFace]

That’s Hilarious, imagine that, a Billionaire using the public’s sentiment to pursue his own secret agenda of making more Billions.
I think the Port gives Vancouver more "worth".

[deasine]

Knew there was a catch to this!

[mr.x]

Lenarduzzi: Vancouver Whitecaps had no plans for condos
"We had no idea there were plans to develop when we bought" says soccer boss.

Doug Ward, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Vancouver Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi says team owner Greg Kerfoot had no plans for condos or any commercial development when he purchased land on the waterfront for his proposed new soccer stadium.

The former Vancouver soccer star said a front-page story in Wednesday's Vancouver Sun headlined "Stadium plan includes condos" conveyed the impression that Kerfoot's plan to build a $90-million stadium was as much a real estate play as it was an investment in professional soccer.

"If I read that headline, I'm thinking that there is something sinister taking place here," Lenarduzzi told The Vancouver Sun's editorial board Wednesday. "That's bullshit. That's not the case."

The article, by Sun columnist Miro Cernetig, said Kerfoot plans to build a "phalanx of towers" around the new stadium on Burrard Inlet. But Lenarduzzi said Kerfoot has no specific plans to build condo towers, and that when the reclusive billionaire purchased the rail yard land between Gastown and Vancouver Harbour in 2005 for $22 million, the City of Vancouver had no strategy to bring development to the area.

The likelihood that there would be development on the waterfront land became apparent only in 2007 when the city initiated a planning program to create an urban design and transportation plan for the Central Waterfront Hub area around Waterfront Station. A city report on the Hub plan talks about extending the downtown business district to the water to provide new development such as offices, shops, restaurants, hotels and public facilities.

The possibility that Kerfoot could sell land around the stadium for commercial development came as a surprise to him and the Whitecaps, said Lenarduzzi.

"We had no idea that there were any plans to develop when we bought." Whitecaps chief operating officer Rachel Lewis said the city has "put forward plans to expand the city limits and that will involve all kinds of property owners, not just the Whitecaps."

Lewis said the eventual mix of development is unclear, adding that the development costs will be high because "you're building on a railway."

The Whitecaps considered the waterfront site only after the initial choice of a stadium site at Main and Terminal was rejected by the city, she added, because of a mistaken expectation that it would be needed for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

But Lenarduzzi acknowledged that Kerfoot will probably sell some of the waterfront land for commercial development.

"We haven't gone into any detail on that side of it. But having said that, if the Hub study confirms that in the end they [the city] are going to develop that area, somebody is going to develop it."

Lenarduzzi said that Kerfoot is "not using the stadium for the ability to develop."

"And if you were into it to develop, you'd forget about the stadium and have the opportunity to make much more money."

But Kerfoot's priority is the stadium, Lenarduzzi added.

"The real estate aspects of it - unlike what your paper suggests this morning - have not been the driving force. And if we'd had the approval at Main and Terminal, we'd have a stadium there."

Lenarduzzi said the Whitecaps bought the whole stretch of railway land from Waterfront Station to Main Street because Canadian Pacific wouldn't break it up into parcels.

The Whitecaps have been given conditional approval by the city to proceed with the 15,000-seat stadium project. But the stadium is on hold until the Whitecaps can resolve a land dispute with the Vancouver Port Authority.

Kerfoot owns 10.5 hectares of rail yard behind Water Street, but he also needs about 1.5 hectares of waterfront owned by the Port Authority. The Port Authority wants the rail yard to guarantee rail access to the port. Port officials say the land Kerfoot is offering in trade - roughly the eastern half of the rail yard - is worth $30 million less than the port's waterfront parcel to the north.






Soccer stadium opponents don't recognize facts

Letter
Published: Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Re: Central waterfront doesn't need another eyesore, April 26

Once again, stadium opponents play fast and loose with the facts. In her letter, Caryn Duncan makes a ridiculous assertion that a majority of Vancouverites are opposed to the proposed Whitecaps stadium. She knows the facts don't bear this out.

Throughout the stadium debate, there have been four rounds of public consultation and two scientific polls conducted by the respected Mustel Group. All of these studies have shown that, on average, 70 per cent of Vancouverites support the Whitecaps stadium on the waterfront. On top of that, thousands of letters, e-mails and signatures have been presented to our local politicians by citizens who don't normally get involved in politics. That may explain why city council has twice voted unanimously in favour of the stadium.

That the stadium is being held up by the complacency of our local and federal politicians is one thing. But it shouldn't be held up any further by elitist activists who still number only a few dozen.

BILL CURRIE

Friends of Soccer

Vancouver

[towerguy3]

Here is the Whitecaps media call distributed today (Thursday afternoon)...

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC TO ANNOUNCE FUTURE PLANS
VANCOUVER, BC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC will be making a major announcement about the future of soccer in Vancouver and British Columbia.
What: Whitecaps announcement about the future of soccer in Vancouver and British Columbia.
When: Friday, July 25, 2008
Time: 11:00 a.m.

With this pending announcement of Vancouver Whitecaps formalizing an MLS bid under Steve Nash, I hope this will light a fire under City Council and the Port Corporation to get that Waterfront Stadium done!

[Locked In]

Big bump here... this should probably have gone in the BC Place thread, but you don't get to post below towerguy very often

Whitecaps happy with BC Place home, but still harbour hope for waterfront stadium

Club’s new CEO says franchise lucky to play in venue that hosted Olympic ceremonies

By Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun March 25, 2010 4:14 PM


Major League Soccer president Mark Abbott (left) and Premier Gordon Campbell listen intently as Vancouver Whitecaps CEO Paul Barber speaks at a news conference Thursday marking the official one-year countdown to the debut of Vancouver's expansion franchise in MLS.
Photograph by: Nick Procaylo, PNG

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps will spend at least the first five or 10 years of their Major League Soccer existence in a BC Place stadium that reopens with a retractable roof next year after a $458-million upgrade.

But the team still dreams about one day playing in its own soccer-specific stadium along the downtown Vancouver waterfront near the SeaBus terminal.

Premier Gordon Campbell hopes the MLS-bound Whitecaps forget about that dream for a long, long time.

“If [BC Place] works for the Whitecaps, the Whitecaps won't want to move,” he said after a Vancouver media event celebrating the team's one-year countdown to its MLS entry. “If the stadium doesn't work for the Whitecaps, they'll move.”

Campbell feels the new BC Place will be a “phenomenal” sports and entertainment facility and noted the Whitecaps have not secured the land they need to build their own stadium.

“They would not have been able to get Major League Soccer if they didn't have a home at BC Place,” he said. “They have one and we'll see if we can make that home so comfortable for them that they want to stay for a long time.”

Whitecaps chief executive officer Paul Barber knows the waterfront stadium concept has been a hot topic in recent years but insists the club's immediate priority is to move to a temporary stadium at Empire Fields and then to BC Place — both during its first MLS season next year.

The former Tottenham Hotspur executive director said his former England club didn't build one stadium over a 110-year span.

“To move to two in 12 months is a hell of a task,” Barber said. “ … We don't want to look too far ahead into the future.”

He feels the Whitecaps will be lucky to play in BC Place, which has gained worldwide recognition since the 2010 Olympics.

"I think it's going to be a great bowl for soccer — I really do," Barber said. "I've been in stadiums all over the world for soccer and I get a good feel when I go in there and I think fans will really enjoy it."

The Whitecaps will soon launch the next phase of MLS season ticket sales as they push towards a target of 16,500 season ticket holders for their first year of MLS play.

The club — with 2,500 season ticket holders this season — sold 5,000 season ticket deposits last year and has a waiting list of about 3,000 people wanting to buy more, so it is likely already more than halfway towards its goal.

Empire Fields can hold 27,500 people while the lower-bowl soccer configuration of BC Place is expected to hold 20,000 to 25,000 people. Barber said the Whitecaps will “optimize” the number of season-ticket holders with the size of the stadium.

“All I know is the demand [for tickets] out there is fantastic and we're going to try and satisfy that demand as best we can,” he said.

The Seattle Sounders increased their MLS season ticket base from 22,000 last year to 32,000 this season by opening up more seating at Qwest Field but Barber isn't sure if the Whitecaps will have that flexibility at BC Place.

“That's the challenge — to work with BC Place to get the optimum configuration,” he said. “It's a combination of proximity to the pitch, the atmosphere that we can build and making sure that everyone that wants to see the team can see the team.”

MLS president Mark Abbott said the league has been impressed with the strong support the Whitecaps have received in Vancouver since announcing a year ago it would join MLS in 2011. He said the city will likely host a league championship game or all-star game in the future.

“It's going to be a tremendous market and we look forward to being able to do that,” Abbott said.

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Source: Vancouver Sun