Originally Posted by Mille Sabords
In this morning's Citizen. If they open a season-ticket reservation waiting list I'm signing up!!
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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.
Toronto FC, in its second season, is the only Canadian franchise in the league.
The CFL has awarded a group of Ottawa businessmen -- Roger Greenberg, Bill Shenkman, John Ruddy and Ottawa 67's owner Jeff Hunt -- a conditional franchise that could begin play in 2010 if a revamped stadium is ready.
Meanwhile, Melnyk, who met with MLS president Mark Abbott last week in Toronto, is eyeing 2010 as the inaugural season for an MLS team here. That scenario may be too ambitious, though, as the 14-team league expects to grow to 18 by 2012, and has already awarded franchises to Seattle for 2009 and Philadelphia for 2010.
MLS spokesman Dan Courtemanche would not say where Ottawa stands in its chances of landing a franchise or even if the city is on the league's radar.
However, Courtemanche said the league is constantly reviewing expansion plans in North America. MLS has the help of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns Toronto FC, the NHL's Maple Leafs and the NBA's Raptors, in identifying possible expansion cities, as well as sponsorship strategies in Canada. Expansion will be on the agenda next month when league and various team executives will be in Toronto for the MLS All-Star Game.
"Right now, we're fortunate there's more interest in expansion in Major League Soccer than in any other point of our 13-season history," said Courtemanche, noting that Canadian NBA star Steve Nash has expressed interest in being an owner, too.
Not being able to secure a team for 2010 would probably be a good thing for Melnyk, who couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.
With a design competition for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park still months away, it certainly doesn't look as if the stadium would be ready by 2010, anyway. (There's also the possibility that the city may decide it doesn't want a stadium in a new Lansdowne Park, even though that is highly unlikely as it is seen as the centerpiece to the redevelopment.)
Melnyk's interest in bringing MLS to Ottawa may have more to do with a revamped or new Frank Clair Stadium -- some say it should be razed and rebuilt because it's a dump -- in order to expand his entertainment empire beyond Scotiabank Place.
In 2005, there were strong rumours that Melnyk was prepared to step in to save the Renegades, Ottawa's most recent CFL team, if the city was willing to turn over management of some key components of the park, such as the stadium and the Civic Centre, to his company, Capital Tickets.
Capital would have had control over event bookings and revenue from ticket sales, concessions and parking, and presumably used some of that money to offset any losses by the football club. The city balked and the following spring the Renegades were dead.
For now, it appears the city will not allow private enterprise to take over control of a redeveloped Lansdowne Park as was initially suggested by Hunt's group. However, Melnyk, if he is granted a MLS franchise, would likely want that arrangement for at least the stadium and Civic Centre, as he did three years ago. Under that system, the new CFL team's lease would presumably be with Capital, which would also control ticket sales for the team.
Is Melnyk's desire to bring the MLS to sports-fickle Ottawa pie-in-the-sky? Soccer enthusiasts point to Toronto FC and how quickly fans embraced the club and the constant sellout games. They also note that last year's under-20 FIFA world tournament, held in six Canadian cities, including Ottawa, was a huge success. Ottawa came close to a sellout for its five FIFA games held at the 26,500-seat Frank Clair Stadium.
Still, the FIFA tournament was a rare event, so there was probably a higher level of interest. And, in measuring the success of Toronto FC, one would have to take into account the huge population base the club draws from in southern Ontario's Golden Horseshoe, and how ethnically diverse the city is, which is a key to selling soccer in North America.
John Pugh, president and chief executive of the Ottawa Fury, thinks an MLS team has a far greater chance of surviving in Ottawa -- given the growing interest in the game and the success of last year's FIFA tournament -- than actually landing here any time soon.
"Would I love to see it? Yes," said Pugh. "Would I love to see a higher level of soccer than we now have in the city? Absolutely yes. But in the short term, the competition for franchises would make it difficult (for Ottawa to acquire one.)
MLS teams currently play a 30-game regular season -- 15 at home and 15 on the road. CFL teams play 18 -- nine at home and nine away. Though the Renegades had problems drawing big crowds despite only nine home games over four months, CFL supporters contend that a big selling point for Ottawa's next team would be a "world-class stadium."
The city plans to demolish the lower section of the stadium's southside stands in July. The section was condemned last fall. The city is also conducting engineering tests on the northside stands in order to outline what work is necessary for firms entering the Lansdowne Park design competition. Richard Haycock, Lansdowne's general manager, said the tests have so far not found any serious problems.
However, there is a growing feeling among some sports promoters that the city should simply do the job properly by tearing down what's there now, including the Civic Centre, and rebuilding from scratch.
One estimate puts renovation costs at $60 million -- as long as the city finds no other problems with the structure.
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