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MLS pitch or CFL park?
SEAN GORDON
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
September 16, 2008 at 10:17 PM EDT
OTTAWA — Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is making a forceful pitch for a Major League Soccer franchise as part of a political and financial power play that would likely force municipal officials to choose between chipping in for a soccer stadium or a CFL park.
Though Melnyk's grand vision for an MLS team has clearly energized the city's soccer establishment, it has lowered the temperature on an increasingly chilly relationship with backers of Ottawa's nascent CFL franchise.
At a news conference attended by dozens of youth soccer players, Melnyk unveiled architects' drawings of a glittering soccer stadium that would be located directly across the street from the Senators' home arena in suburban Kanata and said he is resolutely committed to presenting his expansion bid to MLS officials before an Oct. 15 application deadline.
"We want to bring the world's game to Ottawa," Melnyk said, adding "every world-class city has a major outdoor stadium. … We are a world-class city, and we deserve a world-class stadium."
To that end, Melnyk is proposing to build a $100-million, 30,000-seat soccer-specific stadium that would be easy to fill, given the vibrancy of the local soccer community. According to Melnyk, roughly 85,000 registered soccer players in Canada live in the Ottawa region.
It's expected the MLS franchise fee would be about $40-million (U.S.), and Melnyk said he would seek stadium financing help from the city and other governments, although he declined to provide any specifics about how much he would be seeking.
Even if it's not direct financial support, the 38-acre lot for the proposed stadium is a city-owned snow dump.
Mayor Larry O'Brien couldn't be reached for comment, but a senior municipal official said it's unlikely the city would support both an MLS team and a CFL franchise.
At the same time, the city recognizes the benefits of replacing or refurbishing the aging and increasingly decrepit Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park, just south of downtown Ottawa — a project pegged at about $50-million.
A complicating factor for municipal officials — and other levels of government — is that the CFL has already granted a provisional franchise to an investment group led by Jeff Hunt, the owner of the Ottawa 67's junior hockey team. The group is to present its own stadium proposal this month.
"This doesn't change anything for us," Hunt said in an interview.
"We've been working for over a year on a proposal with Lansdowne Park to have a world-class sports and entertainment facility that could house CFL football, but conceivably Major League Soccer and other events [as well].
"We think it's important for major sports venues to be centrally located in the downtown core of any city — for the accessibility of the entire community. We believe Ottawa is no different."
Though Hunt and Melnyk teamed up to bid for the 2009 world junior hockey championship, they have clearly taken different paths on the stadium question.
"Jeff and his group are moving forward with their plans … we're wishing them well and I'm sure they're wishing us well," said Cyril Leeder, the chief operating officer of Senators Sports and Entertainment. "What we've tried to do today is to provide a second option for the city to consider."
Not that Hunt is especially interested in housing his new franchise in a suburban setting.
"We've never contemplated that," he said. "… Our visions for Lansdowne Park don't work in Kanata."
What Senators Sports and Entertainment may have in mind is a public-private partnership of the type that built BMO Field in Toronto, the home of MLS's Toronto FC (the various levels of government contributed roughly $45-million of the total $72-million cost).
Whether that will be a compelling argument with a cash-strapped city administration — the first step toward securing federal and provincial support — is an open question.
There were no municipal representatives — or anyone from the provincial or federal governments — at the news conference and Leeder conceded that only preliminary contact has been made and no assurances have been provided.
Behind the scenes, Senators Sports and Entertainment officials said MLS likely wouldn't require a formal agreement with local governments before granting an expansion franchise, and that Melnyk could make a persuasive case that he has the financial resources to go it alone.
The Senators' owner, who made his sizable personal fortune in pharmaceuticals, also appears to be trying to nose ahead of other would-be Canadian MLS expansion franchises.
In Montreal, the deep-pocketed Saputo family, whose cheese empire bankrolled the construction of a $15-million stadium for the United Soccer Leagues' Montreal Impact, has made no secret of its ambition to acquire an MLS franchise.
And on the West Coast, the owners of the USL's Vancouver Whitecaps have enlisted the support of NBA star Steve Nash to boost their MLS bid.
That's to say nothing of baseball's New York Mets, who are reportedly interested in bidding for a second New York-based MLS franchise.
The 14-team league will expand to 16 teams by 2010 and to 18 by 2011.
Nine cities are under consideration, including Las Vegas, Portland and Atlanta.
The MLS expansion criteria include a strong local grassroots soccer base, a purpose-built stadium and previous experience in running a professional sports franchise.
Melnyk clearly hopes to capitalize on the Senators' brand.
"In our bid package, we're going to be selling our capabilities … they know we can do it," he said.
Melnyk also has a personal motivation for wanting to develop pro soccer in Ottawa. His parents met at a soccer game in the old National Soccer League in Toronto — his grandfather ran the Ukrainian community's team.
MLS pitch or CFL park?
SEAN GORDON
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
September 16, 2008 at 10:17 PM EDT
OTTAWA — Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is making a forceful pitch for a Major League Soccer franchise as part of a political and financial power play that would likely force municipal officials to choose between chipping in for a soccer stadium or a CFL park.
Though Melnyk's grand vision for an MLS team has clearly energized the city's soccer establishment, it has lowered the temperature on an increasingly chilly relationship with backers of Ottawa's nascent CFL franchise.
At a news conference attended by dozens of youth soccer players, Melnyk unveiled architects' drawings of a glittering soccer stadium that would be located directly across the street from the Senators' home arena in suburban Kanata and said he is resolutely committed to presenting his expansion bid to MLS officials before an Oct. 15 application deadline.
"We want to bring the world's game to Ottawa," Melnyk said, adding "every world-class city has a major outdoor stadium. … We are a world-class city, and we deserve a world-class stadium."
To that end, Melnyk is proposing to build a $100-million, 30,000-seat soccer-specific stadium that would be easy to fill, given the vibrancy of the local soccer community. According to Melnyk, roughly 85,000 registered soccer players in Canada live in the Ottawa region.
It's expected the MLS franchise fee would be about $40-million (U.S.), and Melnyk said he would seek stadium financing help from the city and other governments, although he declined to provide any specifics about how much he would be seeking.
Even if it's not direct financial support, the 38-acre lot for the proposed stadium is a city-owned snow dump.
Mayor Larry O'Brien couldn't be reached for comment, but a senior municipal official said it's unlikely the city would support both an MLS team and a CFL franchise.
At the same time, the city recognizes the benefits of replacing or refurbishing the aging and increasingly decrepit Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park, just south of downtown Ottawa — a project pegged at about $50-million.
A complicating factor for municipal officials — and other levels of government — is that the CFL has already granted a provisional franchise to an investment group led by Jeff Hunt, the owner of the Ottawa 67's junior hockey team. The group is to present its own stadium proposal this month.
"This doesn't change anything for us," Hunt said in an interview.
"We've been working for over a year on a proposal with Lansdowne Park to have a world-class sports and entertainment facility that could house CFL football, but conceivably Major League Soccer and other events [as well].
"We think it's important for major sports venues to be centrally located in the downtown core of any city — for the accessibility of the entire community. We believe Ottawa is no different."
Though Hunt and Melnyk teamed up to bid for the 2009 world junior hockey championship, they have clearly taken different paths on the stadium question.
"Jeff and his group are moving forward with their plans … we're wishing them well and I'm sure they're wishing us well," said Cyril Leeder, the chief operating officer of Senators Sports and Entertainment. "What we've tried to do today is to provide a second option for the city to consider."
Not that Hunt is especially interested in housing his new franchise in a suburban setting.
"We've never contemplated that," he said. "… Our visions for Lansdowne Park don't work in Kanata."
What Senators Sports and Entertainment may have in mind is a public-private partnership of the type that built BMO Field in Toronto, the home of MLS's Toronto FC (the various levels of government contributed roughly $45-million of the total $72-million cost).
Whether that will be a compelling argument with a cash-strapped city administration — the first step toward securing federal and provincial support — is an open question.
There were no municipal representatives — or anyone from the provincial or federal governments — at the news conference and Leeder conceded that only preliminary contact has been made and no assurances have been provided.
Behind the scenes, Senators Sports and Entertainment officials said MLS likely wouldn't require a formal agreement with local governments before granting an expansion franchise, and that Melnyk could make a persuasive case that he has the financial resources to go it alone.
The Senators' owner, who made his sizable personal fortune in pharmaceuticals, also appears to be trying to nose ahead of other would-be Canadian MLS expansion franchises.
In Montreal, the deep-pocketed Saputo family, whose cheese empire bankrolled the construction of a $15-million stadium for the United Soccer Leagues' Montreal Impact, has made no secret of its ambition to acquire an MLS franchise.
And on the West Coast, the owners of the USL's Vancouver Whitecaps have enlisted the support of NBA star Steve Nash to boost their MLS bid.
That's to say nothing of baseball's New York Mets, who are reportedly interested in bidding for a second New York-based MLS franchise.
The 14-team league will expand to 16 teams by 2010 and to 18 by 2011.
Nine cities are under consideration, including Las Vegas, Portland and Atlanta.
The MLS expansion criteria include a strong local grassroots soccer base, a purpose-built stadium and previous experience in running a professional sports franchise.
Melnyk clearly hopes to capitalize on the Senators' brand.
"In our bid package, we're going to be selling our capabilities … they know we can do it," he said.
Melnyk also has a personal motivation for wanting to develop pro soccer in Ottawa. His parents met at a soccer game in the old National Soccer League in Toronto — his grandfather ran the Ukrainian community's team.
