CSA starts to flesh out world under-20 plans

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CSA starts to flesh out world under-20 plans

By NEIL DAVIDSON

TORONTO (CP) - The Toronto stadium issue resolved, the Canadian Soccer Association has started fleshing out its plan for the 2007 world under-20 soccer championships.

Toronto and Edmonton are two lynchpins of the 24-team tournament, second only in size to the men's World Cup in terms of FIFA world championships. But the CSA needs four more host cities to take part, as well as local organizing committees in the six venues.

The CSA sent out 40-page packages Friday to cities and groups interested in getting involved. The remaining host cities, stadiums and committees will be chosen in April, a time frame that would allow Canadian organizers to have a blueprint in place in advance of taking in the 2005 world under-20 championship in the Netherlands.

The tournament consists of 52 games, with a dozen of those expected to take place at the new Toronto stadium at York University. The first shovel is tentatively slated for March 2005, with a realistic completion date 18 months later.

Toronto and Edmonton, at Commonwealth Stadium, will each host a first-round group, plus round-of-16, quarter-final and semifinal matches.

The preliminary plan is for Toronto to host the bronze-medal game, with the final going to the much larger venue in Edmonton, which scored major points in its handling of the inaugural world women's under-19 championship in 2002.

"We haven't really come to full grips with the issue of the championship match," said Kevan Pipe, chief operating officer of the CSA.

While FIFA has the final word, the plan calls for Canada to be featured in the tournament opener July 1 in Toronto. Canada and its opponent would then fly to Edmonton to complete the first round.

Each of the six host cities will host a first-round group.

The total budget for the event is between $25 million and $30 million.

The domestic budget is between $14 million and $15 million with FIFA, which is responsible for transporting and housing all the teams, officials and others involved, taking care of the rest.

On the Canadian side of the ledger, the CSA has applied for federal and provincial government hosting grants totalling about $4 million. Another $3 million to $4 million is projected in gate receipts.

FIFA and marketing ventures will kick in another $4 million to $5 million, Pipe said.

FIFA, who will choose the host broadcaster, controls TV rights in Canada and abroad.

As for venues, Molson Stadium in Montreal has already been ruled out. Its artificial turf meets FIFA standards as a surface but is considered unusable because of its permanent football lines, Pipe said.

"We've now come to the realization, and in fact wouldn't even bring FIFA for a site inspection, to any stadium that has football lines stitched in," Pipe said.

When McGill resurfaced the stadium, the hope had been that the lines could be removed as needed.

"That just doesn't work," Pipe said flatly.

"Effectively we're not going to embarrass ourselves by bringing in a world championship event and playing it in facilities that one would not expect a world-class event to be played on," he added.
Stadiums that want to play a part in the championships will either have to provide natural grass or a FIFA-sanctioned artificial surface that has no lines or other distractions.

Pipe called it "a line in the sand" but said the association would accept offers from stadiums that agree to revamp their fields to meet those requirements.

The minimum size for stadiums in the preliminary round is 10,000, although there is some flexibility as the tournament unfolds. The difference in capacity between Commonwealth Stadium (61,000) and the new Toronto stadium (25,000) does not mean the final will end up in Edmonton.

Other possible sites in Montreal include Claude Robillard Stadium, home to the Montreal Impact or Olympic Stadium, which has a FieldTurf surface.

Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa, with its FieldTurf surface, already meets the requirements although its FIFA licence is running out and will have to be renewed.

Vancouver is an option via an expanded Swangard Stadium, plus Vancouver Whitecaps owner Greg Kerfoot has talked of building a new facility.

The CSA is also looking at CFL stadiums in Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary and Hamilton if the proper pristine surface is available.

Artificial turf is not an issue, as long as it meets FIFA standards.

In effect, the CSA is looking everywhere. The tender process includes responding with bids and budgets so it is to the association's benefit to get everyone involved.

Hence Pipe talks of Richardson Stadium in Kingston, Ont., an aging facility at Queen's University that hosted World Cup qualifying games against Belize this summer, and Sherbrooke, Que., site of the 2003 world youth track and field championships.