Vancouver, Montreal says CSA is rushing towards Toronto MLS
Publié : 13 octobre 2005 22:06
http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/shownews ... =R101247AU
posted October 12 @ 19:22, EST
(CP) - The Canadian Soccer Association is rushing toward a Major League Soccer franchise in Toronto and the domestic game could suffer as a result, according to the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.
They applaud Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. for getting into soccer. And they welcome the possibility of another soccer-specific stadium in Canada - the Impact have already announced plans for a new 15,000-seat home while the Whitecaps have a called a news conference for Thursday to announce their own 15,000-seat stadium project.
But they say the time for an MLS team in Toronto is not right.
"I think we're rushing to it too quickly," Impact owner Joey Saputo said Wednesday from Montreal.
"I think there's a lot of good to it, but at the same time I think there might be a lot of bad in it and may affect us negatively. And unfortunately we're making decisions today without really looking at the full scope of how it's going to affect the game, not only in Montreal and in Vancouver and Toronto, but across the country."
Bob Lenarduzzi, director of soccer operations for the Whitecaps, is on the same page as Saputo.
"We seem to be putting far too much emphasis on one MLS team in our country, and that being a cure to our woes at the international level. I don't think it's going to work that way," he said from Vancouver.
A former national team coach, Lenarduzzi knows firsthand how Canadian soccer has paid the price for poor infrastructure.
"Everyone can blame the national team coaches, but as far as our game goes we have not been doing a good job from bottom to top," he said from Vancouver. "We need to start at the bottom. We need to build a strong foundation and move on from there.
"I think we're starting to do that. MLS coming along at a time when we're putting the bricks in place, it just seems like it's too soon."
He says Canada's pro clubs, the provincial soccer associations and CSA should be working together "from the bottom up."
Added Saputo: "I don't think we are ready. I don't think Canada is ready. . . . I don't think that by having one MLS franchise in Canada are we going to really develop the game we need to develop it."
Lenarduzzi worries a single MLS team in Toronto will continue the fragmentation that has hurt the Canadian soccer.
"That's not a knock on MLS either," he said. "I think MLS has done great things for the game in the United States. And at the appropriate time, anyone in the soccer world in Canada would love to be a part of playing in the best league in North America."
But both the Impact and Whitecaps, considered model franchises in the second-tier United Soccer League, stand to lose if the first-tier MLS comes to Toronto.
"What is going to be the reaction from the fans in Montreal, knowing they have become a second division (team)? What's going to be the reaction from the fans in Vancouver when the Whitecaps become a second division (team)?" asked Saputo.
Top players will be drawn to the MLS franchise because of its higher profile and pay.
"It's going to do that, that's a fact," said Lenarduzzi. "It's also going to probably result in, if we want to keep some of those players, spending more money than we have been spending.
"The broadcast side of it, if they're on national television, that comes back into our markets.
"What I don't want to portray is that we're upset with MLS or MLSE, We just feel the time is wrong. And it should be more of a co-ordinated approach. Especially when you've got two owners like Saputo and (Vancouver's Greg) Kerfoot."
Kevan Pipe, the CSA's chief operating officer, responds by saying the Impact are already seeing domestic talent like Sandro Grande leaving for the greener pastures of Europe.
And he argues the opportunity to hook up MLS, MLSE and the Toronto stadium project could not be missed.
"We can't wait," Pipe said. "To buy into that argument says that we wait for another five years. MLSE has many opportunities to move in many other different directions. . . . That argument has to be categorically rejected. We cannot continue to wait for other rainbows occurring on other days. The time to move is now."
Saputo doesn't see it that way.
"If it's good today, I think it'll be better in the future," he said.
"If there's an opportunity for Kevan Pipe and the CSA to have their stadium and at the same time that they have their stadium, they're able to get an MLS franchise, you grab it when it's hot," he acknowledged. "But that's not necessarily the best thing. I think what you need to take a look at is how is this particular decision going to affect development of the game across the country."
The Toronto Lynx, the third Canadian USL franchise, had previously objected to MLS in Toronto but seems to have come round to the idea of playing in the proposed new stadium, according to local reports.
Notes: The Whitecaps are planning to announce a 15,000-seat stadium on the waterfront by the cruise ship terminal near the Pan Pacific Hotel. The team, which has already bought the land, hopes the federal government may be interested in getting involved like it has with the Toronto stadium. No price tag has been set, but it is expected to be in the ball park of the $60 million the Toronto facility will cost.
posted October 12 @ 19:22, EST
(CP) - The Canadian Soccer Association is rushing toward a Major League Soccer franchise in Toronto and the domestic game could suffer as a result, according to the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.
They applaud Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. for getting into soccer. And they welcome the possibility of another soccer-specific stadium in Canada - the Impact have already announced plans for a new 15,000-seat home while the Whitecaps have a called a news conference for Thursday to announce their own 15,000-seat stadium project.
But they say the time for an MLS team in Toronto is not right.
"I think we're rushing to it too quickly," Impact owner Joey Saputo said Wednesday from Montreal.
"I think there's a lot of good to it, but at the same time I think there might be a lot of bad in it and may affect us negatively. And unfortunately we're making decisions today without really looking at the full scope of how it's going to affect the game, not only in Montreal and in Vancouver and Toronto, but across the country."
Bob Lenarduzzi, director of soccer operations for the Whitecaps, is on the same page as Saputo.
"We seem to be putting far too much emphasis on one MLS team in our country, and that being a cure to our woes at the international level. I don't think it's going to work that way," he said from Vancouver.
A former national team coach, Lenarduzzi knows firsthand how Canadian soccer has paid the price for poor infrastructure.
"Everyone can blame the national team coaches, but as far as our game goes we have not been doing a good job from bottom to top," he said from Vancouver. "We need to start at the bottom. We need to build a strong foundation and move on from there.
"I think we're starting to do that. MLS coming along at a time when we're putting the bricks in place, it just seems like it's too soon."
He says Canada's pro clubs, the provincial soccer associations and CSA should be working together "from the bottom up."
Added Saputo: "I don't think we are ready. I don't think Canada is ready. . . . I don't think that by having one MLS franchise in Canada are we going to really develop the game we need to develop it."
Lenarduzzi worries a single MLS team in Toronto will continue the fragmentation that has hurt the Canadian soccer.
"That's not a knock on MLS either," he said. "I think MLS has done great things for the game in the United States. And at the appropriate time, anyone in the soccer world in Canada would love to be a part of playing in the best league in North America."
But both the Impact and Whitecaps, considered model franchises in the second-tier United Soccer League, stand to lose if the first-tier MLS comes to Toronto.
"What is going to be the reaction from the fans in Montreal, knowing they have become a second division (team)? What's going to be the reaction from the fans in Vancouver when the Whitecaps become a second division (team)?" asked Saputo.
Top players will be drawn to the MLS franchise because of its higher profile and pay.
"It's going to do that, that's a fact," said Lenarduzzi. "It's also going to probably result in, if we want to keep some of those players, spending more money than we have been spending.
"The broadcast side of it, if they're on national television, that comes back into our markets.
"What I don't want to portray is that we're upset with MLS or MLSE, We just feel the time is wrong. And it should be more of a co-ordinated approach. Especially when you've got two owners like Saputo and (Vancouver's Greg) Kerfoot."
Kevan Pipe, the CSA's chief operating officer, responds by saying the Impact are already seeing domestic talent like Sandro Grande leaving for the greener pastures of Europe.
And he argues the opportunity to hook up MLS, MLSE and the Toronto stadium project could not be missed.
"We can't wait," Pipe said. "To buy into that argument says that we wait for another five years. MLSE has many opportunities to move in many other different directions. . . . That argument has to be categorically rejected. We cannot continue to wait for other rainbows occurring on other days. The time to move is now."
Saputo doesn't see it that way.
"If it's good today, I think it'll be better in the future," he said.
"If there's an opportunity for Kevan Pipe and the CSA to have their stadium and at the same time that they have their stadium, they're able to get an MLS franchise, you grab it when it's hot," he acknowledged. "But that's not necessarily the best thing. I think what you need to take a look at is how is this particular decision going to affect development of the game across the country."
The Toronto Lynx, the third Canadian USL franchise, had previously objected to MLS in Toronto but seems to have come round to the idea of playing in the proposed new stadium, according to local reports.
Notes: The Whitecaps are planning to announce a 15,000-seat stadium on the waterfront by the cruise ship terminal near the Pan Pacific Hotel. The team, which has already bought the land, hopes the federal government may be interested in getting involved like it has with the Toronto stadium. No price tag has been set, but it is expected to be in the ball park of the $60 million the Toronto facility will cost.
