If T.O.'s a no go, is there a plan B?

[Robert]

With only two weeks left in July, and still no official announcement from the CSA whether or not Toronto will have a suitable stadium capable of hosting games for the 2007 World Youth Championships, one has to wonder if the CSA has a back-up plan, or will Kevan Pipe just have to admit to FIFA that he has been unable to come up with the six stadiums required to stage the Championship he bid for? Is there a sixth stadium in Canada that could fill the bill if Toronto doesn't get a stadium built in time? If Canada winds up losing the WYCs because of this, will Kevan Pipe and Andy Sharpe still be running the CSA? They have managed to survived all the poor performances of Canada's National Teams, in addition to never been able to co-ordinate a Canadian National Soccer League. What are these guys in charge of Canadian soccer?

[Loud Mouth Soup]

Multiple pointless threads and posts by Robert on the same topic make baby Jebus cry.

[Daniel]

The alternative seems to be 2 groups in Montreal or maybe an Ottawa-Montreal split.

[Winnipeg Fury]

Is Hamilton still in the picture ?

[Elias]

SkyDome, Calgary, Regina, SkyDome, Winnipeg, Hamilton, SkyDome, London, Kingston, SkyDome, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec City, SkyDome.

And to create a temp facility with a couple bleachers: Kamloops, Red Deer, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Halifax, St. John's, Saint John, and I'm sure many others who would love the publicity and tourists and would somehow find the money.

And before anybody says I'm being stupid, go to FIFA's site and look at the stadiums used in the Netherlands.

Oh yeah did I mention the SkyDome?

[analyst]

quote:Originally posted by Robert

With only two weeks left in July, and still no official announcement from the CSA whether or not Toronto will have a suitable stadium capable of hosting games for the 2007 World Youth Championships, one has to wonder if the CSA has a back-up plan, or will Kevan Pipe just have to admit to FIFA that he has been unable to come up with the six stadiums required to stage the Championship he bid for? Is there a sixth stadium in Canada that could fill the bill if Toronto doesn't get a stadium built in time? If Canada winds up losing the WYCs because of this, will Kevan Pipe and Andy Sharpe still be running the CSA?

Sharpe has been telling people he won't run again for the CSA President's position.

[Daniel]

Forget Trois-Rivières or Quebec City. The only other possibility in Quebec is Sherbrooke.

[analyst]

quote:Originally posted by Robert

With only two weeks left in July, and still no official announcement from the CSA whether or not Toronto will have a suitable stadium capable of hosting games for the 2007 World Youth Championships, one has to wonder if the CSA has a back-up plan, or will Kevan Pipe just have to admit to FIFA that he has been unable to come up with the six stadiums required to stage the Championship he bid for?

The Vancouver Whitecaps were promising to build either a new stadium or a temporary stadium to host the Vancouver matches. There has been no further word on the Vancouver stadium. Vancouver's back up plan may be to use BC Place Stadium even though it is indoors and has football lines on the turf. Without both a Vancouver and Toronto stadiums, Sharpe and Pipe may be getting worried.

[Robert]

quote:Originally posted by analyst

The Vancouver Whitecaps were promising to build either a new stadium or a temporary stadium to host the Vancouver matches. There has been no further word on the Vancouver stadium. Vancouver's back up plan may be to use BC Place Stadium even though it is indoors and has football lines on the turf. Without both a Vancouver and Toronto stadiums, Sharpe and Pipe may be getting worried.

Another valid concern. Public discussions regarding Vancouver's role in hosting WYCs has been very silent of late. I wonder if there is any progress being made in Montreal and Victoria. So much uncertainty regarding stadiums and the absense of a co-ordinating voice, in my opinion does not bode well for the future of hosting this tournament in Canada. If the CSA lacks a plan B and a deadline for implimenting it, I'm sure that Blatter and FIFA must have a plan B in place from their perspective and a corresponding deadline for implimenting it.

Andy Sharpe's alleged end of CSA president comes as no surprise. He himself has been quoted as needing one term just to find out where to hang his hat and coat, only verifies just how unqualified he has been for this post from the start. The major accomplishment of his four years in office will be that it allowed Kevan Pipe to stay in power for an equal amount of time. A new president will only provide Kevan with yet another opportunity to try the same again. For matters to change at all in Canadian soccer, we need a complete changing of the gaurd. A toal overhaul of the entire CSA administrative offices is needed before any change can occur. I believe that with each passing day, the overall Canadian concensus is that change is exactly what is needed in this country.

[redhat]

Based on the past errors and past reactions, it's highly unlikely that the CSA

would say ANYTHING until something is more concrete.

As for commenting about Andy Sharpe's or Kevin Pipe's competency in their respective

roles, that's subject to speculation and opinion. I believe Robert has explicitly

expressed his take exhaustively and should send his complaints to the CSA directly.

Maybe they will respond, and if not, I wonder why?

edited for spelling

[canso]

Rochester.

[Elias]

quote:Originally posted by Daniel

Forget Trois-Rivières or Quebec City. The only other possibility in Quebec is Sherbrooke.

Unless there are other concerns, strictly stadium speaking, I thought Laval U. has a 15 000+ seat stadium in Quebec City?

[LUFC]

quote:Originally posted by Elias

Unless there are other concerns, strictly stadium speaking, I thought Laval U. has a 15 000+ seat stadium in Quebec City?

They do, but Stade PEPS has an astroturf pitch and football markings.

[Robert]

quote:Originally posted by JKCanada

They do, but Stade PEPS has an astroturf pitch and football markings.

If the organizing and operating of the 2007 WYCs were to be appointed to the more capable hands and minds of the Voyageurs, which six venues would we select, what requires the greatest priorty at this time, and how do we proceed? At worst this could serve in an advisory capacity to assist those who need our help at CSA control.

[Elias]

quote:Originally posted by Robert

If the organizing and operating of the 2007 WYCs were to be appointed to the more capable hands and minds of the Voyageurs, which six venues would we select, what requires the greatest priorty at this time, and how do we proceed? At worst this could serve in an advisory capacity to assist those who need our help at CSA control.

I would make a deal with FIFA and give 2007 to South Korea and get the 2009 tournament. This way would give the stadiums in Montreal and Vancouver more time to be done properly. And hopefully we learned our lesson in Toronto and something could get done.

But on the other hand, if it will be a disaster in 2009, might as well get this over with as fast as possible.

[Daniel]

Montreal will be done. Plans are expected at the end of August with construction set to start shortly after.

The Peps is a crappy, crappy stadium with like 12k benches, no amenities, no dressing room in the stadium, no lights, Astroplay and football lines. Plus, the local organization commitee didn't even realise that it was inadequate!

It looks impressivew when filled, but what stadium doesn't? I couldn't find bench pics. Imagine if they built a stadium on Centennial's hill.

[sj]

the indecision by the CSA can't be good for the other cities hosting the tournament

how can they get their project in motion when there is so much uncertainty on whether or not the tournament will really happened in Canada due to the Toronto Satdium fiasco.

there is also the question of Advertising and merchandising that need to be in place to take full adavantage of the windfall and all those things are on hold due to the inability of the CSA to deliver what they promised in their bid.

I know the CSA dont not care or bother about merchandising since one cannot find any at the Stadium whenever Canada is playing.

[The Ref]

Just a bit of trivia. According World Stadiums there are 38 soccer stadiums in Canada. Not bad you say. Well Brazil has 590 stadiums! Ooops.

[Elias]

Stadiums are in the eye of the beholder. I'm sure if Canada counts all the "stadiums" that are like the ones the Brazilians are counting, like a field with a bleacher, I'm sure we have a few thousand.

[fan]

Well stated SJ!

The amount of ignorance the people at the CSA demonstrateis astonishing and certainly overwhelming.

Then the audacity of people who request we explain all of it is nothing short of ludicrous.You dont need to explain or scrutinize incompetence when it has been so clearly presented by the CSA.

[RJB]

Are we actually lamenting the poor leadership of the CSA? Of course there is no plan B! The CSA has no plan at all, which is why we're a no name soccer nation.

Our men's team is in shambles, and our women's team, despite their success, plays boring, ugly soccer.

We are about to become an embarasment in the international football community by having the tournament pulled from us, and there is nothing that Pipe is doing about it.

[Daniel]

I hate you all.

[Robert]

The CSA's bid to host the 2007 WYCs may indeed have have been premature. Canada's ability to host an event of this magnatude at the time the bid was made, and as it continues to be today, remains questionable. If six specific sized stadiums were and are the FIFA prerequisite, at least four of these should have been in operation prior to this bid having been made. Having been awarded the bid with the number of stadiums we had at the time FIFA awarded the games to Canada, should be a lesson learned for all concerned. Now, as then, we really only have one stadium which meets FIFA's criteria, Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. For some reason, I believe that the stadium in Ottawa could probably meet the standards in a relatively short period of time. Which gives us one stadium that would be ready tomorrow, if the championship were to start then, and one stadium that could be ready in a matter of weeks. That still leaves four stadiums to go. What was Kevan Pipe thinking of? The reports from Montreal appear to be genuinely encouraging, however, final decisions are still more than a month away, and it would take another however long it takes to build a stadium (with winter coming up, I'd be guessing, but say a suitable stadium might be ready a year from now). I feel that any positive news regarding a Montreal stadium, would be the first encouraging sign that Canada might still be able to host this tournament. So far that's three stadiums, only half way there, which gives you some kind of appreciation of how poorly prepared this bid really was. Vancouver also needs to step up to the plate, and at least give some kind of indication of their intenions are. Supposedly, the CSA received as many as 11 initial bids from Canadian cities wanting to host games, and to my knowledge these city bids were never made public, which is typical of the CSA, as they used this same approach with the KPMG report on the feasability of starting up a Canadian Soccer League. Victoria seems like the smallest fry of the six cities selected by the CSA (sorry Ted, no disrespect intended), however, if the BC Capital were to take the initiative to get the ball rolling, it could prove to be the much needed impetus to get the show up and running. Finally, we come to Toronto. Come on you guys, what the F's up. Let's just do it. This whole tournament now hinges on HogTown. Toronto Voyageurs are always beeking off that T.O. is such a major league city. That you guys only support big league entertainment. Well, here's your chance. The chance to host the FIFA World Youth Soccer Championship Final. Is that big enough for ye. The federal government is willing to give you millions of taxpayer dollars, the Ontario provincial government was and still might be interested in kicking in a few more million. Don't F this up. Prove that T.O. really wants to be an international soccer leading city. You have the Lynx, the CPSL and are trying to land an MLS team (where are they goning to play?). If MLSE is really serious about soccer in Toronto, then why aren't they getting involved? This is a huge opportunity for them, unless they have decided that they are going to use the SkyDome, or whatever you guys call that thing. Let's have a positive announcement from the CSA regarding a Toronto (or area) stadium before the end of July, as promised. I have never wanted a soccer stadium for Toronto so bad.

[Richard]

All of the above is pure speculation. The CSA does not owe Voyageurs or anybody else any preview of their plans and intentions, neither do the organisers of any of the other selected host cities.

[Daniel]

Exactly. You can't wait on installations to bid. Imagine if cities did that for the Olympics! You have to build for the event. And that was/is the plan in Montréal, Vancouver and Toronto, with quality stadiums in Edmonton and Ottawa. In what way was this premature? Had the WYC been here in 2009, we would have had the same issues, only two years later.