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Ben Knight - Dream Come True


Winnipeg Fury

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Dream come true

The stage is finally set for Major League Soccer to come to Canada.

Given all the years, tears and fears it took to get here, it's still hard to believe the once-mythical Toronto soccer stadium has finally -- and so suddenly -- been approved.

Once Toronto City Council was done debating the matter Thursday night, a two-thirds majority officially voted the building into existence. All that remains now is the collecting of big cheques from the federal and provincial governments, and next month's final confirmation of Toronto as the lucky thirteenth franchise in Major League Soccer.

( … All of these are said to be mere formalities, but there has rarely, in the past, been such a thing as any kind of formality in Canadian soccer. So the nervous among us will remain at least a little nervous for at least a little longer.)

Biding my time while the debate was going on, I was amazed at the differences between city hall and the world of pro sports. Many of the councilors seemed totally unaware of the stadium project's history, or the reality of the imminent deadline set by MLS. One councilor cited Montreal's Olympic Stadium as a cautionary example of the pitfalls of publicly funded stadiums -- as if Toronto could possibly lose a billion dollars on a $10-million investment.

Later on, another councilor actually said the soccer field should be realigned to run east-west. Yeah, it might fit the real estate better, but how can you play soccer in the evening with one goal facing directly into the sun?

I realize these aren't soccer people, and I certainly agree this project presents some palpable dangers to the public purse. In the end, though, Toronto Mayor David Miller cut through all the fog, the allegations and name-calling with a simple "If you don't want to accept $53-million of other people's money being invested in a facility we own, don't support it."

Zing! No wonder this guy has a reputation for getting things done. The opposition fell away, and just like that, the deal went down. And the apparent odds of this happening just three short weeks ago?

Zero. Until the involvement of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment was publicly revealed. There was the big-name, big-money corporate backer. There was a bankable MLS owner for Toronto. Suddenly, the Canadian Soccer Association's July, 2003, stadium plan - which entered the world without an actual cent of real money behind it, bounced to the Argos, got bounced by the Argos and kicked out of two universities - suddenly had everything in place.

And though you couldn't say there was a single, unifying strategy that ultimately got this deal done, I find myself feeling a tweak of admiration for the CSA's sheer determination and refusal to quit. Sometimes the best plan is just to keep going, waving the idea in front of influential faces until enough of them figure it's in their best interests to hitch a ride. By necessity, this has been how most soccer deals have gotten done in this country for decades. But nothing has happened at this level since Toronto Metros-Croatia became the Blizzard, and moved to Exhibition Stadium in the late seventies, or the long-defunct Montreal Manic briefly packed huge crowds into the Big Owe.

Really, it's such an odd feeling to be looking forward now, instead of back. Close your eyes and imagine opening day of the 2007 MLS campaign. Who's in those 20,000 seats? How many members of the Canadian national team are wearing Toronto colours? And what's going on with Canada's second-division USL teams? Have the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps lost too many players to Toronto? Do the Toronto Lynx still exist?

Dreams do come true every now and then. But it's still important to note that MLS Toronto is not a dream shared by the entire Canadian soccer world. The real reason Toronto got the nod (ahead of Vancouver, Montreal -- even Edmonton) is because FIFA, the CSA, three levels of government and the MLS all agreed. You can easily argue Toronto is not nearly the soccer town any of the other three are.

( … But it's also worth noting Toronto wasn't anybody's definition of a lacrosse town before the Toronto Rock came along. Good marketing and a great team took care of that. MLS Toronto will certainly have the marketing. But they will need to win to truly succeed, and who knows how long that's going to take?)

Getting here has been one of the stranger sporting journeys I've ever covered. I remain a huge believer that first-division professional soccer is the best way to strengthen our national team, and the only conceivable chance that Canada will ever again qualify for the World Cup. An all-Canadian league, even if it were possible, would spend far too much of its eternally dwindling resources flying second- and third-tier players across far too many time zones to ever really accomplish anything.

Over all the objections and concerns, the ducks have all lined up and Toronto will soon be hosting the Metrostars, DC United, the LA Galaxy -- even the comically named Real Salt Lake. It's an entire new chapter in Canadian soccer history, and I fervently hope the story includes multiple Canadian franchises - and a couple of Canadian championships - before this decade is out.

Notes: For those of you who want to see Canada's MLS team named the Toronto Blizzard, an on-line petition has been started. This is literally a case where any one name could make the difference, so you might want to check it out.

(My own opinion on the matter can be found running down the left side of this column.)

Onward!

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quote:Originally posted by Alex

Ben Knight is one clever fellow...Go Blizzard go sounds good to me

"as if Toronto could possibly lose a billion dollars on a $10-million" investment"

The skydome original cost was 156 Million with out a nickel from the public purse. It ended costing the Ontario taxpayer 650 Million. At this point the taxpayer is on the hook for all overruns and debt, while MLSE gets all profit (if there is one) from running the facility.

Nice deal if you can get it. In comparission Ben Knight isn't as a clever.

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quote:Originally posted by G-Man

"as if Toronto could possibly lose a billion dollars on a $10-million" investment"

The skydome original cost was 156 Million with out a nickel from the public purse. It ended costing the Ontario taxpayer 650 Million. At this point the taxpayer is on the hook for all overruns and debt, while MLSE gets all profit (if there is one) from running the facility.

What part of "MLSE is on the hook for all overruns & debt" do you not understand?

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quote:Originally posted by G-Man

"as if Toronto could possibly lose a billion dollars on a $10-million" investment"

The skydome original cost was 156 Million with out a nickel from the public purse. It ended costing the Ontario taxpayer 650 Million. At this point the taxpayer is on the hook for all overruns and debt, while MLSE gets all profit (if there is one) from running the facility.

Nice deal if you can get it. In comparission Ben Knight isn't as a clever.

In "comparission", you can't read.

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quote:Originally posted by G-Man

"as if Toronto could possibly lose a billion dollars on a $10-million" investment"

The skydome original cost was 156 Million with out a nickel from the public purse. It ended costing the Ontario taxpayer 650 Million. At this point the taxpayer is on the hook for all overruns and debt, while MLSE gets all profit (if there is one) from running the facility.

Nice deal if you can get it. In comparission Ben Knight isn't as a clever.

Man i have so much trouble with the idiots of this world. I belive when you post you should post truths not lies.

Facts jackass are that MLSE is on the hook for the first 250000 in debt then the balance is shared. Where do you get your facts?

The profit is also shared. I cant belive how stupid you are and that you continualy show the board here your a mental midget. Now run along dope.

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