Guest Ed Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Sorry about that Rudi. Having been to a number of games in Edmonton, it was pretty heavily populated with Jamaican supporters to my eyes. I'll just say it was way better than the Honduras match in Mtl and there is still room for improvement. Multiple pints might have clouded my memory, not the dance hall clown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Sorry about that Rudi. Having been to a number of games in Edmonton, it was pretty heavily populated with Jamaican supporters to my eyes. I'll just say it was way better than the Honduras match in Mtl and there is still room for improvement. Multiple pints might have clouded my memory, not the dance hall clown. No doubt there is always room for improvement. Step one: Don't invite foreigners to sing the opposition's national anthem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 The game should be in Toronto or Montreal unless they are on the end of a longish camp. Then they could be someplace else. The shorter the turnaround the more it has to be weighted to TO and Mon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakTFC Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 This is a great thread. 1. Toronto - obvious choice. 2. Vancouver - obvious choice. 3. Moncton - tough choice. My logic is one game for each part of the country. Some will say each main city deserves one but I was there in Montreal and that can't happen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munseahawk Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 KGV was used for the last Challenge Cup played there and is also home to the Memorial University teams. Based on that, I'd say the turf is high enough standard. After the flood that ruined the pitch, the turf was replaced and there was some additional landscaping done around the riverbank. I remember reading that last summer or fall they had a nasty storm down there and the pitch was relatively undamaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoatsforever Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 KGV was used for the last Challenge Cup played there and is also home to the Memorial University teams. Based on that, I'd say the turf is high enough standard. After the flood that ruined the pitch, the turf was replaced and there was some additional landscaping done around the riverbank. I remember reading that last summer or fall they had a nasty storm down there and the pitch was relatively undamaged. I was in town for the 2008 Regatta, and I stopped by the field, as it was open for a teenage-ish girls tournament of sorts and people were just filtering in and out. I went in and sat in the stands, which are nice, checked out the turf, which is also nice, and thought the view was astounding...(even if it includes a cemetary and prison side-by-side ) King George V gets my vote every time, for the reasons above, the 100% pro-Canadian crowd it would draw, and for the '86 magic we need to recapture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moldy9 Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 the match venue for the mid-October home match against Costa Rica had not yet been set. Over beers, I timidly raised the suggestion that it could be held in Edmonton, and everybody shook their head, saying "climate issues". Hello. Climate issues is exactly what we gotta create. Some countries create altitude issues, some create hot&humid issues, some create major transportation issues, and you bet they use them to their advantage in choosing WCQ venues to qualify. We should too. I completely agree with you but you know just as well as I do that the CSA is (and will be) driven by $$$ and not interested in results. If I had the choice I'd say play our games in Yellowknife or Whitehorse in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfitz Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 What about Richardson stadium in Kingston? It's grass, over 10,000 seats, and less than a 3-hour drive or train-trip from perhaps more Canadians than any other stadium in the country. Hmm, just looking back at the records on FIFA's website. The last (and only) game at Richardson was the 2004 qualifier against Belize. The crowd was larger than any of the 3 qualifiers in Canada later that year (at Swangard and Commonwealth). For those that were there, is there a problem with this stadium that it was left off the poll? It would be good to see a western game, but the lack of grass pitches seem to be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gkhs Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 What about Richardson stadium in Kingston? It's grass, over 10,000 seats, and less than a 3-hour drive or train-trip from perhaps more Canadians than any other stadium in the country. Hmm, just looking back at the records on FIFA's website. The last (and only) game at Richardson was the 2004 qualifier against Belize. The crowd was larger than any of the 3 qualifiers in Canada later that year (at Swangard and Commonwealth). For those that were there, is there a problem with this stadium that it was left off the poll? It would be good to see a western game, but the lack of grass pitches seem to be a problem. Both ends of the Belize round were played at Richardson (Belize did not have a suitable home field)...the second match was somewhat less well attended. I love Kingston, and have enjoyed Richardson - though it has certainly been thoroughly trumped by BMO and Saputo. I think there may be plans in the works to tear down the current stadium, however. Perhaps there is a Kingston V how could illuminate that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfitz Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Both ends of the Belize round were played at Richardson (Belize did not have a suitable home field)...LOL - I remember there being one match in Kingston ... never thought of search away games rather than home games! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 For national team games in Kingston we've actually had pretty good pro-Canadian crowds. The most impressive being a Women's Friendly in 03 against Australia which sold out (10,000). As for the rumours of tearing Richardson down. That is not going to happen any time in the near future. The stadium is very old, and I'm shocked that one of the stands hasn't collapsed yet. So a new stadium is desperately needed, and there is a plan to build a new stadium. Unfortunately Queens has been a little too ambitious in their projects over the past few years. They built a new gym which just opened last year and is very nice, but there is also an empty lot on campus which used to be the hockey arena and was supposed to be the site for a new hockey arena but there has been nothing done in a few years since the old one was torn down. I'd be shocked if Richardson is rebuilt before 2020... So bring on World Cup Qualifiers I do think we'd get a pro Canadian crowd out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuscan Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 BMO BC Place (although I might prefer Empire, but by that point everything will have been moved to BC Place, so unrealistic to choose otherwise) Moncton (Mission: Moncton) becomes a reality - don't let us down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Richardson is old and in bad shape and has a bad pitch. As long as it is still FIFA approved though it might be a good venue for a match against a superior possession team with a lot of away fans. I think the ideal opponent for Richardson would be Mexico. With a pre-sale we could probably sell out most of the stadium to Canada fans before tickets went on sale to the public leaving the Mexicans only their FIFA alloted tickets. The poor pitch could negate some of the Mexicans technical superiority. The CSA would have to be willing to sacrifice some ticket income in the interest of increasing our chances of a result for this to happen though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerpro Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Moncton - 20,000 stadium would sell out for sure. However I have no faith in the CSA being smart enough to put a game there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuscan Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Seeing as how we're probably going to be hosting a minnow for one of the three games (assuming we stay in the top 8), I don't see how playing one of those in Moncton with the stadium at 10,000 capacity couldn't make sense. I don't think there are enough Barbadians? in Canada to help sell out BMO or SS, let alone any of the other Caribbean nations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoatsforever Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I feel like each region of the country should have at least one big stadium for various sports, not even necessarily in the same town, but for instance, Rugby Canada doesn't have a home-field. In the case of soccer, I think Stade de Moncton, being grass, and expandable to 20,000 seats, could be Atlantic Canada's soccer headquarters, BMO in Ontario, Saputo in Quebec, but where out west? BC Place seems an obvious choise for the pacific, but do the prairies get a place in Alberta? FC Edmonton's soccer specific stadium, when it comes, would be it I'd think, and I sincerely hope the Whitecaps get their waterfront stadium finished soon. It would be awesome to have five full-fledged stadiums that could support pro soccer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masster Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 In the games where we play minnows at home, the goal of the CSA should be to try to make as much money as possible. Then when we play competative teams, we should worry about competitive advantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gkhs Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Where is all the Toronto/BMO bashing? What is the rationale of the 20% of folks not voting for BMO? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulliganl Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Richardson. Oh gawd! Haha, Sam's right, the student's end should really be condemned by now! I do like the idea of it being a compromise location and that terrible turf could play to our squads advantage against an on the carpet, possession oriented team. Plus we can always hop the fence if the CSA tries to gouge us on ticket prices... Sam: I can crash at one of my old grad school buddies houses so this isn't for me, but how many V's can you board at your house if this happens?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Richardson. Oh gawd! Haha, Sam's right, the student's end should really be condemned by now! I do like the idea of it being a compromise location and that terrible turf could play to our squads advantage against an on the carpet, possession oriented team. Plus we can always hop the fence if the CSA tries to gouge us on ticket prices... Sam: I can crash at one of my old grad school buddies houses so this isn't for me, but how many V's can you board at your house if this happens?? Depends how comfortable people need to be...should be able to board a good number of people though As for the student's side at Richardson. It's going to collapse one day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 If we play on any fake surface we become a joke just like some central american country was until China built them a national stadium. Seriously we have to play on real grass for all our games or we will not get taken seriously. When was the last time we played a hockey game on artificial ice? Why? Because they won't settle for anything but the best for the hockey players. We have to adopt the same attitude. I would love to see some out west where I am but to make it easy on the players travel I would take BMO, Saputo, and Moncton. All on grass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Bob Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 When was the last time we played a hockey game on artificial ice? Um, "literally all the time"? Professional hockey hasn't been played on frozen ponds for more than a century. Or do you mean artificial ice as in "made of plastic" and not just "manmade"? In which case I would say it's still an irrelevant comparison since artificial grass technology is now superior to bad grass (i.e. the stuff they mercifully tore out of Commonwealth) and most of the stigma against it is pure superstition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trident Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 The only sane answer: Toronto, Montreal, St. John's. People suggesting Moncton/Edmonton/etc. over Montreal... yeah, alright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finchster Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Toronto, Montreal and Moncton were my votes. I would take Moncton over St John's simply because from what I have seen, Stade de Moncton is a better stadium than King George. As a former resident of St John's, I don't think King George is suitable for a WCQ. But if we did play a WCQ in St John's I would have a good excuse to go home for visit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSoccerFan Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Um, "literally all the time"? Professional hockey hasn't been played on frozen ponds for more than a century. Or do you mean artificial ice as in "made of plastic" and not just "manmade"? In which case I would say it's still an irrelevant comparison since artificial grass technology is now superior to bad grass (i.e. the stuff they mercifully tore out of Commonwealth) and most of the stigma against it is pure superstition. pure superstition??? yeah whatever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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