General - CONCACAF Nations League

[SpursFlu]

2 hours ago, Shway said:

Your hate/dislike for Toronto is cute. It reminds me of when I was in Witchita, Kansas and how the people would talk about the big cities lol.

But I'm with you man, Vancouver should get the winter games - if like @Kent said means Canada playing at home versus playing in Florida. Spring through Fall, i'll take ATCO, Saputo, Moncton, or the Wanderers ground to host any minnows we may have to play.

For the record.. I actually like Toronto and the fans who get out and support Canada and their clubs are great. As far the insults, it's just a bit of fun. And some times a little too easy.

[nfitz]

On 11/26/2019 at 6:47 PM, SthMelbRed said:

Are you suggesting that the Whitecaps have suffered a drop in attendance due to artificial pitch? 

No, I simply countered the claim that people show up to watch. Though I did imply a roof doesn't seem to increase attendance.

On 11/26/2019 at 9:38 PM, Kent said:

I’m not sure what your Empire field point is about, especially since wasn’t it also artificial turf?

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I replied to the "people showing up to watch" claim.

And then I pointed out that Canadian team needs to play on real turf.

On 11/26/2019 at 9:38 PM, Kent said:

As for BMO Field, playing in December and February seemed to play a big role in the poor quality of the field in 2018. Yes we haven’t had January camps for a few years, but it’s still something I would like to see happen in Vancouver since they are capable.

Sure, if there were to be January camps/games - but with the January international break long gone, how would that work? 

Grass quality at BMO seemed infinitely improved this year, with the hybrid surface, and didn't seem to suffer from Canadian football, the way it did in the previous recent seasons.

So how is that an issue for either the early November or late March internationals, which are both much earlier and later (respectively) than MLS games are played at the same stadium?

Though why they don't remove the roof and put in real grass at BC Place I don't know ...

 

Edited November 28, 2019 by nfitz

[SkuseisLoose]

35 minutes ago, nfitz said:

No, I simply countered the claim that people show up to watch. Though I did imply a roof doesn't seem to increase attendance.

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I replied to the "people showing up to watch" claim.

And then I pointed out that Canadian team needs to play on real turf.

Sure, if there were to be January camps/games - but with the January international break long gone, how would that work? 

Grass quality at BMO seemed infinitely improved this year, with the hybrid surface, and didn't seem to suffer from Canadian football, the way it did in the previous recent seasons.

So how is that an issue for either the early November or late March internationals, which are both much earlier and later (respectively) than MLS games are played at the same stadium?

Though why they don't remove the roof and put in real grass at BC Place I don't know ...

 

Because that costs way more money then the province will ever pay especially with how recent the renovations were. Also the lions play there and i’d rather not have the pitch torn up by football. They also have no reason to switch it because no one cares in Vancouver whether it’s grass or turf.

Edited November 29, 2019 by SkuseisLoose

[SthMelbRed]

10 hours ago, SkuseisLoose said:

Because that costs way more money then the province will ever pay especially with how recent the renovations were. Also the lions play there and i’d rather not have the pitch torn up by football. They also have no reason to switch it because no one cares in Vancouver whether it’s grass or turf.

BC Place is actually more of a trade show/convention centre than it is a sports venue. Grass could not survive through the current year-round event schedule for the facility.

[nfitz]

On 11/28/2019 at 7:13 PM, SkuseisLoose said:

Because that costs way more money then the province will ever pay especially with how recent the renovations were. Also the lions play there and i’d rather not have the pitch torn up by football. They also have no reason to switch it because no one cares in Vancouver whether it’s grass or turf.

Why would the province pay for it? The city of Toronto owns BMO Field, and Toronto FC paid for 100% of the costs to upgrade it from plastic to grass. And most of the new stands they built recently.

It's not really the ones in Vancouver that are the issue - it's all those that won't go to Vancouver without a better pitch.

 

On 11/29/2019 at 5:24 AM, SthMelbRed said:

BC Place is actually more of a trade show/convention centre than it is a sports venue. Grass could not survive through the current year-round event schedule for the facility.

They do it on top of the turf? I've been to a few convention events in Montreal at the Olympic Stadium, but they were all in the level underneath the pitch. Yeah, that could be a problem. What's the time frame of Vancouver FC getting their own stadium, that they were talking about previously?

[SpursFlu]

2 minutes ago, nfitz said:

Why would the province pay for it? The city of Toronto owns BMO Field, and Toronto FC paid for 100% of the costs to upgrade it from plastic to grass. And most of the new stands they built recently.

It's not really the ones in Vancouver that are the issue - it's all those that won't go to Vancouver without a better pitch.

 

They do it on top of the turf? I've been to a few convention events in Montreal at the Olympic Stadium, but they were all in the level underneath the pitch. Yeah, that could be a problem. What's the time frame of Vancouver FC getting their own stadium, that they were talking about previously?

The problem is real estate is at such a premium in Vancouver and BC Place has such a good location. Maybe they could build a similar high school football stadium at PNE like Toronto United did at an amusement park but the transit to there is not great.

[MtlMario]

I remember when the owner (Whitecaps) wanted to build at his own cost a stadium over the water but the city was against the idea. Crazy.

48 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

The problem is real estate is at such a premium in Vancouver and BC Place has such a good location. Maybe they could build a similar high school football stadium at PNE like Toronto United did at an amusement park but the transit to there is not great.

 

[SkuseisLoose]

4 hours ago, nfitz said:

Why would the province pay for it? The city of Toronto owns BMO Field, and Toronto FC paid for 100% of the costs to upgrade it from plastic to grass. And most of the new stands they built recently.

It's not really the ones in Vancouver that are the issue - it's all those that won't go to Vancouver without a better pitch.

 

They do it on top of the turf? I've been to a few convention events in Montreal at the Olympic Stadium, but they were all in the level underneath the pitch. Yeah, that could be a problem. What's the time frame of Vancouver FC getting their own stadium, that they were talking about previously?

Even if the whitecaps offer to pay for it, which they won’t for reasons I’ll get to, the province won’t do it because it isn’t just a soccer and football stadium like bmo field. Why it makes no sense for the whitecaps to remove the roof is because it rains a lot and I doubt the drainage system is good enough for the amount of rain we get. Obviously could be wrong but I doubt it. Also the BC Lions play there and I assume the province treats them equally to the whitecaps, and they’ll never agree to it. Unlike the Argos who were without a stadium and needed one which means they would’ve had to live with what TFC wants. The only way the whitecaps will ever have a grass field is if they build their own. Also who isn’t coming to Vancouver because of the turf.

Edited December 19, 2019 by SkuseisLoose

[SpursFlu]

I personally love BC Place. Love watching a game there. Like the entire experience 

[Watchmen]

5 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

The problem is real estate is at such a premium in Vancouver and BC Place has such a good location. Maybe they could build a similar high school football stadium at PNE like Toronto United did at an amusement park but the transit to there is not great.

But Kerfoot still owns the land in question, so I'm not sure real estate prices matter that much in this case.  Construction costs have certainly gone up.  I think it's now a case of waiting for BC Place to reach the end of it's new life, then circling back to see about building a new downtown stadium then.

[SpursFlu]

15 hours ago, Watchmen said:

But Kerfoot still owns the land in question, so I'm not sure real estate prices matter that much in this case.  Construction costs have certainly gone up.  I think it's now a case of waiting for BC Place to reach the end of it's new life, then circling back to see about building a new downtown stadium then.

BC Place has a 40 year life after the renos. 500 million public money. Whitecaps have a ridiculous lease as a result. Big expansion coming to sea bus terminal and port area. Waterfront stadium is dead forever. I do believe the Hasting Horsetrack rumours. Makes more sense

Edited December 19, 2019 by SpursFlu

[CanadianSoccerFan]

Reports out of Haiti that the groups are already drawn for the next Nations League.  However, they only name Haiti's league B group opponents.  I suspect CONCACAF will have Leagues B and C start early  so teams don't have to sit on their ass for a year.

http://totalmixradio.com/2021/06/11/ligue-des-nations-haiti-et-nicaragua-partagent-le-meme-groupe/?fbclid=IwAR2e-0pKq8SlJplxL9G-8oaV6Bbbg5gFgYL0fZHyqT_WDKVxl6M92ny4ses

[jtpc]

Of the 12 countries in League A for the next edition of the Nations League, thankfully only 1 is a non-FIFA member (Martinique).

You just know what's coming, right?

If we're in a group with Martinique after getting a non-FIFA team in each of the last 3 Gold Cups, I'm going to lose my mind. I've had enough of non-FIFA teams.

The 12 countries in League A are the entire Octagonal (Mexico, USA, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Canada, Panama) plus Curaçao, Suriname, Grenada, and Martinique.

Edited August 2, 2021 by jtpc

[CanadianSoccerFan]

15 minutes ago, jtpc said:

Of the 12 countries in League A for the next edition of the Nations League, thankfully only 1 is a non-FIFA member (Martinique).

You just know what's coming, right?

If we're in a group with Martinique after getting a non-FIFA team in each of the last 3 Gold Cups, I'm going to lose my mind. I've had enough of non-FIFA teams.

I believe we're a top seed so we'll probably also get the powerhouse Grenada...

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

8 hours ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

Reports out of Haiti that the groups are already drawn for the next Nations League.  However, they only name Haiti's league B group opponents.  I suspect CONCACAF will have Leagues B and C start early  so teams don't have to sit on their ass for a year.

http://totalmixradio.com/2021/06/11/ligue-des-nations-haiti-et-nicaragua-partagent-le-meme-groupe/?fbclid=IwAR2e-0pKq8SlJplxL9G-8oaV6Bbbg5gFgYL0fZHyqT_WDKVxl6M92ny4ses

Weird that that is the only source. It could be true; all the Oct teams will be in League A.

League A will also have two opponents, whereas League B will have 3 opponents so they can (and should!) play at least two matchdays while the League A teams are busy.

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022–23_CONCACAF_Nations_League

[Kent]

I hope the draw hasn't already happened. I want to see a draw!