Locations for Canada home games for WCQ

[SthMelbRed]

It was bullshit when the national team representing a country as vast as Canada played all of its home games in Toronto. It would be equally bullshit to restrict all the games to Vancouver. We have at least 6 venues across the country suitable for hosting just about any opponent in official matches or friendlies and another 3-4 in smaller markets that could accommodate the minnow games. I'd suggest that none of the larger venues should go longer than 2-3 years without hosting a single match and we should be trying to hit at least one of the smaller venues every 1-2 years. That's the way to use our current crop of talented, young players to plant the seed of the game permanently in the national consciousness.

Imagine a young kid living in the Maritimes, excelling at both football and hockey, coming up to the age when inevitable specialisation is forced on him, and his parents drive the family to Halifax or Moncton to watch Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David play live. All of a sudden, being the next Sidney Crosby doesn't seem like the end-all, be-all of that kid's sporting life. 

Imagine being a kid in Edmonton the first time Alphonso Davies comes home wearing a maple leaf on his chest, or in Ottawa when Jonathan David stars at Lansdowne...

It's time to think big.

[gigi riva]

3 hours ago, SthMelbRed said:

It was ******** when the national team representing a country as vast as Canada played all of its home games in Toronto. It would be equally ******** to restrict all the games to Vancouver. We have at least 6 venues across the country suitable for hosting just about any opponent in official matches or friendlies and another 3-4 in smaller markets that could accommodate the minnow games. I'd suggest that none of the larger venues should go longer than 2-3 years without hosting a single match and we should be trying to hit at least one of the smaller venues every 1-2 years. That's the way to use our current crop of talented, young players to plant the seed of the game permanently in the national consciousness.

Imagine a young kid living in the Maritimes, excelling at both football and hockey, coming up to the age when inevitable specialisation is forced on him, and his parents drive the family to Halifax or Moncton to watch Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David play live. All of a sudden, being the next Sidney Crosby doesn't seem like the end-all, be-all of that kid's sporting life. 

Imagine being a kid in Edmonton the first time Alphonso Davies comes home wearing a maple leaf on his chest, or in Ottawa when Jonathan David stars at Lansdowne...

It's time to think big.

I agree it is time to think big 

[TGAA_Star]

I mean if you are suggesting playing the bigger nations in CONCACAF in bigger stadiums and the minnows at smaller stadiums, then that's actually a good idea

[Ansem]

Montreal

Toronto

Halifax 

Calgary

Because...

[Obinna]

I wonder how much logistics will come into play this cycle?

The case totals of covid 19 in Edmonton are relatively low. Could that push them up the pecking order? Winnipeg comes to mind as well.

I wouldn't be surprised if other factors take a backseat to health.

Edited June 8, 2020 by Obinna

[TGAA_Star]

7 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I wonder how much logistics will come into play this cycle?

The case totals of covid 19 in Edmonton are relatively low. Could that push them up the pecking order? Winnipeg comes to mind as well.

I wouldn't be surprised if other factors take a backseat to health.

Brings up an astute point💯💯💯💯💯

[SkuseisLoose]

7 hours ago, Ansem said:

Montreal

Toronto

Halifax 

Calgary

Because...

Not to detract from the conversation but how have you made 5500 posts in 4 years?

[devioustrevor]

8 hours ago, Ansem said:

Montreal

Toronto

Halifax 

Calgary

Because...

Centennial in Victoria has grass as well.  Would be smaller than the stadiums you listed.  It's a shame Richardson in Kingston went FieldTurf, until 2016 it was grass and seats 8000.

[SkuseisLoose]

2 hours ago, devioustrevor said:

Centennial in Victoria has grass as well.  Would be smaller than the stadiums you listed.  It's a shame Richardson in Kingston went FieldTurf, until 2016 it was grass and seats 8000.

If you're OK with field's with tracks, Swangard would be a good candidate as it's hosted before, just outside of Vancouver and has a higher seating capactiy.

[devioustrevor]

4 minutes ago, SkuseisLoose said:

If you're OK with field's with tracks, Swangard would be a good candidate as it's hosted before, just outside of Vancouver and has a higher seating capactiy.

What's the field condition like nowadays?

I remember back in the era before BMO and Saputo when Canada frequently played at Swangard that there were so many dirt patches on the field it looked almost like a baseball infield.

 

Additionally, if anything is going to be in metro Vancouver, it will be at BC Place anyways.

Edited June 8, 2020 by devioustrevor

[SthMelbRed]

1 hour ago, devioustrevor said:

What's the field condition like nowadays?

I remember back in the era before BMO and Saputo when Canada frequently played at Swangard that there were so many dirt patches on the field it looked almost like a baseball infield.

 

Additionally, if anything is going to be in metro Vancouver, it will be at BC Place anyways.

My memory, from having attended most games during the '86ers era, playing youth cup finals and junior football on the pitch, and working for a number of years the City of Burnaby's Parks&Rec department, is that the playing surface was almost always in excellent condition throughout spring and summer. It sometimes suffered from SFU football being played there during the rainy Autumn months, though.

[SkuseisLoose]

6 hours ago, devioustrevor said:

What's the field condition like nowadays?

I remember back in the era before BMO and Saputo when Canada frequently played at Swangard that there were so many dirt patches on the field it looked almost like a baseball infield.

 

Additionally, if anything is going to be in metro Vancouver, it will be at BC Place anyways.

I know, some people are just adamant about playing on grass so I thought I put it out as a west coast possibility.

[devioustrevor]

23 minutes ago, SkuseisLoose said:

I know, some people are just adamant about playing on grass so I thought I put it out as a west coast possibility.

I'm one of those people that believe we should be playing on grass unless there are no other options.  It's one of the reasons I had suggested Centennial in Victoria as a possibility.

 

We seem to have a bit of a dearth of stadiums of appropriate size that have grass fields.

 

I had forgot about Swangard, but even with Swangard, it seems like there may only be six (Wanderers Ground, Saputo, BMO, ATCO, Swangard, Centennial) unless I'm forgetting some. 

 

If we play on FielfTurf or Polytan there are lots of options.

[TGAA_Star]

But why is BMO Field in Toronto so special especially when it comes to World Cup qualifying or potentially playing qualifiers in Toronto? I'll tell you why. Mainly because of the big game feel kind of atmosphere there. Whenever Canada plays there no matter who the opponent happens to be, our men or our women...Canada rarely loses in that building and also the fans there at BMO. Plus Toronto especially when it comes to soccer is like the Mecca like think the Garden in New York just as an example.

[adrenaline11]

2 hours ago, TGAA_Star said:

But why is BMO Field in Toronto so special especially when it comes to World Cup qualifying or potentially playing qualifiers in Toronto? I'll tell you why. Mainly because of the big game feel kind of atmosphere there. Whenever Canada plays there no matter who the opponent happens to be, our men or our women...Canada rarely loses in that building and also the fans there at BMO. Plus Toronto especially when it comes to soccer is like the Mecca like think the Garden in New York just as an example.

Don't think it has anything to do with that. It's more so down to the fact that

1) Pearson airport is an easy place to get direct flights in and out of

2) It's financially lucrative to play in Toronto

3) The MNT loves the facilities at the Nottawasaga Inn

[TGAA_Star]

3 minutes ago, adrenaline11 said:

Don't think it has anything to do with that. It's more so down to the fact that

1) Pearson airport is an easy place to get direct flights in and out of

2) It's financially lucrative to play in Toronto

3) The MNT loves the facilities at the Nottawasaga Inn

Which again are just added bonuses of playing qualifiers in Toronto 

[nfitz]

Surely the discussion is moot for the fall 2020 matches ... I very much doubt that any foreign teams from most Concacaf countries are going to be coming to Canada before the end of 2020 unless they quarantine for 2 weeks when they get here ...which seems unlikely.

Costa Rica isn't doing badly, but many areas haven't even peaked yet, like Mexico ... and California.

I don't see how this works, other than doing a tournament somewhere for the entire 4-team group, and quarantining everyone when they get there. Some parts of Canada might be Covid-free, and other parts are all improving - but that seems to be the exception in North America, not the rule.

Though I suppose with 3 groups of 4, you could probably wait until 2022 to do the qualifying, if you use a tournament, instead of home-and-aways.

I expect this will look a lot more like Olympic Qualifying than the Hex.

Edited June 9, 2020 by nfitz

[BrennanFan]

8 minutes ago, nfitz said:

Surely the discussion is moot for the fall 2020 matches ... I very much doubt that any foreign teams from most Concacaf countries are going to be coming to Canada before the end of 2020 unless they quarantine for 2 weeks when they get here ...which seems unlikely.

Costa Rica isn't doing badly, but many areas haven't even peaked yet, like Mexico ... and California.

I don't see how this works, other than doing a tournament somewhere for the entire 4-team group, and quarantining everyone when they get there. Some parts of Canada might be Covid-free, and other parts are all improving - but that seems to be the exception in North America, not the rule.

Though I suppose with 3 groups of 4, you could probably wait until 2022 to do the qualifying, if you use a tournament, instead of home-and-aways.

I expect this will look a lot more like Olympic Qualifying than the Hex.

Qualifying will (supposedly) start March 2021.  By then the world should be back to normal. 

[Obinna]

On 6/8/2020 at 6:47 AM, Ansem said:

Montreal

Toronto

Halifax 

Calgary

Because...

I would rather play on Turf than play on that

[CanadianSoccerFan]

1 hour ago, adrenaline11 said:

Don't think it has anything to do with that. It's more so down to the fact that

1) Pearson airport is an easy place to get direct flights in and out of

2) It's financially lucrative to play in Toronto

3) The MNT loves the facilities at the Nottawasaga Inn

They've been training at the TFC training ground lately.

[TGAA_Star]

55 minutes ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

They've been training at the TFC training ground lately.

Finally someone who sees the appeal of playing WCQs in Toronto...finally someone who gets it

[Bison44]

1 minute ago, TGAA_Star said:

Finally someone who sees the appeal of playing WCQs in Toronto...finally someone who gets it

For F's sake, most of the home games are already played there, obviously someone sees the appeal.  

[nfitz]

2 hours ago, BrennanFan said:

Qualifying will (supposedly) start March 2021.  By then the world should be back to normal. 

Without a vaccine? We have parts of the country where they have literally been zero cases. There's only been 130 cases on the entire Vancouver Island, with only 5 deaths, and no active cases.

I don't think that there's any way in the world that there's not going to be some travel restrictions entering at least parts of Canada well into 2021 - at least from countries that haven't virtually eliminated Covid.

Combined with the dreadful situation in some CONCACAF countries, such as Mexico, USA, and Honduras ... I don't see March 2021 happening in Canada at least. And I don't for see much chance of a full MLS season in Canada in 2021.

It's not so much the crowds in stadium issue - which might be moot by then, at least in BC, which is well on it's way to being Covid-free. But the quarantine requirements for teams travelling from some other CONCACAF nations.

Edited June 9, 2020 by nfitz

[nfitz]

25 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

For F's sake, most of the home games are already played there, obviously someone sees the appeal.  

As far as I know, most of our home games are played in the USA

Over the last 4 year-cycle (2016 to 2019) there have been 4 games in Toronto, 3 in Vancouver, and 1 in Montreal.

The issue isn't that Toronto gets too many games. The issue is that only playing twice a year in Canada isn't acceptable.

By my count, there's only been 11 friendlies in Canada in the last 20 years! Only 5 in the last 9 years.

[Kent]

6 hours ago, nfitz said:

Combined with the dreadful situation in some CONCACAF countries, such as Mexico, USA, and Honduras

Now I am dreaming of those three nations not being able to be involved in Qualifying. I would like our chances if that happened!