Sports: A Small Rant

[dewline]

As to the ongoing argument between soccer and football and where each or both should be hosted in the city of Ottawa...I have an opinion:

Make Hunt and Melnyk share a refurbished and upgraded Lansdowne Park. I see no reason why the CFL and MLS cannot and should not share the place. Mr. Melnyk may want his soccer team to live next door to the NHL Senators, but that's not good enough in an age where urban sprawl's part of the larger problem list of our times. And from where I live, it's hard enough to get to a Sens game as it is.

Comments

[radargrrl.livejournal.com]

Frankly, I'd just as soon see them shut down all organized sports and have them sink the $$$ into some decent transit solutions, something I think the city sorely needs. But we both know that won't happen with this idiot right-wing mayor and his dysfunctional, territorial council.

[mencc1701.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with you about transit needing money, but ignoring organized sports would be a pretty crappy solution. You may not be a sports fan, but I am, and I think the positive benefits of pro sports far outweigh the costs. For one thing, they can be a real point of pride for a city and really form a focal point for communities. The Leafs and Habs, Red Sox and Yankees, Manchester United, they're all examples of this... even the 67s fit that mold, to a degree. As well, sports franchises can do a lot for the livelihood of a place: visit downtown Toronto when the Leafs, Raptors or Jays are playing, and you'll find people crowding the streets before and after games, going to restaurants, etc.

And, if absolutely nothing else, it's costing Ottawa $2-3 million a year right now to maintain Frank Clair Stadium as it is. Surely that money would be better spent rebuilding it into a point of pride for the city? I'd say that's a worthy investment, myself.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

I think we're in agreement on this point. Small use building up the transit network unless we have venues all over town worth taking the bus, the train...maybe even a Toronto-style trolley?...to get to.

[mencc1701.livejournal.com]

The biggest issue with that is the fact that the MLS requires a soccer-specific stadium to be built before it will grant a franchise. There are a few teams in the US that play in NFL stadiums right now, but all but one of those have plans to build soccer stadiums. The lone exception is Seattle, who play in Qwest Field.

It's not impossible to combine the two sports in one stadium, but it can be difficult to do it well, especially since a CFL field is larger than an MLS field.

And personally, I agree... my preferred solution is to build an adaptable stadium at Lansdowne. But we shall see.

[steve-roby.livejournal.com]

Lansdowne is going to take a hell of a lot of work and money to get fixed up for anything, and traffic can be a nightmare when there's anything going on there. So put a new soccer stadium in Orleans. It's closer to downtown than the Corel or Scotiabank or whatever is, and why should the west end get everything?

[dewline.livejournal.com]

They shouldn't, but that's no reason to put them through the same grief east-enders get as a result of the Corel Centre(as it should be called in my mind) being where it is.

No. Better that Lansdowne be fixed up good and proper and if Major League Soccer won't budge on the "soccer-first-last-and-always" thing for stadia(sp.?), that's their mistake and loss. CFL Ottawa Mk. III, the 67's and anyone else who's interested in making a go of it via a revived Lansdowne should get their chance.