After all the hype surrounding Melnyk's proposal last week, I can't wait to see what the Ottawa Dream Team has in store for us.
Despite the feelings of some posters in this forum regarding soccer, I think Hunt & Co. should make the stadium easily adaptable for a soccer team. It'll show everybody that they're trying to make a facility that has a whole bunch of uses, and will make Melnyk look like a spoilled rich kid trying to get the government to pay for his own private playground. Melnyk's already said he doesn't want to share his stadium with anybody, especially not a CFL team.
If the Lansdowne stadium can accomodate soccer, Ottawa politicians might think to themselves "Great! We don't have to choose between soccer or football, we have one facility with a guaranteed CFL franchise that can accomodate an MLS or USL-1 franchise sometime down the road".
Other than that, just PLEASE make it good enough to get approved, and don't ask for so much public money that people get pissed off.
Monday's my 25th birthday, and I'm hoping for a great big present from Jeff Hunt in the next week!
Completely agree dmont with your comment about Hunt's group making the stadium soccer friendly, even though I'm not a big soccer fan, to do otherwise in this situation might be political suicide for sure. Anxious also to see the proposal!
Let's hope Hunts group will turn around to the people in the Glebe and say "you want green?" we're taking up the field turf and putting down real grass on the football field.
I’m thinking there will be a bit of a slant towards the revenue generating end of things for the city as well. Pretty greenspace (that Ottawa already has a lot of) doesn’t generate a whole lot of money to pay for the maintenance of Lansdowne Park. A guaranteed tenant in the Ottawa Rough Riders does. If the whole MLS thing develops, having a second tenant at Frank Clair stadium (at Lansdowne) would also generate much needed revenue from the park for the city.
Jeff Hunt is supposed to be on Team 1200 tomorrow morning some time, for those who can listen in.
He was supposed to be there today, but he apparently wasn't prepared following his attendance at the CFL meetings the previous day. Sounds like he might have a fair amount to say then.
I couldn’t hear it because I was at work, but a friend told me that very little that we didn’t already know was said. Their whole announcement, which seems to be “next week” every week, is still on the way. :?
I talked to the Mayor last night and he mentioned he will hear the proposal on Monday, so lets see what happens, I know in the Montreal Gazette they said there will be no team till 2011
I have a feeling that they were all set to make the proposal, then Melnyk came out with one that was very flashy and impressive. They've since headed back to the drawing board to retool the proposal and make sure the numbers make sense. In the end, the Melnyk proposal may have been a blessing in disguise if it motivated Hunt et. al to ramp up the quality of their own.
I heard Monday (yet again), which this time makes even less sense because that just happens to be Thanksgiving. I can’t imagine he’d launch it during a holiday.
The Hunt proposal already sounds superior since the lansdowne stadium could hold soccer events as well as football events. Plus Melnyk's stadium will NEVER hold a concert, since it would ruin the precious real grass.
[i]OTTAWA — The group looking to bring the CFL back to Ottawa will unveil a proposal for the revitalization of Lansdowne Park on Friday.
The group, led by Ottawa 67's owner Jeff Hunt, will hold a news conference at the Ottawa Civic Centre to discuss the proposal, which will include a stadium for both football and soccer as well as community sports activities and major concerts.
Hunt will is scheduled to attend the news conference, along with partners Roger Greenberg, the chairman of The Minto Group; John Ruddy, president of Trinity Development Group; and William Shenkman, chairman of the Shenkman Group of Companies.
The CFL awarded Hunt's group a conditional expansion franchise in March. There has been no specific timeline for Ottawa's return to the league.
Ottawa has been without a CFL club since the league was forced to mothball the Renegades franchise prior to the 2006 season.[/i]
Absolutely, a stadium for football and soccer, despite all this "soccer-specific stadium MLS talk", makes perfect sense. If soccer boys won't support their team because they play gridiron in it, then really, are they that big of fans of the MLS anyways? I don't think so. Start from the beginning, unlike BMO in Toronto, football and soccer. Anything else is just plain dumb. If soccer was so big in North America like it is in Europe and other countries, fine, soccer specific grass and nothing short of 40,000. But that isn't the case.
I hppe that exclusivity comes back to bite Melnyk in the @$$.
With Hunt, at least they already have the franchise. Melnyk does not. If Hunt’s group gets approval for a stadium before Melnyk, it’ll hurt Melnyk’s chances because the city won’t want to build two of similar size, even if they’re so far apart.
Melnyk could conceivably, be awarded a franchise of his own but not have a place to play, which would tickle me to no end. His people are still being very open about having no interest in working out of Lansdowne so he would either lose the franchise over it, or have to swallow his pride and ask to play there after all.
I’m trying to take the mindset of a crotchety old guy and looking fo rthings to hate about it. There isn’t a lot of actual “park” but yeah, the aquarium facility is a nice idea. One thing that was asked for is the possibility to use the facilities year round.
We made sure to incorporate an event lawn, soccer pitches, an ultimate field, ponds and formal gardens.
The [u]25,000 seat Lansdowne Live Stadium [/u]will be one of the world’s best. It is designed with the comfort and convenience of fans as a top consideration. The seats, sightlines washrooms and concession areas all contribute to the fan experience and we are committed to making your experience the best it can be. Luxury suites and restaurants are also a major component of the stadium design, and, for players or performers, the locker rooms and changing facilities will be second to none. The athletic field itself can accommodate professional and amateur football, soccer and other field sports. And, as an outdoor concert venue, the stadium will be a magnet for national and international performers.