The Free Online Dictionary defines "Conjecture" as:
Inference or judgment based on inconclusive or incomplete evidence; guesswork.
A statement, opinion, or conclusion based on guesswork.
So, this topic is purely definition 2!
As a backgrounder, there is a group in Quebec City headed by a lawyer named Michel Bellemare looking to bring a CFL team to Quebec city. From what I've read, he has limited financial backing, mostly from a woman living in the UK named Christina Saint Marche. The two released statements earlier this year that they planned on pursuing a CFL-quality stadium either on the Universite Laval campus or in one of the suburbs surrounding Quebec City. However, I haven't heard anything in a few months.
For those not plugged into North American soccer, there's been a recent upheaval at the division 2 level. A group of owners from the United Soccer Leagues first division, led by none other than Joey Saputo of the billionaire Saputo family, has broken away from the league and are setting up their own league, a reborn North American Soccer League.
Of course, Joey Saputo and his Montreal Impact team have their eyes on one of the last spots in Major League Soccer, but Saputo has been quoted saying that, even if his Montreal Team advances to MLS, he wants to keep a team at the NASL level... in none other than QUEBEC CITY!
See where my conjecture is leading???
Bellemare and Saint Marche have the will but not the financing, and slim to no political support. Joey Saputo has money, political connections, but its tough to justify a brand new stadium for an unproven division 2 soccer team. We have a double coincidence of wants here, and a Lansdowne Live situation (a la Ottawa) could solve both wants, attract public money, and possibly support from Laval.
I don't know anything about Joey Saputo though and how he views gridiron football, maybe he has a hate-on for gridiron and/or the CFL and wouldn't want this form of football played in a stadium he has helped finance. I don't know? :?
Given the source of the following, i'm not sure how much stock can be put into it but.....I recently found this page for an expansion team for Quebec City in the Canadian Soccer League. Hopefully it's not just some bum posting fantasy and actually has something to it.
apparently Laval does not want to corupt Quebec City with anything too Canadian.
Quebec City is full of sepratists and for this reason will never get a CFL team.
I'll always remeber an interview with Silvain Gerard years ago where he stated that he was a sepratist his whole life because he was told his whole life that English Canada hated him.
He said then that he started traveling around Canada with the Alloutees and realized that none of this was true and he stopped being a sepratists.The zealots who run QC realize this and will do anything forign out of their sphere.
The thing you guys have to realize about QC is that it is just as redneck as Edmonton... These people are stanch sepratists and hate English Canadians, hate imigrants, and hate Americans. They pretty much hate everyone but themselves.You ever wonder why Eric Lindross's parents would not let him play in QC. They were afraid that an 18 year old kid would not be able to handle NHL superstardom while being hated...
As it turned out...that's what ended up happening anyways.
Joey Saputo had the opportunity to get in on expanding McGill stadium, he said no , turned around and built a stadium that is too small for MLS and now is triying to find creative ways of getting public money to pay for his privately own stadium expansioin. I spent some time investigating this Christina Saint-Marche. I ended up with a couple incorporated companies one in England and one in Calgary both list addresses at small law firms. She is supposed to be this European design diva. The web site for her brand is a place holder with amateur graphics, no factories, no one in the fashion world even knows of her. The whole thing smells of BS.
Bellemare has no money either and the University wants nothing to do with any private group... So what we have here people trying to get something for nothing. Sorry.
I have to agree how this appears to be all smoke and mirrors.
Sainte Marche comes up once in a while looking for publicity and then returns into her igloo? With no cake to speak of.
I recall a few years ago the former owner of the Nords Marcel Aubut contacted the league and discussed the possibility of an expansion team.
When this guy who is well known supposedly in QC and has the cabbage from selling his portion of the hockey team, could not convince U of Laval to expand the stadium etc., well when combined with the continuous political climate I am afraid this is very much a long shot.
I was one of the people really optimistic about a team in Quebec City. While there is a lot going for Quebec City, the more and more I think about it, the less and less I see Quebec City as the 10th team.
It's sad, but there's way too many things that would need to happen imo in order for Quebec City to get a team soon...
I don't know about the anti-Canadian feeling in QC, and I don't have a care where the league expands to, beyond the the belief that the league NEEDS to expand (to 12 teams or more, if possible), but what are the major strikes in QC? It seems like a good fit on the surface, and the only real impediment SEEMS to be the lack of a stadium. Is that the case?
LTF
I think it will happen but it won’t be till the next big upturn and growth in this country and by the looks of the situation in the US I would say it could be 10 to 20 years.
Unless there is a huge will on the part of someone with big deep pockets and connections with government, the CIS fits the bill quite nicely for a small but dedicated group of football fanatics in places like Quebec City, London, Moncton, Halifax, Saskatoon, Victoria etc. Just need a chance to take in some Canadian football in the open air, they don't really need a CFL team, along the lines of places in the States with NCAA teams. The only problem with this, of course, is that they don't have the chance in their own cities to watch a higher calibre of football that is in the CFL nor do they have chance to host a big event like the Grey Cup and all that and have the true Canadian national football championship on their doorstop. The Vanier isn't that. But the price tag is a lot cheaper with CIS stadiums.
Most of the Conservative MP’s are in and around Quebec City, the separatists are more around Montreal and area’s. But not everybody in Quebec is a separatist. I can see the people behind Laval football not wanting the CFL to come in and steal their thunder though. It the same idea in Ottawa, a small group wants to keep football out of Landsdown Park and the Soccer people wants to keep the Argos out of BMO in Toronto. Just a selfish bunch with a me first attitude.
What do you guys think?
