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Dec 18,2005 - Dec 25,2005 |
A never ending story
The World Cup draws closer, but still no sign of the new Toronto stadium
By Damiano Vezzosi
Originally Published: 2005-08-28
The agony of Toronto's new soccer arena is far from over. Time flies, the World Cup draws closer, yet the choice of the location for the facility hasn't been made. Two locations are still open: the Canadian National Exhibition grounds and Downsview Park. Both have strong political backers, including Italian politicians. The waterfront option is liked by Toronto mayor David Miller and his deputy Joe Pantalone; the alternative in the park where the 2002 World Youth Day was held has the support of Federal minister for Immigration and Ontario Joe Volpe and of Toronto city councillor Peter Li Preti. The project is the same and both areas are easily accessed. Only a decision is required. "There's not much time left," remarked minister Volpe. "Work must start by November, or the stadium won't be ready on time for the World Cup." Toronto deputy mayor Pantalone did not immediately return our calls for comments.
The story of this decision is quite curious, and its evolution has been rather peculiar. At first, finding any location appeared difficult. Now, on the contrary, everybody wants the facility, with such determination that it's hard to choose. So many soccer lovers would be a nice thing, provided that the arena finally gets built.
It all began in the spring of 2004, when the construction of an arena on the area of the former Varsity Stadium, on the UofT campus, alongside a hockey arena that was supposed to become the training facility for the Toronto Maple Leafs, was announced. At the time, even the Toronto Argos were rumoured to be involved, with an eye to playing in the future arena. Shortly thereafter, however, numerous strange difficulties arose: noise(?), space, management costs. The first to go was the hockey arena; later, the University withdrew its funding and the project went down, despite the pledge of $35 million in public funds ($27 million from the Federals, $8 million from the Province). Joe Volpe insisted with the Government to release these funds anyway, in order for Toronto to have a soccer-only stadium, the feather in the cap for the Under 20 World Cup of 2007.
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