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Not to be outdone by Portland, Vancouver, Miami and New York City, Ottawa is jumping back in news due to the fact that they are going to announce their expansion bid at a news conference. We reprinted the press release below:
Media Advisory: News Conference for Official Launch of Ottawa's MLS Bid and Stadium Plans
Tuesday, Sept. 16, 9 a.m. at Scotiabank Place
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 12, 2008) - Eugene Melnyk, owner of Senators Sports & Entertainment (SSE), will hold a news conference to officially launch the bid to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Ottawa and present details to build a new world-class stadium.
The news conference will take place Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 9 a.m. at Scotiabank Place's Gate 1 entrance.
Melnyk will be joined by SSE chief executive officer Roy Mlakar and chief operating officer Cyril Leeder. Members from all levels of the National Capital Region's soccer community have also been invited.
For more information, please contact
Phil Legault, 613-599-0327
Brian Morris, 613-599-0289
That Picture is of Toronto not Ottawa
Haha Ottawa is in the background but it's Gatineau on this side of the river.
What a horrible idea. Ottawa is not a sports city, they've lost there CFL team twice, couldn't support a minor league baseball, didn't sell out a single Under 20 world cup game and have nearly lost the Senators twice until Melnyk bought them and they still can't sell out there stadium no matter how good they've been. and to top it off if they build a SSS near the hockey arena no one will go cause it's in the middle of nowhere
Is CFL Football dead in Ottawa, then? City's not big enough to support two summer sports. I imagine there is enough interest in having soccer there, since there really is nothing else to watch in the summer months.
BTW, why do some of you guys still stay that the Sens never sell-out? Go check the wikipedia entry. I'm a huge Sens fan, and that building is rocking whenever they're on tv (too far for me to drive from Winnipeg, or I'd be there too!).
From the wikipedia entry (which sounds pretty legit, to me)...
"On April 18, 2008, the club announced its final attendance figures for 2007–08. The club had 40 sell-outs out of 41 home dates, a total attendance of 812,665 during the regular season, placing the club 3rd in attendance in the NHL."
I'm going to throw up.
This is nothing more then Melnyk trying to ride TFC's coattails. Ottawa is a small market like Columbus and with the Forbes numbers out earlier this week giving a small market a team is a bad idea. seems like Garber is giving anyone with enough money a team which is bad business
Let me get this straight: One Canadian team was allowed to play in MLS because a few people decided that Canada can't support its own league. The Toronto team is succesful at the gate, largely because it appeals to Canadian nationalist angst, and MLS decides to encourage further expansion in Canada at the expense of American cities (who may not be ready now but could be in the future), despite the fact that we all know that Canada can't start its own league. Then MLS encourages MORE Canadian cities to throw their hats in the ring. It makes no sense. We've been conned, lied to and insulted. The process - if that's what you can call it - has been corrupted; USSF is now nothing more than a rubber stamp mechanism of MLS / SUM and its independent authority has been bought and compromised. The USSF president is on the payroll of an MLS team. American players appear to go along with the binational bliss trip, even though in interviews they suggest that they're unenthusiastic about Canadian expansion. American announcers and media commentators have been irresponsible in their failure to consider the unconventional and controversial nature of Canadian expansion. The whole thing is a travesty. For a country that can't start its own league, Canada sure has a lot of people eager to join ours. Oh, I'm sorry. It's not ours anymore.
Man, some of you guys really hate Canada. What? You think Toronto doesn't really deserve a team? Do you know how big AND multi-cultural Southern Ontario is? One of the best places on the entire continent for MLS to be. Or should they put another team in the "white bread" midwest, or somthing?
Stop the xenophobia and just enjoy the variety of teams from ALL OVER North America in the MLS.
im all for ottowa. tfc would finally have a good rival.
I have a designed a logo for FC Ottawa FC for possible submission.
Ottawa could only get an MLS team if they got up to 30-team. I won't say it'll never happen, but by the time they get that many teams (if ever...probably never), Melnyk will have lost interest. Montreal and Vancouver would be solid in MLS. Ottawa and Edmonton could be solid USL markets. Making a solid 5-team Canadian Championship. Still not enough for a whole league, but a nice national championship tournament.
"The Toronto team is succesful at the gate, largely because it appeals to Canadian nationalist angst"
You sir, are a fucking retard.
Melnyk should buy the (USL) Sounders, and move them to Ottawa, since they'll be folded anyway and he has no chance of getting into MLS.
BTW, that IS a crap location to put the feild.