National Soccer Stadium at Exhibition Place

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National Soccer Stadium at Exhibition Place is a soccer-specific stadium under-construction located in Exhibition Place in the city of Toronto. The open-air structure will seat 20,000 spectators and be owned by the City of Toronto. Installation of the stands and field is set to be complete by January 1, 2007 with constuction then beginning on the indoor features of the of stadium. [link]

Contents

1 History
2 Management, ownership and funding
3 Stadium Specifics
4 Target opening
5 See also
6 External Links

History

The stadium was part of Canada's bid to host the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. [link] The original plan was that the site was to be located at York University, with the university contributing $15 million toward the cost of the new stadium. However, the university was forced to back out in May 2005. [link]

Major League Soccer (MLS), North America's highest-level soccer league, currently has twelve teams and is planning to expand to thirteen by 2007. Toronto FC was announced as the thirteenth team on May 11, 2006, and will begin play in the stadium next year. MLS considers soccer-specific stadiums to be a critical part of its strategy and Don Garber, MLS's commissioner, is adamant that expansion teams must have plans for a soccer-specific stadium in place to be granted a franchise.

Toronto's other professional soccer team, the Toronto Lynx of the USL First Division, will also be moving into the new stadium. The Lynx currently play in the 3,500 seat Centennial Park Stadium which is in dire need of renovation.

Management, ownership and funding

Toronto FC will be owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE), owners of the National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs and the National Basketball Association's Toronto Raptors. In addition, MLSE will contribute towards the cost of the building of the stadium. With the total costs in the realm of $62 million, contributions will come from multiple sources. MLSE will contribute $8 million towards the construction of the stadium and $10 million towards securing the naming rights of the stadium. The Canadian Federal Government will contribute $27 million, with Ontario's government adding an additional $8 million. Toronto will pay $9.8 million, and have the rights to the stadium. (All figures are in Canadian dollars.)

Stadium Specifics

National Soccer Stadium at Exhibition Place will have an infill turf field rather than one of natural grass. As well, the stadium will have an inflatable bubble erected around it to allow its use during the winter months. The stadium will also be modified for the 2007 U-20 FIFA World Cup, adding 5,000 temporary seats which will be dismantled after the championships.

Paul Beirne, director of business operations for Toronto FC, has stated that the seats will be entirely red with the exception of a design on each of the main stands. On the east side, the design will be a large maple leaf while on the lower west stand the design will spell out "TORONTO". [link]

Target opening

National Soccer Stadium at Exhibition Place is projected to open in spring 2007, coinciding with the start of the 2007 MLS season. MLS's commissioner has declared that the 2008 All-Star Game will take place in Exhibition Place Stadium, as will an MLS Cup by the year 2012.

External Links

[Soccer stadium Web site, including construction webcam]

Toronto landmarks