Quote:
Originally Posted by esquire
There's not much to it... it has a nice field and lights, but apart from that really none of the amenities that a pro team would require. That said, I guess just having the land is a start, so you build one 5,000 seat grandstand with dressing rooms and clubhouse underneath and you've got something. But it still seems unlikely to me, though... WSC is an amateur facility through and through.
IGF may be too big from an atmosphere standpoint, but at least it's fully equipped for pro level competition.
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The soccer complex would be perfect - this is where our 4th tier semi-pro soccer team played most of their games the past few years.
-Destroy the cheap main grand stand with the wooden benches
-Build a 5,000 seat new grand stand with mostly (or entirely) individual seating with locker rooms/clubhouse underneath on the field side with a handful of permanent concessions and washrooms on the public side
- a second level for pressbox and 5-10 suites or a few hundred club seats
- the area in the south end could be used for corporate hospitality tents
- the north end could be a 1-2,000 seat bench seating for supporters
- leave the east side empty but if demand warrants it build a 2 - 3,000 seat grandstand there
Easy for me to say - it's not my money. I have a hard time believing you could build something even as basic as this for $5 million once you factor in locker rooms, offices, meeting rooms, therapy rooms and who knows what else. A division 2 team would need those amenities if they want to maintain a professional appearance.
Who would pay for. I don't think a private investor would entertain the thought of more than a million or so (pay for player and coaching facilities) as they ROI from the stadium would just not be there. Tickets will be cheap, it's a startup league with no established fanbase so we have no idea how it will draw, TV deal will probably be peanuts and corporate sponsorships may be lacking.
A publicly subsidized stadium? Possible, but I'm sure government officials from the province and city would rightfully point out there is a perfectly suitable stadium at the University of Manitoba in IGF that is currently used 20 times per year...even though it is too big for CSL soccer.
If this was a startup league in the US, I'm sure government officials would be tripping all over themselves looking to handout $10 - $15 million in public subsidies to build a 5 - 10,000 seat soccer stadium espousing all the jobs and tourists this building will attract.