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Entrevista con el Ministro de Recursos Humanos Joe Volpe Sobre la construcción de un estadio de fútbol para la copa mundial Sub-20 2007 Agosto 31, 2004 
Human Resources and Skills Development Minister Joe Volpe announced a partnership with the Toronto community, athletic and sports leaders to rebuild the historic Varsity Stadium site on Bloor Street, just west of Avenue Road. The rebuilding would create a new community facility in the heart of Canada's largest city.
The new Varsity Stadium will be a major component in the bid of the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) for Canada to host the 2007 FIFA Men's Under-20 World Youth Championship. "The Government is very excited about competing to host the FIFA under-20s," said Volpe. The New Stadium will provide a critical boost to the bid of the CSA to win the right for Canada to host the 2007 FIFA Men's Under 20 World Cup. "This will truly be a resource for the whole community." He went on to say, "People from every community in every part of our diverse city will welcome the chance to enjoy watching great players play the world's favorite game in the heart of Toronto." Volpe pledged that a Community Access Advisory Committee will be established with representatives from the Toronto Parks and Recreation department, city school boards, the Sports Alliance of Ontario and the Canadian Sports Centre Toronto. The Stadium will be easily accessible by TTC subway and will complete the revitalization of Bloor Street. West, from Avenue Road to Spadina. The project is a unique strategic partnership of the federal and provincial governments; the University of Toronto and its donors; and community, amateur and professional sports. The university will give $30 million, and it will raise $15 million from donations. The federal and provincial governments have pledged a combined $35 million toward the $80-million project. This government support winning the right to host the 2007 FIFA Under-20 championship. The former Varsity Stadium, built in 1924, was demolished in 2002 for safety reasons. Interview with Minister Joe Volpe
Q: Is it a big issue for you that we don't have a Canadian team at the top levels? A: It's a really big issue. I have always enjoyed soccer, my kids played it; one of my kids was actually pretty good, he was an Ontario class type of player. Kids have a good opportunity to demonstrate their athletic skills. We cover ages 15-16. We lack the opportunity for those kids to play at the professional level. In order to play professionally they need a very competitive environment, not just provincially but nationally and we don't offer that opportunity. One of the reasons they don't have that across Canada, is that the professional teams are starting to stay away from them, they have been staying away from Toronto and Southern Ontario, which is the biggest sports market in Canada and the biggest soccer market. We don't have a professional team, we really need a stadium that accommodates 20 to 30 thousand people as a bare minimum and that will allow those teams to operate in an environment that's attractive for spectators and at the same time is comfortable for the players. You have to play a good surface, otherwise your legs go out. Q: Talking about the new Stadium.-Turf or Grass? A: No, I don't think that turf is good for soccer. In fact, if you talk to American players, they don't like turf either. Soccer is best played on a good pitch, on a natural pitch. Now I know that there are people who are creating a turf that they think will meet the standards of professional organizations, but we are not there yet. So the idea of playing at the Skydome, for example, a stadium designed for something other than soccer or American football, it's just not appealing. You can't have the risk of ruining the instruments that soccer athletes have - their legs and feet. Q: A big risk could cost a lot of money. A: You loose that, and you loose your career. Why would anyone go there and play? They would always be concerned about the potential injuries they will suffer. Secondly, there are the technical aspects of the game: the individual technical competencies of every player are best seen in an environment that allows for the physical ability to display itself and to capitalize on the techniques that the players have to develop and to distinguish them from an amateur player. So you have somebody who knows what the game is about. If you are in a proper pitch their talent is really demonstrated. Q: Do you know, The CPSL, a soccer league, 100% Canadian, is trying to expand the league all across Canada through the Canada Cup. The problem is that they don't have support. Is there any way for the government to help? A: I am pleased to be able to say that now my colleague responsible for sports Stan Keyes of Hamilton. He is not a soccer fan; he is beginning to understand what it means. Together we worked on a project to get additional funding for Canadian sports. I gave him the indication that I will be supportive of the additional funding for sports in Canada, if some of that money would go into soccer precisely for the preparation of the high quality amateur soccer players or for those who are not necessarily defined as professional. In other words we are talking about an Ontario team or a Canada team that participates in many of these tournaments, which should be eligible. Q: Well, these types of scenarios are real. Most of them go to Europe. Soccer is the most popular sport, but most of the local media don't cover very much local soccer. A: This is true. Many of the problems with soccer have been that the Canadian media have largely ignored it. Most of the press media is English, English-Canadian. Many of them have been brought up with hockey, some with football and some on baseball, but not very much. The only way we are going to break that cycle is if we have more international reporters who are involved in the mainstream press and media. More soccer needs to be brought here because we need to have some men of some caliber playing internationally before people get excited about anything. Canadians are no different from anyone else. When the women played in Edmonton, everyone was excited. Why? Because they were Canadian girls. All the people in the fields were their friends. The point is that they were all athletes. We are in an environment where we have international attention. The Canadian media don't pay attention unless they are better than someone else. ARCHIVOS de Deportes 2004 Camino a Alemania 2006. Repaso de lo que pasó en el 2004 27 de diciembre 2004 Venezuela único ganador en una fecha de Eliminatoria 20 de octubre 2004 Entrevista a Ministro de Recursos Humanos sobre construcción de nuevo estadio Varsity. 31 ago. 2004 Resumen de Cuartos de Final de la Copa América Perú 2004. 19 de julio de 2004 Resumen de primera semana de la Copa América Perú 2004. 12 de julio de 2004 Toronto Lynx celebró Fiesta Latina 2004 06 de junio de 2004 Primeros campeones del fútbol de salón en Toronto Fin de semana del 01-02 Mayo 2004 |
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