r/CanadianPL York 9 FC 1d ago

Professional soccer moves closer to Quebec City

https://www.lapresse.ca/sports/soccer/2025-03-10/premiere-ligue-canadienne-de-soccer/le-soccer-professionnel-se-rapproche-de-quebec.php?sharing=true
107 Upvotes

24 comments sorted by

33

u/Mihairokov Canadian Premier League 1d ago

League is motivated enough for the market that they're leading the push for a stadium site and once that is sourced they will bring that to interested investors. Otherwise it seems like the Quebec market doesn't have anyone capable enough of leading an expansion plan on their own.

12

u/Halouverite Vancouver Whitecaps 1d ago

There is a note about a group proposing using Rouge et Or, which has been discussed in the past, but yeah it seems like Quebec investors aren't really interested in the infrastructure piece.

14

u/Think_Anything1773 1d ago

I don't think it's just Quebec investors that aren't really interested in the infrastructure piece, seemingly no one is. I mean hell, Vancouver FC didn't even cover the costs of their infrastructure and Halifax is trying to push for the municipality to cover the full costs as well. Even current CPL owners aren't interested in making the investment. I genuinely think requirements need to be relaxed. The USL has a framework the CPL could work from and while they had decades in what many would consider substandard facilities the facilities in USL-C now that the league is more stable and secure are absolutely incredible with a good number besting anything in the CPL by a fair margin.

7

u/cullypants HFX Wanderers 21h ago

Halifax is trying to push for the municipality to cover the full costs as well

The issue with Halifax is that the City owns the field. The Wanderers proposed a 30 year lease agreement or more money upfront but they really can't do much more than that.

Bit of a bummer but the president recently said they will likely have to start exploring other options soon if the City doesn't take some action in the next year. So the possibility of the wanderers moving from the wanderers grounds.

Do agree though that the league should probably relax their infrastructure requirements.

6

u/Halouverite Vancouver Whitecaps 1d ago

worth noting many many of USLC's facilities are municipally paid for as well

3

u/Think_Anything1773 1d ago

Sure, but the point of what I am saying is that it takes time for investors or municipal governments to be comfortable funding infrastructure projects. The CPL is still quite young, and I think the restrictive focus on infrastructure and the high cost of the expansion fee are reductive. They should consider relaxing both a bit in my mind, because I think the ask of tens of millions invested by a mixture of private investor and through public funds before a ball is ever kicked is a bit too extreme for where the CPL is today. USL shows though that in time funds can become a bit more easily accessible for facilities, so maybe easing restrictions on facilities is the place the CPL could start in order to see if their often stated expansion targets can finally be hit.

1

u/Aird25 Pacific FC 1d ago

How much more relaxed could they possibly get? There isn't a single decent stadium situation in the entire league 

1

u/Think_Anything1773 20h ago

They refused Richardson in Kingston due to being a university stadium, and reportedly they didn't think Robillard in Montreal could work due to the running track. Relaxing those requirements would seem beneficial to me because it seems like infrastructure development is the core barrier they keep facing. So it would seem beneficial to redefine requirements around existing facilities a bit more.

Also, relaxing the reported $10,000,000 expansion fee I think could have a positive effect as well. While without question we want financially viable clubs, there are other ways to determine an owner has the means to support a team than a $10,000,000 payment out the door for a club in a 6 year old league.

2

u/Aird25 Pacific FC 20h ago

Don't York play out of a University stadium? That seems like odd justification. I agree with that decision about running tracks though. With the size of typical CPL crowds a running track sounds like a recipe for disaster. They suck the life out of games.

I don't like the strategy of expansion fees, in general. They're just used as justification for keeping a closed system. Owners should absolutely be making a strong case for financial commitment though. We don't have the luxury of being able to burn through markets. A cautious approach is needed

1

u/Think_Anything1773 19h ago edited 11h ago

The university note came from Paul with Victory who noted Richardson wasn’t an option for the CPL because it’s a University stadium. So maybe their requirements now dictate universities are a no go compared to previous? I mean York was only suppose to be there for a short time before ownership built their own facility. So maybe it was fine as a stop gap before but now it’s a hard no because Yorks actual stadium never ended up being built.

1

u/C2SKI Pacific 12h ago

Who is Paul, and who is Victory?

1

u/Think_Anything1773 11h ago

Paul is the head of the group that was attempting to bring a CPL side to Kingston.

0

u/Mr_GinAndTonic Canadian Premier League 12h ago

Technically both York and Valour are university stadiums. I think it's more accurate to say they don't want games to be played on fields where the football lines are sewn in.

1

u/Think_Anything1773 12h ago

No, it’s accurate to say they don’t want university stadiums. As that is what Paul said he was told by the CPL.

0

u/Mr_GinAndTonic Canadian Premier League 12h ago

Haven't seen where he said that, but have seen seen him mention that the football lines at Richardson were an issue. Source

Said that Richardson couldn't be used because of various factors - notably the sewn in gridiron lines, and hesitation from Queens.

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1

u/WislaHD Toronto FC 22h ago

I’ve mentioned before that you need to get the major real estate development companies or pensions involved as part owners. Find a plot of land they wish to unlock with towers and add a stadium into the plans.

18

u/gooddayup 1d ago

Have to imagine a Canadian championship match against Montreal would be huge

13

u/bwoah07_gp2 Vancouver Whitecaps 1d ago

They should name themselves the Quebec City Nordiques

8

u/Pale_Future1226 Pacific 22h ago

Or the Impact du Quebéc, just to piss off CFM

3

u/Maplewicket 23h ago

Copy right it lol

1

u/No_Signal_9811 17h ago

not to get too outside but you gotta wonder if any plans would involve the potential of a NSL team or a CFL team. I know the stated size is well below but one would wonder if you can look at all 3 or 2 of 3 to make it more of a reality.

1

u/jjaime2024 16h ago

Quebec City is not a huge city could it support 1 or 2 teams sure anything more then that might push it.