-Hammer-

"Come watch two teams from two leagues, neither of which exist in your city" didn't turn out too well for Benfica v Rangers

I for one would love to see the Canadian Championship game at Tim Hortons' Field and hope it goes forward. That said, I wouldn't expect a large crowd for Oakville vs the Fury unless a large contingent of Oakville fans and L1O enthusiasts make it out. I know I'd be down and I'm sure other members of the Battalion would be.

I for one would love to see the Canadian Championship game at Tim Hortons' Field and hope it goes forward. That said, I wouldn't expect a large crowd for Oakville vs the Fury unless a large contingent of Oakville fans and L1O enthusiasts make it out. I know I'd be down and I'm sure other members of the Battalion would be.

I for one would love to see the Canadian Championship game at Tim Hortons' Field and hope it goes forward. That said, I wouldn't expect a large crowd for Oakville vs the Fury unless a large contingent of Oakville fans and L1O enthusiasts make it out. I know I'd be down and I'm sure other members of the Battalion would be.

I give up. 

The problem is the Ti-Cats aren't exactly suing the city. Basically the build contract for the stadium (and I think part of the Ti-Cats tenant agreement) states that if there are build and deficiencies with Tim Hortons Field, that legal claims have to flow through the city. Basically that the Ti-Cats acknowledge, the city itself didn't perform the build, Infrastructure Ontario did, so despite the City owning the stadium, they aren't liable because Infrastructure Ontario screwed the pooch. However, because of this, the city has to communicated and go after Infrastructure Ontario for any claims that the Ti-Cats have, which makes sense. Part of the reason it was done this way was because having a giant conga line of lawsuits wasn't going to benefit any parties involved.
From there infrastructure Ontario then needs to then go after then actual contractors for any failures in the build, because our provincial government works in mysterious ways with this sort of thing. From my understand Infrastructure Ontario tends to keep a lid on things and often settles these things out of court.

Regardless though, one of the city councilors basically went on the radio and said in no uncertain terms, it's a policy that we have in place to try to force parties to settle quicker when engaged in legal issues with the city, but then said "Oh we're just the middleman here though, we're not the ones blocking them." You would think, given the unique legal mechanism they've opted to use here, and that if you didn't want to actually block them, that you'd make an exception to this policy. However, it's very clear the city is basically trying to pressure the Ti-Cats into taking (a likely inferior) settlement to the build failures of Tim Horton's Field and are using this as leverage.
Why? I suspect a degree of petty politics and trying to scratch the province's back on this one.

Absolutely, but I can guarantee you, there is no way the province came back with anything close to $35 million. The province as well is in a budget crisis due to years of fiscal mismanagement and scandals. I'd be surprised if they offered half to be honest.
What wouldn't shock me though is if the city is scratching the province's back in some fashion due to the LRT they are about the build in Hamilton, as that has been an equally contentious project and certain councilors keep trying to making populist requests of the province about the LRT in a veiled attempt to kill it (like extending the line possibly running the project over budget, or demanding the HSR run the LRT system, or trying to AGAIN say we need to study it more) but make it seem like it isn't their fault, and the slim majority want to keep it but not stick their necks out, so they are trading political capital.

However, all of that is ALL speculation.

I would think that the numbers are very high because the team had to tank huge losses due to the stadium being late. They effectively lost 3 games of revenue (I think..might have been 4) playing out of Ron Joyce which only seats 5,000. They also had to give free tickets to season ticket holders because the Ti-Cats have more then 5,000 season ticket holders. Right there, that's likely around 4 million+ in damages due to lost gate and concession revenue alone, even before the PR gestures start up.
Then when you consider issues with the sound system, the fact they didn't install the proper beer systems, several seats on the second deck had obstructed views because the build used steel rails instead of the called for Plexiglas, some of the suites were build to smaller then the architectural specifications and most shockingly, insufficient mounting of stadium speakers (which had there been a game on, could have killed someone) and other minor items the Ti-Cats had to tank, it's probably quite high.

The problem is the Ti-Cats aren't exactly suing the city. Basically the build contract for the stadium (and I think part of the Ti-Cats tenant agreement) states that if there are build and deficiencies with Tim Hortons Field, that legal claims have to flow through the city. Basically that the Ti-Cats acknowledge, the city itself didn't perform the build, Infrastructure Ontario did, so despite the City owning the stadium, they aren't liable because Infrastructure Ontario screwed the pooch. However, because of this, the city has to communicated and go after Infrastructure Ontario for any claims that the Ti-Cats have, which makes sense. Part of the reason it was done this way was because having a giant conga line of lawsuits wasn't going to benefit any parties involved.
From there infrastructure Ontario then needs to then go after then actual contractors for any failures in the build, because our provincial government works in mysterious ways with this sort of thing. From my understand Infrastructure Ontario tends to keep a lid on things and often settles these things out of court.

Regardless though, one of the city councilors basically went on the radio and said in no uncertain terms, it's a policy that we have in place to try to force parties to settle quicker when engaged in legal issues with the city, but then said "Oh we're just the middleman here though, we're not the ones blocking them." You would think, given the unique legal mechanism they've opted to use here, and that if you didn't want to actually block them, that you'd make an exception to this policy. However, it's very clear the city is basically trying to pressure the Ti-Cats into taking (a likely inferior) settlement to the build failures of Tim Horton's Field and are using this as leverage.
Why? I suspect a degree of petty politics and trying to scratch the province's back on this one.

Your assertion isn't wholly wrong, but realistically that's par for the course.The Grey Cup simply isn't awarded to a team alone, the league requires that the local government get on board with it, because the league makes the Grey Cup an event and always carries with it a festival. As far as the organization of said festival, usually the local team does the majority of the legwork from my understanding (and tends to handle the majority of the costs but not all of them) but permits still need to be pulled, typically a section of the city needs closing off for festivals and the march, supplying security for the various events, ensuring there is a stronger police presence and usually chipping in on the bid itself. For the most part, the league make sure the city is on board with the festivities and that sudden hiccups (like say, suddenly changing venue locations on team or last minute changes) don't happen. The league very much wants a solid, flawless festival party for its fans and if the bid isn't strong, well put together and shows a united front, they will error on the side of caution and award it to someone else.

A lot of that is subject to negotiation, but usually the more the city does, the more they dip into the direct festival profits. The game gate however is almost always owned by the team (apart from facility seat fees if they exist). The point though is that it has to be clear that everyone is on the same page. The league simply won't show up if the local city isn't willing to accommodate the festival. It also won't just award a Grey Cup to a team like the old days. The league doesn't want it to be just a game, but a week long event celebrating the sport.
 
Usually however, the Grey Cup game and festival itself has historically generated millions in economic activity for a local city, often making the costs they often have to deal with worth it. Unlike the Olympics or the World Cup, seldom to Grey Cups leave cities worse off economically.

As far as negotiating settlements, who knows? I'd like to think if the Ti-Cats get a chunk of that stadium cash, they are going to put it towards a Grey Cup bid as they generally are money makers for the local team. However, the fact the city is trying to leverage the cats with their legal policy (potentially for political capital no less) and how bad the stadium debate went, one has to question if the team and the city are on the same page enough to have a strong Grey Cup bid.

The problem is the Ti-Cats aren't exactly suing the city. Basically the build contract for the stadium (and I think part of the Ti-Cats tenant agreement) states that if there are build and deficiencies with Tim Hortons Field, that legal claims have to flow through the city. Basically that the Ti-Cats acknowledge, the city itself didn't perform the build, Infrastructure Ontario did, so despite the City owning the stadium, they aren't liable because Infrastructure Ontario screwed the pooch. However, because of this, the city has to communicated and go after Infrastructure Ontario for any claims that the Ti-Cats have, which makes sense. Part of the reason it was done this way was because having a giant conga line of lawsuits wasn't going to benefit any parties involved.
From there infrastructure Ontario then needs to then go after then actual contractors for any failures in the build, because our provincial government works in mysterious ways with this sort of thing. From my understand Infrastructure Ontario tends to keep a lid on things and often settles these things out of court.

Regardless though, one of the city councilors basically went on the radio and said in no uncertain terms, it's a policy that we have in place to try to force parties to settle quicker when engaged in legal issues with the city, but then said "Oh we're just the middleman here though, we're not the ones blocking them." You would think, given the unique legal mechanism they've opted to use here, and that if you didn't want to actually block them, that you'd make an exception to this policy. However, it's very clear the city is basically trying to pressure the Ti-Cats into taking (a likely inferior) settlement to the build failures of Tim Horton's Field and are using this as leverage.
Why? I suspect a degree of petty politics and trying to scratch the province's back on this one.

The problem is the Ti-Cats aren't exactly suing the city. Basically the build contract for the stadium (and I think part of the Ti-Cats tenant agreement) states that if there are build and deficiencies with Tim Hortons Field, that legal claims have to flow through the city. Basically that the Ti-Cats acknowledge, the city itself didn't perform the build, Infrastructure Ontario did, so despite the City owning the stadium, they aren't liable because Infrastructure Ontario screwed the pooch. However, because of this, the city has to communicated and go after Infrastructure Ontario for any claims that the Ti-Cats have, which makes sense. Part of the reason it was done this way was because having a giant conga line of lawsuits wasn't going to benefit any parties involved.
From there infrastructure Ontario then needs to then go after then actual contractors for any failures in the build, because our provincial government works in mysterious ways with this sort of thing. From my understand Infrastructure Ontario tends to keep a lid on things and often settles these things out of court.

Regardless though, one of the city councilors basically went on the radio and said in no uncertain terms, it's a policy that we have in place to try to force parties to settle quicker when engaged in legal issues with the city, but then said "Oh we're just the middleman here though, we're not the ones blocking them." You would think, given the unique legal mechanism they've opted to use here, and that if you didn't want to actually block them, that you'd make an exception to this policy. However, it's very clear the city is basically trying to pressure the Ti-Cats into taking (a likely inferior) settlement to the build failures of Tim Horton's Field and are using this as leverage.
Why? I suspect a degree of petty politics and trying to scratch the province's back on this one.

Same here.
I would guess because certain teams openly making cases to move up to MLS (who are the league's strongest teams) and certainly teams (MLS Farms) aren't making the same investments the Fury are and that hurts the identity of the league and thus the club's ability to grow. It's hard to show how great your league is when you show a packed house in Cinci followed by a barren field in Orlando. However that's pure speculation. The sheer volume of politics involved in North American soccer is almost a sport unto itself.

Suddenly I have a desire to smoke turkish cigarettes. Anyways, Scott Mitchell just said on twitter the reason why we didn't get announced as a potential World Cup venue is Hamilton City council withdrew from consideration, which makes sense to be honest. TD Place in Ottawa is incredibly similar to Tim Hortons Field, both in capacity and design and they made the list.

The City of Hamilton is in a budget crunch and an event like the world cup will likely lose more money then in brings in. What kills me about it though, is you would think a city having issues with revenue, suddenly wants to delay getting more money in rent from an existing tenant, while raising the profile of the game in the city. That said though, Hamilton City Council has always been a hideous mess of disappointment due to the city's urban, suburban and rural divides since amalgamation. 7/15 Councillors have been on council for over a decade, so this budget crisis in my eyes is very much of their own making, yet still they always seem to get back in.

As far as the Hamilton absurdity, it's part for the course with our city council divided far to evenly along urban and suburban lines. The Ti-Cats last I checked disputed the city's interpretation of the position. Either way, having Ron Joyce as a backup might not be a bad idea.
As far as KW is concerned, the biggest issue I see is getting a stadium. Everything we've heard coming out of the CPL is that they expect to run in smaller markets and markets that will be close to other markets, unlike other sports (such as the NHL or NFL) who have incredibly entrenched regional rights.

Assuming that MLS's new TV contract actually grows. I'm to understand their ratings are still in the tank and are down 8% this season.

That is one of the dumbest comments if he really did say that. I mean, if a player is cut by a league, he seeks employment in another club. And then, tries the best he can find. Accepting to go down tiers if he can't. Including to CPL.
You can't just invent principles that have nothing to do with reality and go around pontificating with no basis in real practice. All lower leagues take players from higher leagues, and no one ever recriminates them for it. Only a seriously complexed mentality would even care. 
Name one lower league that would seriously say that they don't want to accept cut players from another league so as to uphold their image and reputation. You can't.

Pretty much, the problem with affiliation here is that loans can happen from whoever from wherever, affiliation implies a two way street and the beginnings of a farm. A loan means the parent lends the player to another club and usually they share costs. To whoever, where ever. It's a single transaction that carries no weight by either club. No club holds an excessive amount of sway over the other, or how the club uses that player.
An affiliation however tends to imply the beginnings of a farm relationship. Not only am I going to loan players to you, but I'm going to to a degree dictate the systems I want you guys to run with (so if a player moves up, they know what to expect) and you aren't going to sell your players to other clubs, or will talk to us first before selling and I'll parachute money down to you from time to time for it. The hooks aren't quite all the way in, but to think the larger affiliate doesn't have some degree of influence is mistaken. That said, there is no true measure about just how little or how much sway an affiliate will hold. Certainly when it gets to a degree where the identity of the team is nothing more then an extension of the bigger club (See Windsor TFC) it becomes more like a farm, but where there is a very arms length approach (See the Ottawa Fury, where it's easy to forget they are an Impact "affiliate") it's more palatable.

The problem is that defeats part of the purpose of the CPL. It's not just to develop Canadian talent, it's to develop the game in Canada. It's so that several independent owners, can not only grow our national team, but to foster civic pride in teams across our nation and not just be part of a funnel that leads to one of three places in our rather large country. To make owning a team an attractive endevour for a local business presence that doesn't have a 100 million dollar check to write and to give our Soccer Canada more sway, management and backbone to expand the game even further.

I don't think you are going to see someone drop a CPL team in Ottawa while the Fury are there. The Fury is slowly growing its fanbase but it's still not to the point where it's a money maker. A CPL team is even more of a risk, and you would be fighting against an established brand, in a market that's not big enough for the two of them. Frankly if the Fury don't opt to jump to the CPL I only see that jump happening if the ownership gets pressured into it by fans, the CPL proves the Fury can make more money in the CPL then the USL (something like a television contract would accomplish) or another owner (potentially Melnyk or someone else) buys the team from OSEG (because they are tired of losing money on it) and takes a shot and running it.

I don't think you are going to see someone drop a CPL team in Ottawa while the Fury are there. The Fury is slowly growing its fanbase but it's still not to the point where it's a money maker. A CPL team is even more of a risk, and you would be fighting against an established brand, in a market that's not big enough for the two of them. Frankly if the Fury don't opt to jump to the CPL I only see that jump happening if the ownership gets pressured into it by fans, the CPL proves the Fury can make more money in the CPL then the USL (something like a television contract would accomplish) or another owner (potentially Melnyk or someone else) buys the team from OSEG (because they are tired of losing money on it) and takes a shot and running it.

I don't think you are going to see someone drop a CPL team in Ottawa while the Fury are there. The Fury is slowly growing its fanbase but it's still not to the point where it's a money maker. A CPL team is even more of a risk, and you would be fighting against an established brand, in a market that's not big enough for the two of them. Frankly if the Fury don't opt to jump to the CPL I only see that jump happening if the ownership gets pressured into it by fans, the CPL proves the Fury can make more money in the CPL then the USL (something like a television contract would accomplish) or another owner (potentially Melnyk or someone else) buys the team from OSEG (because they are tired of losing money on it) and takes a shot and running it.

The first point is wrong, the whole CPL stems from the need for a deeper talent pool for our national team and to grow the game as a whole in our country. MLS doesn't have a real need for Canadian players specifically, which is why we are having the issue with a shallow talent pool. That said, with the new import rules, MLS now has a slightly better domestic pool to draw from and now can actually consider Canadian talent an option to meet domestic requirements. Regrettably though, this doesn't help the CPL because MLS won't simply make their new domestic rule to include all Canadians, forcing Canadian players to chose a CPL or MLS career path.
As far as not being a charity, I don't disagree for the most part, except at some point you will reach the point where selling one of your more prominent players hurts the marketing and optics of the club more then then the capital you are getting back. A short-term infusion of capital at the potential cost of long-term brand damage. It's not just accept the highest bid, it's accept option (bid or otherwsie) that benefits the club most. This is especially true when you can shop the player to other clubs. That said, you are mostly right on this one. There are clubs whose primary source of revenue is selling players, and the CPL clubs should be not be afraid to use that as a revenue stream.

Sure, and I think we all accept it will happen at some point. However, in the end such a sale is generally a net benefit. They sell for what they feel the player is worth to them, which allows them to invest back into their brand which can lead to them getting their hooks into more talent, or marketing their team more and making the marketplace larger and more competitive and expanding the presence of the game.

Loaning would be more likely done by MLS to the CPL. As stated before, minutes playing on a pro team are generally more beneficial then reserve squad/league play as it can allow the salary to be shared (which may been even more important in a league with a cap), it allows a club to retain rights to a player who may be in limbo with the team for various reasons and can operate as a bridge for players not quite good enough for the big club, but have outgrown the reserve squad, getting them a bigger payday if the loan weights more on the club receiving the player.

Yeah, it was a dark time for the league back then, because the import rule specifically required a foreign player quota it ran afoul US labor law. Back then, the talent gap was even more pronounced. It's another reason it irks me when complains that the CFL fields Canadians, like it's normal to sell out your country's local league to the highest bidder for talent.

Thankfully the talent gap between the US and Canada closes slightly more every passing year, mainly due to the increasing prominence and efforts of a select few CIS programs and the growing popularity of the game in Quebec. It's still nowhere near the level of the US though. It's like comparing the US to Brazil in terms of soccer talent. Better, but a long long road.
However, back to CPL discussion, I think it's a complete non-starter. The USSF isn't going to approve of any of their teams playing in a Canadian league and the CSA isn't going to let rogue teams in either, and if somehow they did, I don't want to see franchises dance around the Canadian domestic requirements because they are in the US (for the same reason it didn't work in the CFL. The US talent pool is far larger then ours and can potentially weight the league towards a US team) or to open up the league to "Domestics can be Canadian or American" because then it defeats the purpose of the league. There's already going to be enough of an import presence on the rosters, I'd rather it be kept to a minimum.

Yeah, it was a dark time for the league back then, because the import rule specifically required a foreign player quota it ran afoul US labor law. Back then, the talent gap was even more pronounced. It's another reason it irks me when complains that the CFL fields Canadians, like it's normal to sell out your country's local league to the highest bidder for talent.

Thankfully the talent gap between the US and Canada closes slightly more every passing year, mainly due to the increasing prominence and efforts of a select few CIS programs and the growing popularity of the game in Quebec. It's still nowhere near the level of the US though. It's like comparing the US to Brazil in terms of soccer talent. Better, but a long long road.
However, back to CPL discussion, I think it's a complete non-starter. The USSF isn't going to approve of any of their teams playing in a Canadian league and the CSA isn't going to let rogue teams in either, and if somehow they did, I don't want to see franchises dance around the Canadian domestic requirements because they are in the US (for the same reason it didn't work in the CFL. The US talent pool is far larger then ours and can potentially weight the league towards a US team) or to open up the league to "Domestics can be Canadian or American" because then it defeats the purpose of the league. There's already going to be enough of an import presence on the rosters, I'd rather it be kept to a minimum.