Quote:
Originally Posted by Muta
So Calgary isn't a soccer city because they don't have the proper facility? I disagree with you there. Calgary actually is a soccer city and has always had problems finding enough playing surfaces to field games. There's always a shortage. I'm sure Mango and Ozy can testify to this, too.
And I'm sorry, but if you think McMahon isn't an embarrassment of a stadium, you obviously haven't been to many stadiums. This city has the money to do so much better. Sometimes, you have to make an investment. Would you keep a car for fifty years because you don't feel like spending money on a new one? I sure as hell wouldn't. Millions of people around the world purchase new cars every year - ones that run better, have better technology and are more suited to today's lifestyle. Not sure why arenas don't count here.
Last thing - Calgary wouldn't be able to host another Olympics unless another massive injection of money came in to upgrade the crumbling facilities we have... they're outdated and not suited to today's Olympic standards - McMahon included. This isn't 1988 - that was a quarter century ago.
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Soccer participation does not equal soccer attendance, that fact has been proven across countless North American locations. I have no idea if soccer would work in Calgary, I used to go Storm games and they were fairly sparsely attended, but that was a lower league. I certainly don't buy the 'if you build it they will come' approach though, there needs to be a demonstration that Calgarians will pay to watch soccer before we start talking about MLS.
And as someone who has been to dozens of stadiums McMahon really isn't an embarrassment. It's not state of the art, it needs work, but there's nothing embarrassing about it.