Whitecaps to play 2010-11 season
in GM Place parking lot

By Liam Britten

he Vancouver Whitecaps soccer
| club cleared a major hurdle in

their efforts to join Major League
Soccer, North America’s top soccer
league, by securing a modern facility for
home games: the underground parking
lot of General Motors Place.

In a decision announced Thursday,

Bob Lenarduzzi, team president, said that
the new venue will bring the Whitecaps

 

In contrast to this Spartan setting,
Lot 987 will feature such amenities as
cement blocks for seating, fluorescent
lighting and a close proximity to far
more entertaining downtown attractions.
As well, since parking is right next to the
playing surface, drunken soccer fans will
have no trouble stumbling to their cars
for a leisurely drive home.

“Driving drunk is hard enough, so
we want to do whatever we can to make
it easier for our fans,” Lenarduzzi said.

in step More
with MLS’ importantly,
ee “The new venue will bring the Whitecaps in ‘ ¥'!
standards, 2 finally put
saith step with MLS’ stadium standards, which vy). .ouver
demand new @emand new facilities be capable of seating ,,, tn.
facilities be at least 45 people.” world
capable of soccer map
seating at along with
least 45 people. world-class soccer clubs from cities like
“North American soccer is growing Kansas City, Bridgeview, Illinois and

by leaps and bounds, and while our per
game attendance sits at a robust seven,
it’s certainly not unreasonable to see it
growing to upwards of 18 per game in
the next five years or so,” Lenarduzzi
said. “With Lot 987’s capacity of 62, we
will be able to meet that growth and the
sky is basically the limit.”

Lot 987, located directly under the
ice where the infinitely more popular
Vancouver Canucks play, will replace
their current home field in part-owner
Steve Nash’s backyard. Nash’s backyard
has a meagre capacity of 12 seats, but
can be expanded to 15 if he folds up his
children’s trampoline before game time.

Sandy, Utah.

Lenarduzzi could never have
imagined all these changes when the
team was just starting out back in 1986,
when they were still the creatively-
named Vancouver 86ers. Back then,
the team had a saying: “Got any spare
change?”

“20 years ago, soccer on this side
of the pond was not even on the radar,”
Lenarduzzi said. “But now we’re the 13"
most popular sport in terms of attendance
and we’re not stopping there.”

“All I can say is, watch out, lawn
bowling, we’re catching up fast,” he said.

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Continued on page 25....

 

 

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