The sound of students competing, the sound of young soccer players improving, and the sound of Canadian football excelling: these sounds proved to be just too much for the U of T when it came to the proposal to build a new Varsity Stadium.
By allowing York University to step in and take control over the new stadium deal, U of T has shown it has little concern about the promotion of young Canadian athletes in their striving for international success, and the economic prosperity of surrounding businesses.
With many facilities at U of T aging or reaching capacity, the new Varsity Stadium would have provided students with much better resources. Football and soccer teams without a place to play, as well as an overused Athletic Centre are only a couple of reasons for a new stadium at Bloor and Devonshire.
With more than 900,000 young children playing soccer in Canada today, and a majority of them in the GTA, the need for a Toronto home for the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) was present without a doubt. Although youth participation in soccer is at levels even above minor hockey, at higher levels of competition Canadians fall well behind the rest of the world.
A Bloor Street location for the stadium, compared to the 905 location at York, would have offered much better access by public transit, but more importantly brought people downtown.
Lastly, by losing the new stadium, U of T has projected the image of a consortium of pretentious elitists who can’t be bothered to involve themselves in the affairs of popular culture. By building the new stadium along with the Rexall Centre for tennis, York has put itself in the forefront of the public view.
The CSA knew that U of T was the best choice for a new stadium. The Argonauts knew that is was the best choice as well. Unfortunately, the sound may have been just a bit too loud for the University of Toronto to hear.
