Major League Soccer (MLS) commissioner Don Garber has spent almost his whole life in the business of international football.
After 16 years with NFL International, Garber took the reins of MLS in 1999. Golden Goals sat down with Garber when he visited Vancouver February 14 to check up on the Vancouver Whitecaps, who debut March 19 against Toronto FC at Empire Field.
On the long-term vision of MLS:
“Our goal, by 2022, is to be one of the top soccer leagues in the world. We’ll have to raise our level of play, get more fans and grow our TV ratings … There is nothing that will stop the growth of soccer in North America other than us if we make bad decisions. We’ve got to be sure we make good decisions.”
On Whitecaps’ media-shy co-owner Greg Kerfoot:
“You might not feel him; I feel Greg Kerfoot every day … I think it’s not a bad thing when owners don’t have a high profile ... You know that somebody’s a good owner and real sports guy when he goes to a game and he’s sitting in the stands. ... He’s a soccer guy; he’s the guy you want owning your team.”
On how MLS can influence the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA):
“MLS has a true partnership with the United States Soccer Federation. We are joined at the hip with a mutual goal of growing the sport in America and creating a soccer nation in the country... we have not yet established the same connections that we have in the States, and I think we need to find a way to do that.
“I hope the CSA can look at some of the very positive things that have been taking place in the U.S. and perhaps look to emulate some of those changes so they can grow the game.”
On sports gambling:
“We need to be sure that we don’t have our head in the sand and are not pretending there aren’t fans that are interested in gambling on soccer generally, but at the same time nothing is more important than the integrity of competition.
“We know that the laws are a little less strict up here in terms of how teams can connect with lotteries and can even connect with casinos. Our rules are very clear. A team can have a sponsorship with a casino as long as that casino is part of a broader operation, like a hotel.”
On the opportunities created by a possible NFL lockout:
“I don’t look at it as an opportunity. We’ll plan to ensure we’re able to take advantage of any opportunities that exist. We very much hope they get a labour deal… we have the same lawyer, the same law firm. Instability is bad for everybody.”
Politicians in an election year are masters of fuzzy math. Mayor Gregor Robertson is no different.
On February 4, he claimed the $1.5 million Metro Vancouver Commerce (MVC) Olympic economic development program resulted in $168.8 million of direct investment.
Robertson admitted three big Hollywood North film shoots accounted for the lion’s share, including Mission:Impossible 4. The names of those businesspeople who received free Olympic tickets are a secret, and no list was produced to show who spent what.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers report, commissioned by MVC, was not a cost-benefit analysis. It did not mention how Vancouver lost $1.5 million in parking revenue because of the Olympic lanes, nor did it say that nearly 200 people were laid off because few punters were visiting Edgewater Casino at the Plaza of Nations.
“We had no business,” admitted Scott Menke, president of Edgewater parent Paragon Gaming.
“We decided as a company to take the high road, keep all of our employees employed. We worked with the union and had extra days off.”
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