Ottawa city officials are playing both sides on the issue of accepting a new team to their sports landscape, weighing expansion offers and stadium proposals from both Major League Soccer and the Canadian Football League, who are attempting to establish a team in Ottawa after two previous teams failed to catch on.
Despite the Rough Riders folding in 1996 and the Renegades being suspended by the league in 2006, CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon is intent on bringing the franchise back and gave the new ownership group a September 2008 to sort out a stadium deal with the city, with the prospective CFL team proposing a renovation of Frank Clair Stadium that could also host a soccer team.
The soccer side of the issue is less inclusive, as Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk has a proposal in the city’s hands for “a new 20,000-seat soccer-only venue in nearby Kanata, Ont.,” to be home to an MLS team in time for the 2011 season.