Crusader

Do members have the options of deleting their accounts? I did not see any warning if this was not possible when I joined which surely is not correct nor fair

Does the proposed Markham Arena strengthen a Toronto bid? Less than 30km from Port Lands it provides another major arena to go alongside the Ricoh Coliseum, The Rogers Center, the ACC and the Direct Energy Centre - as the Palau Sant Jordi has shown a major indoor arena can be converted in a temporary acquatics centre

Interesting pics from B+H Architects about the 2008 bid

And Velodrome's aren't necessarily massive - they are only about 7000 seats max. A venue like Glasgow where the Velo can be turned into an indoor athletics venue by lifting the velodrome track to the ceiling is a clever way of making it multipurpose

None of the mountains are remotely close to being big enough - 800m minimum vertical drop. There isn't a mountain in Minnesota that is even 800m tall

Well some cities severly restrict the building of skyscrapers so it depends what you look for in a skyline

But then Toronto has the large Port Lands area just to the east of 'downtown' where the IOC can be part of Toronto's skyline

Yes This and this and this

I'd get a refund from your tour company.... its not the Toronto I saw.

By 2015 1) He will be almost 80 2) the major corporate sponsors who contribute at least 26% of FIFAs revenue will not accept this 3) He will actually face a younger challenger, potentially untainted.

The proposed Denver Winter Olympics were to be held in February. Independence Day is on 4th July but I am sure you know that which means there was five months between the two. The FIFA World Cup is held between the end of the first week of June and the 2nd week of July, slap bang in the middle of which are the 250th anniversay celebrations of the Declaration of Independence. It is one thing hold an event several months away from the celebration date, and another to hold an event which conflicts directly with this major exclusively American occasion. And Sepp Blatter has already said he will not seek re-election in 2015. This was part of his agreement in not cancelling the Presidential elections in 2011. The host for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held in 2017 two years after Blatter will have left.

Except Moscow got the most votes in Round 1 and then the West backed Canada to keep them out of the Soviets hands. Moscow went head to head with LA for 1980 (with the US getting the Winter Games) whilst LA were uncontested for 1984. I still say that the Summer Games and World Cup want to be the biggest show in town so won't want it clashing or close to a huge national celebration (and I mean less than a month between the two) In my opinion

You should be aware the Los Angeles bid to host the 1976 Olympics as part to celebrate the bi-centennial of the United States, and came third .... quite possibly because the IOC didn't want the games to be part of another more important celebration to the host nation. This was what happened in 1976 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Bicentennial

Why? Are you suggesting that there will not be a major 250th celebration in the USA of the Declaration of Independence? FIFA would not want to host their pre-eminent competition held once every 4 years if it takes back seat or 2nd place to another major event.

Except the 250th celebrations will be nationwide and there will certainly be celebrations in every American city. The Bastille Day celebrations happen every year. It was not a particularly significant celebration with it being the 211th anniversary in 1998. And the FIFA World Cup finished on the 12th July, two days before Bastille Day, not in the middle of it. Football is the national sport in France, in the USA it is a minor sport. Will the US be prepared to interrupt such a major cultural event for a soccer tournament? There was close to a couple of months between the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics in London - we are talking a day between the 4th July and a likely date for the World Cup quarter-finals. FIFA cannot bring the tournament forward as it will clash with all the European Leagues and no European country, the most powerful bloc, will not vote for the USA if that is what they proposed

I was thinking more of the 250th anniversary having an impact on the World Cup as it would fall right in the middle of the knock out phases - in South Africa they were on 2nd and 3rd July, and in Brazil, they will be on 4th and 5th .... I think FIFA would want the World Cup to be the biggest show in town

I think it would suggest that FIFA views Canada favourably - 4 age group / womens tournaments in 28years from 1987-2015 tends to suggest a positive opinion. Two things that could scupper a USA bid in 2026 1) the 250th anniversary of the United States of America - 4th July and all that. In a country where Association Football is the 5th sport, does FIFA want their pre-eminent tournament swamped by this event? (this tends to be around Quarter Final time) 2) A successful Winter Olympics bid .... will the IOC impose an 'Istanbul' ruling, about the Olympics being the major sporting event held by a country in any calendar year?

Another thing to consider is that FIFA may change its rules again. With 2014 continental rotation approach but after only Brasil bid, FIFA changed the rules so that a confederation could not bid if it had held the games in the previous two cycles. This means in 2026 FIFA will be left with Oceania, Africa, South and North America. Rule out New Zealand and with Africa and South America, the two best placed countries will have hosted in 2010 and 2014. Will FIFA want to see an option where only the USA bids and wins by default or will they charged their own rules again, and allow Europe to bid meaning the likes of England and Spain could enter the fray? Sepp Blatter said in 2011 he would not seek re-election in 2015 which is two years before the 2026 are decided.

I think they would want to have a city in the Atlantic Provinces represented. Whilst the Olympic Stadium in Montreal does not have a regular tenant, I have read it is used by the CFL team and the MLS team for occasional games. It would be cheaper than building a major stadium in Toronto unless there is a plan for a new tenant here.

With Europe hosting in 2018 and the Asian Football Confederation in 2022, the number of possible countries to hold the games is quite limit and arguably it is the turn of the CONACAF region. As for Canada over the USA, I think the following might act in Canada's favour. 1) Stadiums. Whilst of course they are not as large as the stadiums in the USA used for American Football, most of them are of a size where the 'soccer' clubs could use these facilities and any updates. Additionally, the Canadian Football League teams provide an automatic team to use the stadiums post games if they are not already do so. Whilst there is talk of a large Toronto stadium, even if the country did not go down this route, there might be the opportunity to expand the Montreal stadium, using what they did with the Etihad stadium in Manchester, digging downwards instead of building upwards. The Skydome could then be Toronto's stadium 2) Enthusiasm for soccer in Canada. If the drawing power of the new MLS teams are anything to go by, there would be great support and as with USA1994, a Canada tournament would prove the catalyst for creating a national soccer league. 3) FIFA seems to have a soft spot for Canada, with the Canadians having hosted the U-17 FIFA World Cup in 1997, the U-20 FIFA World Cup in 2007 and the FIFA Womens World Cup in 2015. The next step would be the host a full FIFA World Cup. It depends on whether FIFA will continue with the desire to see the game expanded into new territories. Oops forgot to mention the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Cup, also held in Canada