A soccer stadium could soon stand in the shadow of Scotiabank Place if Major League Soccer and a new venue for games become a reality in the Capital.
Now in its 13th season, Major League Soccer thrives in cities like Los Angeles and New York. North America's top professional league is adding two more teams for a total of 18 by 2011.
For Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, it's chance to build a sports team empire, which he has said he doesn't want to pass up.
The region's soccer community couldn't agree more.
"I think it's the best thing that could happen to Ottawa at this point. We need something like that to really get soccer going in Canada and Ottawa has a very good base of younger players that will benefit tremendously from having a professional team playing here," said Enrique Roman of the Ottawa Cougars Soccer Academy.
"I think it's probably the dream of every soccer lover to have an MLS team here in Ottawa, I'll be the first in line to buy a season ticket," agreed John Pugh, owner of the Ottawa Fury.
But Pugh is also one of the first to realize that to compete in the bid, Ottawa will need a stadium.
"We really do need a soccer-specific stadium to impress the MLS. That means something that is very intimate, is 20,000 seats," he said.
Last summer, Ottawa proved that it could fill a stadium when 26,000 soccer fans flocked to Lansdowne Park for the FIFA Under-20 Cup.
With Frank Clair Stadium now half demolished, and tens of millions of dollars needed to fix it, there are other ideas about where Major League Soccer could settle in.
One such place could be on the land around Scotiabank Place, a familiar neighbourhood for Melnyk. But Melnyk is holding his cards close to his chest and says he promises to talk to us in September.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Natalie Johnson
