An Open Letter to City Council from Friends of Soccer

Dear Mayor Sullivan and Council

My name is Bill Currie and I'm a West End resident. I'm also the founder of the Friends of Soccer movement (www.friendsofsoccer.org). Since October, Friends of Soccer has been educating and encouraging the Citizens of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland to express their support for the proposed Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium through letters, e-mails, phone calls & postcards. Although you may not recognize us as of yet, over 1000 citizens have used our movement to contact you and your colleagues in the month of May alone. In fact, Council will be receiving delivery of over 600 postcards in favour of the Whitecaps stadium on Tuesday, May 30.

As you are no doubt aware, the proposed stadium enjoys broad, deep, overwhelming support among the voters of Vancouver. As you are also no doubt aware, the city's technical report cites concerns as well. As citizens, we all want to ensure a safe, accessible facility. However, we believe that these concerns are best addressed through a proper re-zoning process, where the Whitecaps are allowed to submit a proper design without the artificial constraints placed on them in the high-level review process. It would allow for an additional round of indepth public consultation that would address these issues. An extended Waterfront Hub study represents an unacceptable delay for this much needed facility, and we feel that in the end, the result of such a study will only serve the interests of condo developers, architects and urban designers; not the citizens of Vancouver.

I understand that you are under intense pressure from the small number of opponents to this project. I also understand that there is internal pressure as well from City Staff, and in some cases, former campaign staff. Please listen to their concerns, of course. But, I also invite you to consider the need for this project and to listen to what the vast majority of citizens are saying. Our website www.friendsofsoccer.org provides a plethora of articles and information on the benefits the stadium will bring. Between now and the upcoming June vote, I will be forwarding you all that we write, and I'll be encouraging the Citizens of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland to contact you to show their support for this project. After all, it's the Citizens of Vancouver who should always have the final say over what serves the greater public interest.

Sincerely Yours,

Bill Currie

Friends of Soccer