GASTOWN BUSINESSES, MERCHANTS AND RESIDENTS BACK WHITECAPS WATERFRONT STADIUM
Stadium NOW! asks City Council to prioritize Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium
From Stadium Now!
GASTOWN, B.C. – Stadium NOW!, a collection of Gastown business, merchants and residents, continues to increase membership, pledges to maintain open communication with the Whitecaps and asks City Council to prioritize the project.
“I formed Stadium NOW! to give a voice to the growing support in Gastown for the Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium,” said John Kostiuk, resident of Gastown and founder of Stadium NOW!. “Today we have close to 30 groups, including commercial property owners, residents, retailers, restaurants and pubs that are informed and engaged in open dialogue with the Whitecaps to ensure that Gastown receives the best stadium possible.”
Stadium NOW! members live, own businesses or own property in the immediate vicinity of the proposed site and have taken a proactive approach by participating in the civic process while actively providing accurate information regarding the waterfront stadium.
Arni May, Owner of Rossini's Restaurant and Jazz Club and member of Stadium NOW! echoes the sentiments of many of the Stadium NOW! supporters and welcome the Whitecaps to the neighbourhood. “As we say at Rossini's, ‘Welcome to the family'. You are now a part of our community, and we will treat you like family. This means we won't always agree, but we'll get through it because we're all in this together. Through our conversations with the Whitecaps we believe that the requirements identified by the City can be met and together we will build a stadium which will be a great benefit for everyone.”
In addition to the growing support in Gastown, Friends of Soccer, a grassroots movement made up of soccer enthusiast, are working with Stadium NOW! in order to spread the word about the stadium.
“We heard about the formation of Stadium NOW! and offered to help provide information to folks so they could make an informed decision,” said Bill Currie, founder of Friends of Soccer. “To date we have received tremendous support from all over the Lower Mainland including Gastown. Last week Friends of Soccer submitted over 600 written postcards to Council and Mayor and on June 27 we will present the ‘BUILD THE STADIUM NOW' banner which has well over 2,500 signatures.”
Stadium NOW! and Friends of Soccer both believe the project provides a foundation for the ongoing reinvigoration of Gastown, and urge Mayor and Council to move the project forward and prioritize it on June 27, 2006. For more information visit www.stadiumnow.org and www.friendsofsoccer.org.
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