Ottawa Readies MLS Expansion Plan

As Toronto FC continues to thrive in Major League Soccer, another Ontario city wants to join the MLS expansion fray. Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, has scheduled a press conference for Tuesday morning likely to announce their bid to win one of the next MLS expansion teams.
The main proponent of the plan appears to be Eugene Melnyk, the owner, governor and chairman of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. The founder and former CEO of Biovail Corporation, Melynk's net worth is estimated at a cool $1.4 billion, which certainly fits the mold of rich prospective investors that the league is looking for. The owner of Senators Sports and Entertainment, Melnyk met with MLS officials earlier this year, presumably to discuss his options to land a MLS franchise.

As part of the plan, a new soccer-specific stadium would be constructed in Ottawa, with capacity in excess of 20,000. Toronto's BMO Field seats just a shade over that number and has sold out every home game in their nearly two full years of existance. Though the exact location of the potential stadium is not yet known, a spokesperson said that they already have a location in mind.

Ottawa is the fourth-largest municipality in Canada, with a metropolitan population estimated at 1,190,982. Geographically, the city lies between Toronto and Montreal, another city that is hoping to make the move to MLS in the near-future.