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Gregor Robertson closes deal for Man City to do show match in Vancouver

April 1st, 2010 · 36 Comments

Gregor Robertson/Manchester CityGUESS WHICH MAYOR GOT TO PLAY A GUEST TURN WITH THIS TOP EUROPEAN CLUB?


There was a scary moment last week for sports fans when it looked like Vancouver wasn’t going to get the UFC. Now that seems to be on.

And sports fans have something else to celebrate: We will be getting Manchester City FC, my sources at city hall tell me. The scuttlebutt is that English Premier League club, just down the road from the far more successful Manchester United, is thinking of staging several games of its 2012-13 season in BC Place Stadium.

Our footie-loving mayor was over in Manchester on the weekend, finalizing a deal he’s been working on since coming to Cambie and 12th. His dream finally came together due to a confluence of factors.

ManCity’s pitch at Manchester City Stadium is slated for repairs in the year when the newly-rennovated BC Place will be open for action.

The broad outline of the deal was put together in London a few months ago when condo king power-broker Bob Rennie met at the Tate Modern cafeteria with friends in the Abu Dhabi United Group, who bought the club in 2008 from Thai mogul Thaksin Shinawatra. Rennie got on the phone with Mike Magee, Joel Solomon and Rich Coleman in Victoria – and Bob’s Your Uncle.

Gregor apparently also had some help from his green buddy-billionaire Richard Branson, a City fan.

A final key factor was Shinawatra’s departure from the club’s ownership group. It was felt that the presence of the deposed former Thai prime minister, who was accused of corruption and abuse of power, could anger Gregor’s left-wing base around Commerical Drive and undercut the fragile coalition he needs for re-election.

Anyway, Man City was so delighted with the new arrangement that they allowed Robertson to participate with the club in the warm-up before its weekend game against rival Wigan.

An old Vancouver Sun photographer-buddy of mine, Gareth Barry, sent me some photos of the mayor wearing the Manchester jersey on the pitch.

Gregor Robertson/Manchester City

Gregor Robertson/Manchester City

Categories: Uncategorized

  • landlord

    “City supporters tend to believe that unpredictability is an inherent trait of their team, and label unexpected results “typical City”.”
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_City_F.C.)

    Unpredictability. Hmmmmm…

  • Todd

    hahaha, i love your “sources at city hall.” this is fantastic, I was really hopeful for man city early in the season but alas, they could not keep it up though. do you know when tickets go on sale?

  • Frances Bula

    Oh Todd, I think that they might not go on sale for a very, very long time.

  • SC

    April Fools!

  • Lesli

    Nice. I love the “international intrigue” that led to this deal (although it would have been more believable without the bit about the Thai prime minister) and the photos are great….

  • Hoarse Whisperer

    LOL!!! Frances, you need to play it out a little longer!

  • Eric

    I’m guessing April fools. Very funny.

  • landlord

    City’s #11 is actually Adam Johnson : “His favoured position is on the left wing but he is capable of playing on the right. He is known for his pacey dribbling.”

  • Brenton

    Puts on pedant hat: Those are England kits that the mayor is wearing, not Man City kits. The Citizens play in light blue and black.

  • Stuart Mackinnon

    Will Councilor Reimer be playing goalie?

  • Dan Cooper

    “There was a scary moment last week for sports fans when it looked like Vancouver wasn’t going to get the UFC. ”

    Speaking as a sports fan, I was unaware that I was scared over the UFC maybe not coming to our fair city. Then again, I was also unaware that what they do is a “sport.” Still am, actually.

    Now soccer, that’s a sport!

  • landlord

    Looks a lot like Gareth Barry.

  • michael geller

    Since it is still before noon on April 1, here’s a link to some wonderful April 1 day pranks…as well as two of my own. http://www.gellersworldtravel.blogspot.com

  • Steve

    The only people that were concerned about the UFC were certain males that live in the west end of vancouver 😀

    I’m just waiting for a fighter to come out to ‘YMCA’ and the scene will be complete 😉

  • Morven

    Now I know what politicians mean when they say “putting the boot in”
    -30

  • MB

    So what got PhotoShopped, the mayor’s head or his knees?

  • Marcella

    Nice one Frances…you actually had me going there for a minute!

    MM

  • Frances Bula

    Dear Readers: Nothing was photo-shopped. The player, as landlord noted, is Gareth Barry, who my footie-fan partner (an Arsenal enthusiast) has long pointed out to me is a separated-at-birth version of our mayor, who has also been know to play the beautiful game.

    The pictures were taken from Barry’s fan and other related sites so don’t know why he was wearing 11 (if that’s someone else’s number) or red instead of blue.

    BTW, you’ll all be tickled to know that city hall did get at least one call from a local reporter looking to chase the story. I’ll sleep well tonight.

  • RossK

    Frances–

    Did your sources at ‘The Hall’ divulge the name of said reporter….Rumour has it that inquiring minds and/or The Tsukaminator want to know….

  • landlord

    Red is the kit for England in the UEFA cup.

  • Michael Geller

    I wonder if Gareth Barry is interested in being the NPA mayoral candidate in the upcoming election.

  • RossK

    Not sure about that Mr. Geller, but……

    A second rumour has it that a very fine fellow named Greg O.R. Robertson made enquiries , at 11:59am, precisely, this morning, about renting a Big (not green)Bus from CharterLines for the first two weeks of November 2011.

    .

  • Joe Just Joe

    Maybe the NPA could pay him to change his name to Gregory Robertsen and have him run on the ballot as an independent. 🙂

  • Joe Just Joe

    Ahhh beaten to the punch, I really need to refresh my screen occasionally.

  • Frances Bula

    Sorry, I had to sign a letter drafted by a city lawyer promising never to reveal the name. But I want everyone to know I did it under duress, because they threatened not to give me any more “scoops.”

    Seriously, I don’t know.

  • gmgw

    It says something about the boundless depths of my disinterest in and detachment from most sports in general, and professional sports in particular (I have a longstanding interest in the combat/self-defense arts, hence I watch the occasional boxing match, and I have an appreciation of not only baseball’s aesthetics but also its mythic/folkloric/Zenlike aspects; but I can hardly be said to be an ongoing follower of either), that I took “Man City” to be a reference to some sort of touring, Chippendale’s-like, all-male theatrical production.
    Gosh, I’m such a dweeb.
    gmgw

  • Glissando Remmy

    The Thought of The Day

    “When the whole world fools around on the 1st of April, every year, Glissando rests…”

    True. That was no accident. I did not post anything yesterday. See, I am kind enough to leave others to try my job one day per year. Plus, that was in my union contract.

    I liked your Manchester City one though, Frances! Not my first choice out of all the teams in the Premiership, plus the club’s colours (which by the way are blue and white) was not true to the Mayor’s political leanings… Red. Or is that green? Which, I may say are the colours of the Devil, too! But, let’s not talk about Penny, here. This is not her prime time.

    Thinking of it, Gregor is a close doppelganger of Gareth Barry but you have to understand Frances, that if Barry’s performance would have been similar to the one of the Mayor, for the past year and a half, he would be lucky now to sell shoes at Edwards of Manchester. On commission! Nice shoes by the way.

    Not even Comrade Joel could have saved him out of this one, not even if he asked the whole Hollyhock congregation to put a spell of long productive, wealthy life on him. Manchester people are smarter, waaay smarter than Vancouver people when it comes to the game…

    Speaking of the Premiership, any thoughts on why all those teams can play their games in open fields, rain or shine, with packed stadiums and record audience when we here, in Vancouver, are in dire need of a new half a billion roof retro (that will come down in less than a decade)?
    Are those heavily padded schoolgirls from BC Lions afraid of a testicle freeze, are they afraid that a bit of rain and blowing wind is going to ruin their haircuts or, are they afraid that somehow, the Gods of Football may be looking down on them and see how hard they suck? That’s a shame; I would like to hear more about this issue instead of how fit to play soccer Gregor is. Let’s hope he’s fit to play the game.
    He must be good at something other than self promotion, ducking, and lying, for goodness sake.

    Common Reds, Common Reds, Common Reds… Of course I’m thinking of the Red Devils United, the true stars of Manchester. But hey, a second team choice for Gregor was a good call. Right on! That was nice of you.

    We live in Vancouver and this keeps us busy.

  • Michael Geller

    A final comment on April Fools Day. In case you missed it, CBC’s The Early Edition did a fascinating story on a new floating community in False Creek and the Port Moody waterfront. (It would be in FC in the summer, and PM in the winter.) It was anchored by the Expo 86 McDonalds Barge, which would serve as the community centre.

    I didn’t catch all the discussion, but did listen to Mayor Trasolini and former City Planner Larry Beasley speaking in support of the proposal. The mayor of Vancouver was scheduled to speak as well.

    As I listened to Trasolini and Beasley articulating all the benefits of the proposal, contrary to their true personal convictions, (Beasley as always was particularly eloquent), I couldn’t help but think how good both planners and politicians are at supporting any position with a deep sense of conviction, regardless of their personal views.

    Glissando is right. It seems that almost everyday is April Fools Day, especially when it comes to the planning of False Creek and BC Place precinct, the need for rental housing programs, iconic taller buildings and view corridors, and housing solutions for the homeless.

    Of course, I’m just being a fool!

  • RossK

    Glissando….

    Why do we need that roof for our soccer players when all the Manchester, Milans and Munchens of the world do not?

    Could it be that the reason for that is actualy a thing called Paragon?

    .

  • Michael Geller

    Well, I was ready to let April Fools Day pass for another year until I went o to the Vancouver Sun website and came across a story “City Considers Shelter for Homeless Chickens” datelined April 1 and thought it was a very clever prank…I considered posting it on my blog until I discovered it appears on the front page of today’s paper! Today is April 2.

    Please tell me this is not for real. Because if it is, there really is a need to review what is going on at City Hall….I mean, at the last Council meeting there was a proposal to charge $50 to people wanting to hold neighbourhood block parties, and now this..

    http://www.vancouversun.com/health/City+considers+building+shelter+homeless+chickens/2755130/story.html

    I think they’re all going mad.

  • Joe Just Joe

    The city isn’t kidding about the homeless chicken shelter, here are the official details, as well as all the proposed requirements to home your own chickens. I love the chicken registry, so one day the Peta hackers can find out where we live and come in the night for our chickens. 🙂

    “http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20100408/documents/penv3.pdf”

  • Michael Geller

    JJJ…I’ll be honest… for a few moments I thought it was a real story until I read the following quotes from my Southlands neighbour Jordon Maynard…

    Jordan Maynard, manager of Southlands Farm in Vancouver, says some urban chicken farmers may get fed up with their hens if they buy the wrong breed.

    “If they get birds that are bred for meat they won’t be suitable for the backyard. Those birds are pathetic. They don’t walk properly and they grow too fast and they will just lay on their side and not lay eggs,” he said…..adding:

    People who tire of their chickens won’t have a problem finding them new homes, Maynard said. “I’ve heard that someone on Saltspring Island is starting a retirement home for chickens.”

    For me, the Saltspring retirement home for chickens was the giveaway…

    Until I got a note from a senior editor at the Vancouver Sun who confirmed what you have just told me….it is a real story. She added, they’re not clever enough to make this stuff up!

  • Dan

    hhaha, its the wording of the headline that really makes it ridiculous. “City considering space for abandoned urban chickens”, though still a little funny, it makes more sense “then building a shelter for homeless chickens.”
    I didn’t even know this by-law allowing coops existed, I think it awesome though. This is the kind of reconciliation ecology that will help make cities smart and more feasible into the future.

  • Michael Geller

    Dan, does this mean I have to stop eating them? I don’t want to compromise the reconciliation ecology….but I love a nice bowl of chicken soup…especially this time of year with matzoh balls!

  • Guy Smilington

    To also don my pedant hat…

    A couple of things to clear up: Gareth Barry currently plays for Manchester City as his club team, but has also played on and off for England’s national team for the last ~ 10 years. The red jerseys are obviously him playing for England (and not in the UEFA Cup…UEFA was a club competition, not an international one).

    Also, while we’re being pedantic, Man City’s stadium opened in 2002 for the Commonwealth Games, so without doing any research, it seems unlikely it’s scheduled for major repairs anytime soon.

    OK, that feels better. 🙂

  • A. G. Tsakumis

    “Sorry, I had to sign a letter drafted by a city lawyer promising never to reveal the name. But I want everyone to know I did it under duress, because they threatened not to give me any more “scoops.”

    Nice shot, Frances…

    Good luck with that.