The Canadian Premier League is coming to Vancouver.
The league announced Wednesday that a ninth franchise will come on board for the 2023 season. It鈥檚 the first addition since Atletico Ottawa joined in 2020.
鈥淣ot only is it great for soccer in Canada, I think it鈥檚 great for the Canadian Premier League,鈥� said commissioner David Clanachan. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 great for all our fans and supporters. And for everything we鈥檙e trying to build 鈥� For me, every time we take a step forward, it鈥檚 not only a step forward it鈥檚 a step upward.鈥�
The expansion Vancouver franchise was awarded to SixFive Sports and Entertainment LP, which owns Pacific FC, the CPL team based out of Langford, B.C.
SixFive鈥檚 general partners are former Canadian internationals Rob Friend and Josh Simpson, investment entrepreneur Dean Shillington and Starlight Investments, a privately held Toronto-based real estate investment and asset management company.
Shillington said the group has been talking to eight or nine municipalities through the Lower Mainland about stadium location.
鈥淲e鈥檙e close but we felt it was an appropriate time to put it to the community, to the fans. We want to hear where everyone wants us,鈥� Shillington said in an interview from England.
The plan is to build a stadium from scratch, with a capacity of around 8,000 to start but which can be increased as needed down the line.
As for sharing the city with the MLS Whitecaps, Shillington says his group sees no issue with two teams in the Greater Vancouver area. Toronto has two pro soccer clubs with the MLS鈥� Toronto FC and York United FC, a CPL side that plays out of York University in the north of the city.
Shillington says owning multiple teams is part of the SixFive plan.
鈥淲e鈥檙e merely custodians of a broader brand. So our goal has been to invest in Canadian football everywhere we can and to keep investing in Canadian football. So we鈥檙e quite excited to use what we鈥檝e learned through Pacific, add Vancouver to the mix and then hand the whole thing off to the supporters and community to take it from there.鈥�
Clanachan says Shillington will be the point man for the Vancouver franchise while Friend and Simpson focus on Pacific.
鈥淲e鈥檝e ringfenced it properly,鈥� said Clanchan.
Shillington is president of the Knightsbridge Capital Group and owns Caffe Artigiano, which has branches in B.C. and Alberta.
Simpson won 43 caps for Canada while Friend earned 32.
Simpson played his club football for England鈥檚 Millwall, Germany鈥檚 FC Kaiserlautern, Turkey鈥檚 Manisaspor and Switzerland鈥檚 BSC Young Boys. He retired in 2015 in the wake of a badly broken leg.
Originally drafted by the Chicago Fire in 2003, Friend opted to go to Europe and played in Norway for Moss FK and Molde FK and in the Netherlands with SC Heerenveen and Heracles Almelo. He then embarking on a successful stretch in Germany, with Borussia Moenchengladbach, Hertha Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt and TSV 1860 Munchen.
He joined the Los Angeles Galaxy in January 2014 but retired later that year, at the age of 33, after missing more than five months of action due to concussion-related problems.
SixFive Sports and Entertainment is a global football fund `鈥漵eeking investments in high growth markets, under-managed European clubs, and distressed or turnaround opportunities.鈥� The name comes from Friend鈥檚 and Shillington鈥檚 height.
Friend is also co-founder and partner in the DRG Investment Group along with Simpson.
Simpson is also co-founder and partner in Von Schwanau Invest AG, a Swiss-based international real estate investment group.
The current CPL teams are HFX Wanderers FC, (Halifax) Atletico Ottawa, York United FC (Toronto), Forge FC (Hamilton), Valour FC (Winnipeg), Cavalry FC (Calgary), FC Edmonton and Pacific FC.
Clanachan says other expansion plans are ongoing.
The league has already awarded 鈥渆xclusive rights鈥� to an expansion franchise to a company planning to start a franchise in Saskatoon. Clanachan says Living Sky Sports and Entertainment Inc. continues to work on a suitable stadium.
鈥淎s far as other franchises are concerned, we鈥檝e got three or four groups that we鈥檙e talking to right now,鈥� he said in an interview. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to tell you who there are but I鈥檓 extremely excited about the fact that we鈥檙e able to grow the business. And we should be able to grow it. We鈥檙e open for business, we鈥檙e a new league. And we鈥檙e seeing better things every day out of our league and our clubs.鈥�
鈥擭eil Davidson, The Canadian Press
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