Former Saskatchewan Rush president Lee Genier is in Saskatoon to explore the possibility of bringing professional soccer to Saskatchewan.
The Rush are a huge success story in Saskatoon and across the province and now Genier, who helped bring pro lacrosse to the Prairies, is hoping to do the same thing with the world’s most popular sport.
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The fledgling Canadian Premier League (CPL) was officially ratified on May 6 by Canada Soccer and has received interest from ten potential franchisees, including Genier’s group.
Genier believes the idea is a winner.
“As we move forward in this process it’s just connecting all the dots,” Genier said.
“North of 30,000 people play soccer (in the province) so you know it makes a lot of sense to have a team in Saskatchewan.”
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They hope to build an 8,500-seat expandable stadium in either Saskatoon or Regina with play beginning as early as next year.
The group, which includes both local and out-of-province investors, has yet to submit a formal bid to the CPL.