Pro soccer club bolts for greener fields

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They never carried the city’s name, but they played their home games in Mississauga.
Now they’re not even doing that.
Citing a litany of reasons — including high rent, poor fan support, inadequate City facilities — Toronto Croatia soccer club has decided to pull up stakes in Mississauga and move to Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke for the upcoming season.
The storied club, a member of the Canadian Soccer League, the highest professional soccer league in the country, played four years in Mississauga — three at Streetsville Memorial Park and last season at Hershey Centre SportZone.
The experience at the Hershey Centre was the last straw, says club spokesperson Pino Jazbec.
“Although it was a new facility, everything about it was poor,” he told The News. “For instance, there are only four dressing rooms, with none for the officials. There isn’t a sound system for announcements and no power plugs. In fact, we had to bring our own long cord if we needed electricity.
“It’s obvious the facility was designed for kids, not for professionals.”
It might not be a first-class facility, but the rent charged by the City of Missisauga certainly was, says Jazbec.
“We paid $450 a game — $100 more than we’ll be paying at Centennial, which is an enclosed stadium with a sound system and more seating,” he said.
Jazbec said the club did not bother approaching the City to negotiate a reduction in rent.
“They won’t budge — just as they didn’t budge on the other problems,” he said flatly.
Jazbec also had something to say about the lack of fan support. Noting that Mississauga’s Croatian community numbers more than 50,000, he says the club drew an average 300 spectators per game last season.
“At Centennial, we’ll draw 500,” he said confidently.
The club, however, hasn’t completely written off Mississauga. It will keep its Streetsville clubhouse and the city is still within Toronto Croatia’s territory, from which it will draw players.
Founded in 1956, the team played in the Canadian National Soccer League until 1975, when it purchased the Toronto Metros of the North American Soccer League to form Toronto Metros-Croatia.
During this period the team attracted many soccer stars, including Portuguese superstar Eusébio. It won Soccer Bowl ’76, a 3-0 win over Minnesota Kicks at the Kingdome in Seattle.
However, the NASL was never comfortable with the Croatia link, and in 1978 the team was bought out, leaving the Toronto Blizzard in the NASL while Toronto Croatia returned to the CNSL.
In 1998, the club joined the newly-formed Canadian Professional Soccer League, and won the championship in 2000, 2004 and 2007.
jchin@mississauga.net

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