Winters around York Lions Stadium aren’t exactly awe-inspiring. Student life bustles around the now-domed field, though the foot traffic into the stadium itself is at a minimum. And while in most years this would mean the staff of York United are at ease for at least a couple of months, 2023 is an exception.

On Thursday afternoon, a moment to be remembered for a long time occurred: brothers Ricardo, Eduardo, and Miguel Pasquel of Game Plan Sports made their first public appearance since purchasing the club.

The press box was buzzing, packed with fans, journalists, and a large number of friends and family of the Pasquels, some coming all the way from their homeland of Mexico for the occasion. Going back to when it was announced in April that Canada Soccer Business had purchased the club and was looking for new ownership, angst has been high, and positivity devoid for long periods. If the news being broken last week wasn’t enough to get rid of the bad vibes, the Pasquels certainly killed off the rest of those feelings. The trio was socializing with everyone in the room, making a strong first impression, and why wouldn’t they? After all, they and their respective families are moving to Toronto. Previously, one would find it difficult to track down any high-ups of York ownership at matches. Conversely, the Pasquels are open and keen to communicate with anyone who so desires.

That factor, living in Toronto, a city they seemingly already have an affinity with, has won invaluable respect from the supporters of the club. The Northern Corridor Supporters Group even strung together a banner reading Nuestros Tres Hermanos, or in English, ‘Our Three Brothers.’ The community of the club may be small but special. Expanding that community, and being a staple of the local neighbourhoods, is a big goal for the brothers.

“We want to look at all of [the communities around Toronto and York Region],” stated Miguel. “We want to grow the fanbase… we want everyone to be involved because it’s their team. As we go, you go.”

“Since we were little kids, [the family] used to own a team in Mexico,” added Ricardo, referring to when their grandfather owned Club Necaxa. “But we never identified who the owners were, you know, it was the community’s team. This may be the day we present ourselves as the owners of the team, but it’s gonna be the city’s team, the community’s team, and some of the decisions are gonna be made by everybody in general. Maybe led by us, but we hope to have everybody involved.”

When it comes to the decisions surrounding what the Nine Stripes look like on the field in 2024, Ricardo mentioned that a roster announcement will be coming next week. Tass Mourdoukoutas announced via Instagram that he’s departing the team after 1 1/2 seasons, though other than the Aussie it’s unclear as to who is heading out the door. News regarding the coaching staff will also be on the way at a similar time.

Reassurance, roster-wise, came in the form of Ricardo proclaiming that York will remain focused on developing young Canadian talent. He mentioned that it would be viable to bring in Mexicans looking to crack into the professional ranks, nevertheless, youthful domestic players are going to be prioritized when signing new personnel.

Behind the scenes, the quest for a permanent stadium continues. Somewhere that York United can call its own is crucial to long-term success. It’s one of the priorities on what surely is a long to-do list.

“For sure, I mean, I think we play at a great stadium right now,” Miguel said, “we’re very grateful for the university, it’s a first-class university. But I also think we need our own stadium for the fans, for our identity, for everything… we’re gonna talk with the fans, the community, get them involved a lot in the decision and we’re gonna start working on it. As for a date, I’m not going to say any specific date, but for sure every day we’ll work on it.”

The project at Woodbine Racecourse was significantly stalled by York going without owners for months, however, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Pasquels opt to resume talks with the Woodbine Entertainment group, who still have land designated for a football-specific stadium.

Some questions will be answered almost immediately. Others will be put on the back burner. Yet if there’s one takeaway from the Pasquel’s first appearance of many, it’s that care for the club, the community, and the correlation between those two parties are prevalent in the dreams they have about what York United can be.

The future will bring challenges and hurdles, they admitted. Though it is still incredibly bright.

Top photo by David Chant

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