Latest news with #Courtemanche
Canada Standard
04-06-2025
- Business
- Canada Standard
MLS eyeing bigger presence in China, says communications chief
NEW YORK, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Major League Soccer (MLS) is looking to expand its global footprint, with China emerging as a market of interest. "We welcome more engagement from Chinese fans," said Dan Courtemanche, Chief Communications Officer of MLS, during a briefing on Tuesday at the New York Foreign Press Center in response to a question from Xinhua. "There are certainly a lot of passionate football fans in that country, and we think there's an opportunity there." Courtemanche acknowledged that players from China are rarely featured in the league, but he said MLS would like to change that. "We'd love to see more players [from China]," he added, noting that the league currently features players from around 80 countries and regions. Looking ahead to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, Courtemanche called the tournament "rocket fuel" for the league. 11 of the 13 U.S. host cities are home to MLS clubs. The league is also looking to invest in the next generation through programs such as MLS NEXT (youth development), MLS NEXT Pro (professional feeder league), and MLS GO (recreational youth football). All of these were launched in the last five years. "We started because FIFA said, 'You need a Division I league to host the [1994] World Cup,'" Courtemanche said. "Now, 30 years later, we've not only built that league - we've built a football nation." Courtemanche noted that international engagement is often player-led, though global brands can also play a significant role. "Generally, it comes through players, but sometimes it comes through big global brands," he said, citing Inter Miami's off-season tour through the Middle East and Asia - led by Lionel Messi and several other international stars - as an example of outreach beyond the Americas. To reach global audiences, MLS has partnered with Apple TV, which streams matches in more than 100 countries with no blackout restrictions. "My 13-year-old son doesn't watch linear television," Courtemanche said. "He goes to Netflix, he goes to Amazon, he goes to Apple TV, and increasingly, so does much of our audience." Founded in 1996 as a legacy of the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, MLS has grown from 10 to 30 clubs across the U.S. and Canada. More than 10 billion U.S. dollars has been invested in football-specific infrastructure, with teams moving from oversized American football stadiums to football-specific venues.
CBC
07-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Quebec's own Disney? Massive water park, complex aiming to turn Mirabel into tourist hub
Morea will be among the largest indoor water parks in Canada, developer says Media | Indoor water park part of plans to create 'Disney'-like complex north of Montreal Caption: The Cité de Mirabel development has been in the works for more than a decade and already features housing, shopping and restaurants. Now, the developer is expanding to create larger attractions. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. Developer Ray Junior Courtemanche would one day like to be considered the Walt Disney of Quebec. "It's my dream," Courtemanche said, standing next to the empty lot in Mirabel, Que., where he will soon break ground on an indoor water park that promises to be one of the largest in Canada. The project, called Morea, which was given the green light in March by the suburb of Mirabel, north of Montreal, will feature more than 20 attractions, including slides, a lazy river, spas and a surfing wave pool — over 150,000 square feet of entertainment space. "I want everyone to come here and make great memories. This is why I want to build this," Courtemanche said. On top of the water park, the development will also include a convention centre, two hotels with a total of 547 rooms, a 1,500 seat performance hall and a multi-level parking garage with a capacity of 1,350 vehicles. The park is being paid for through private investments, and Courtemanche says he expects it to cost between $175 to $200 million to build. He says it will also include a state-of-the-art water recycling system that is inspired by similar systems used in water-starved tourist destinations like Las Vegas and Dubai. Marketing director for Investissement Ray Junior and Courtemanche's daughter, Chloé Courtemanche, says the park aims to redefine the tourism landscape in Quebec by providing people with a premium destination between Montreal and Mont-Tremblant. "We don't have any competitors actually because we will be completely different [than other water parks] because we have the convention centre and the two hotels," she said. Small town 'competing in the big leagues': Mirabel mayor The Morea Water Park will be situated inside a development called Cité Mirabel. Since 2012, Ray Junior Courtemanche has been working with the city to develop the area, and they've been busy. There are already 3,500 newly constructed condos, 1,000 detached homes, dozens of restaurants and outlet shopping. Mirabel Mayor Partick Charbonneau says the vision for the area is based around high density living with access to services for residents, all within a short distance. He says the growing neighbourhood is ideal for people who work nearby or wish to commute to Montreal. It also seems to be attracting retirees who are looking to downsize and soon, hopefully, tourists. Charbonneau says Mirabel used to be considered another sleepy suburb but that in the last 15 years, it has "become a small town that's competing in the big leagues." The water park is part of the city's continued push to become a tourist destination that aims to attract people who want to stay in a place that is entertaining as well as visit both Montreal and Mont-Tremblant. Charbonneau added that the area's farm-to-table restaurants and sugar shacks are already growing a solid reputation that attract visitors. Cité Mirabel is also next door to a 36-hole golf course and there has been talk of exploring the possibility of building a small baseball stadium that could host a team in the Frontier League like the Aigles in Trois-Rivières or the Capitales in Quebec City. Charbonneau didn't want to comment on a potential baseball stadium at this point, saying only that the city is working hard to examine all projects that make sense to round out the neighbourhood. Whether the water park and rest of the development leads to Mirabel becoming Quebec's version of Orlando with Disney remains to be seen. Still, the water park already has a mascot to rival the likes of Mickey Mouse — a turtle named Mo. Work is expected to start on Morea in the spring of 2026. The opening date is expected to be in the spring of 2028.
Bloomberg
26-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Procore's Unified Approach to Automating Construction: Tech Disruptors
Delivering a comprehensive software platform that extends from project to financial management, for the construction industry, remains Procore's central focus. Tooey Courtemanche, founder and chief executive officer, tells Bloomberg Intelligence that its platform has broad appeal for the various stakeholders, general contractors, owners and specialty contractors. In this episode of the Tech Disruptors podcast, Courtemanche sits down with Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Niraj Patel to dive into what a unified platform means to Procore, macro factors across its 17,000 plus customers like tariffs and labor costs and cyclical trends. Hear his insights on Procore's unified data set, its unique pricing model, international opportunities, the leverage of GenAI, and more.
