City may allow soccer fans to drink at 10 a.m. during World Cup

By Karon Liu | May 10, 2010

By Karon Liu | 05/10/2010

Cheers to that: city may permit fun footie fluids at 10 a.m. (Image: Flawka)

City hall is considering letting bars serve alcohol an hour earlier this June, all thanks to time zones and soccer. World Cup matches in South Africa will air at 10 a.m. in Toronto, and early serving times will allow bar owners to capitalize on the fun. Oddly enough, the move has been spearheaded by Joe Pantalone, the man who imposed a one-year moratorium on bars and restaurants on Ossington and thought J.P. Challet’s new bistro would attract gangs if given a liquor licence. Perhaps Pantalone’s heart has grown a few sizes over the past months, just in time for the mayoral race.

Pantalone told the Globe:

I think people are responsible in Toronto. There’s never been any problem with soccer fans in this city… When Italy won the World Cup, for example, there was celebration everywhere, and it was all good, clean fun.

Who is this man, and what has he done to Pantalone?

If approved, bars will serve booze starting at 10 a.m. for the duration of the World Cup, from June 11 and July 11. Although we’re pretty sure that soccer fans will find a way to tipple with or without council’s thumbs-up, it’s nice to know that the city’s bar owners can get in on the action.

• Toronto mulls early drinking hours for World Cup [Globe and Mail]

7 thoughts on “City may allow soccer fans to drink at 10 a.m. during World Cup”

Joe Pantalone is one of the biggest hypocrites I’ve every encountered. This is the same man who said that he doesn’t want any patios because people become loud and out of control when allowed to consume alcohol outside. Does this extended drinking time do anything for restaurants? No, it for Sports bars, oh wait a minute Toronto doesn’t have any bars.
Can’t wait until he is Gone from Toronto politics.

Really? This is a worthwhile initiative? What a waste of time! Ppl can have a coffee at 10am then start shotgunning at 11am. If this is any hint at what Joe would use his influence for as mayor, well, he is pretty darn lame.

Hidden in the Star article was an interesting detail (http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/806192–world-cup-drinking-at-10-a-m):

It looked for a time Friday as if Pantalone’s effort might have missed the net. His motion asks council to request the change from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

But the AGCO told the Star that, since the City of Toronto Act was passed in 2006, the city has had the power to “extend service and sales (of alcohol) for events of municipal, provincial, national or international significance.”

“They could do that by passing a bylaw.”

“That was a surprise to me,” said Pantalone,

Joe Pantalone, of course, is not only famous for his anti-booze politicking, he also bills himself as the candidate that does not need to learn on the job. And yet he was ignorant about AGCO rules, his favorite file, and the City of Toronto Act, perhaps Toronto’s most important political document.

I wonder if such ignorance is the real reason Toronto can’t tell the difference between a restaurant and a bar?

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