Quote:
Originally Posted by shermanator
Having followed FC Edmonton closely from inception, there are a number of issues that hamper the Edmonton market.
The first thing was the fact that the club launch was terrible. They had two friendlies in 2010 against Portsmouth and Colo-Colo, and actually marketed the team decently (eg they had train wraps advertising the club similar to Cavalry), but those who bought tickets were sent to Foote Field where they watched a game with bright yellow end zones and football liens while being far away from the touch line. After a year they realized Foote Field wouldn’t cut it, but after the move to Clarke Stadium it took 18 months to get any further seating in the stadium, and another year to get a pitch without football lines. It took them until 2014 to put out even a remotely professional product.
The second thing is Clarke stadium. It is probably the reason to not go to a game at the moment. It is an absolute dump. The stadium has all the drawbacks of a temporary stadium without any of the benefits, such as being a stadium that is solely built for soccer and fosters the atmosphere people are drawn to. Seating in the end zones are 20 yards back from the goal, there is barely any food and concessions, the turf is terrible and it’s in a sketchy location. If the Fath’s had any sense on how to run a soccer club they would have had the foresight to build a soccer specific temp stadium elsewhere in the city - something that Cavalry, Halifax and Pacific have done.
The third thing I think working against the Edmonton market is the fact that they have been terrible on the pitch since inception. While legitimizing the club somewhat, Colin Miller put out an incredibly boring product for 5 years. The squad Jeff Paulus has put together is not fairing any better. Results matter, and Edmonton has never gotten them.
The fourth thing I think works against the Edmonton market is that the supporters scene is in absolute shambles. The first few years the ESG were small but pretty decent. Then two of the main supporters left to form a splinter group (Loyal Company of the River Valley), while trashing the ESG the whole time. The ESG partnered with another group (River City Elite), but RCE spent most of the next few years trashing both the ESG and RCE. After the club folded in 2017, the old ESG and LCRV reunited in 2018 to form River Valley Vanguard but people are still at each other’s throats consistently, and RCE is still trashing the RVV. The people I got to know well in the supporters scene have left the main group altogether, although they still show up to games. The people left in the RVV are quite stubborn and difficult to work with. 9 years in I should be looking at a full supporters section every game, not 20 people in the rain.
Given the fact FC Edmonton has an 8 year start on everyone else, and they should be far beyond where the other clubs are, but they are not. Were York 9 not ####ting the bed in the stands so badly, and Cavalry’s ticket prices not so high, everyone would be talking about how bad Edmonton is doing.
Now as for the good things Edmonton has, I think 3 things stick out for me. The biggest is that they have an owner that is willing to continue to lose money to keep this project going. I would argue he's too stubborn and stupid to quit, but those are also qualities that keep a club around. The second biggest is that their academy setup is one of the better ones in the country, and has sold talent to bigger leagues. The third is that their dump of a stadium is on an LRT line. But for me, that’s about it.
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I was an Eddies season ticket holder from 2013-2015, when I lived in Edmonton.
I agree with sherm. The terrible launch turned a lot of people away. The lack of success of the team hasnt helped and Clarke field is woeful.
The most fun I used to have there was the pizza 73 promotion: If the Eddies scored 3 goals or scored in the 73rd minute every fan got a free pizza from Pizza 73. I screamed my head off at Eddies players to hurry The F up when they were trying to kill time with a 2-1 or 1-0 lead at the end of games. It was great to see how shook the players reaction was.
I cant believe the Faths joined the CPL. There is no way to financially turn the club around.