2025 Cavalry FC and CPL thread

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Some more thoughts on the near perfect afternoon at Spruce Meadows. Things are coming together for the stretch run

https://open.substack.com/pub/canadi...eOnShare=false

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Really glad to have Klomp back!

The team lost it's mojo this season. Maybe he's the glue that keeps it all together, who knows. But he won't hurt the squad that's for damn sure.

Klomp has changed the character of this team. He was even more important that we originally thought.

Cavalry might be back. One of the greatest games they've ever played, and fair play to FS and 109. Absolute terrific atmosphere on Saturday. What a treat to put 4 past Forge on a hot Saturday afternoon!

[CroFlames]

Also anyone know official attendance? I'd say close to 5k.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Also anyone know official attendance? I'd say close to 5k.

Soccerway has it as 4496, which seems about right I think.

[CroFlames]

In an ideal world, Cavalry get 6000 fans regularly.

Then the Southerns build us a new stadium, maybe 8,000-12,000 that can expand to 18-20k for Canada NT matches. Calgary is already the home of Hockey Canada.

It's conceivable that you could punch the red line LRT all the way down to Spruce Meadows to help the attendance numbers (and beer sales).

Hell, the Stamps might even ask to move there if that happened.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

In an ideal world, Cavalry get 6000 fans regularly.

Then the Southerns build us a new stadium, maybe 8,000-12,000 that can expand to 18-20k for Canada NT matches. Calgary is already the home of Hockey Canada.

It's conceivable that you could punch the red line LRT all the way down to Spruce Meadows to help the attendance numbers (and beer sales).

Hell, the Stamps might even ask to move there if that happened.

It kind of feels like there is a rivalry or rift between the Spruce Meadows people and the CSEC people. I say that purely as an outsider, and with absolutely nothing to base it on other than a feeling. They never really do anything as a joint project despite being two large entities in the city. Then you have the Wild playing out of McMahon, where Atco is clearly a more suitable venue. It's just odd.

It just makes me think that the idea of the Stamps playing at Atco (an expanded stadium of 20k) is just never happening.

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by Slava

It kind of feels like there is a rivalry or rift between the Spruce Meadows people and the CSEC people. I say that purely as an outsider, and with absolutely nothing to base it on other than a feeling. They never really do anything as a joint project despite being two large entities in the city. Then you have the Wild playing out of McMahon, where Atco is clearly a more suitable venue. It's just odd.

It just makes me think that the idea of the Stamps playing at Atco (an expanded stadium of 20k) is just never happening.

Rumour is that Spruce Meadows asked for an exorbitant amount of money for the Wild to play there, which definitely adds to the reputation of not playing well with CSEC or anyone else.

No doubt the remote location of the Cavs reduces the likely attendance by at least a couple thousand (likely more). It's awesome once you get to Spruce, but unless you have a DD or a pub bus ticket, its a hard sell for many people looking to have a couple beers and enjoy the afternoon.

Would love to see a "Cavs Ride Into McMahon" (sort of like Surge 2 The Dome) match or two against an MLS opponent (Canadian Championship?), LigaMX opponent or even Forge to get a better indication of what the market potential really is, now that the Stamps, McMahon Society, and the Wild did the Cavs a huge favour by getting McMahon FIFA approved turf.

If they do ever build that 12k stadium (let alone entertain the rumoured 16-20k expansions), some serious discussions should be had with the city and the province for LRT spur line access on event days (while the "train riding proletariat" may not be Spruce Meadows ideal customer, they are absolutely going to be the customers for Cavs and other sports and pretty vital for any growth with a venue 25km out of downtown).

I'm surprised they haven't considered a proper Uber/Rideshare zone like at the Saddledome. That might help things in the short term if attendance keeps rising.

[CroFlames]

Ian should hire the three of us to sit around a roundtable and pontificate about what should be done. We excel at that.

[shermanator]

The entire reason Spruce Meadows was interested in financially backing a soccer club is that they want more people to visit Spruce Meadows year round. Ron Southern had a passion for equestrian and was willing to bankroll Spruce Meadows. His children do not have the same passion, so they want to take advantage of that nice big piece of land Spruce Meadows sits on and make more money off it so it can sustain itself.

So Spruce Meadows bankrolls a soccer club, holds concerts and do events like that big bouncy castle thing. And the Southerns don't have to reach into their pockets as much to fund their passion.

With Cavalry, Spruce Meadows get every penny of revenue through the door. No other pro club in this league has that setup. Partnering with another organization means someone else gets a piece of the revenue and that vastly undermines their motivation behind the project. There is no motivation for Spruce Meadows to play at McMahon other than sheer necessity as they want every penny in their pockets.

The reason the Wild don't play at Atco Field is because Spruce Meadows struggles to keep that pitch maintained as it is and don't want more games played on it. So Spruce Meadows gave the Wild the "#### off unless you pay this insane rent" fee. The Wild managed to work with the owners of McMahon Stadium to replace the turf and I think that was a big win, even if McMahon is far from a great venue.

There is one use case for Cavalry playing at McMahon and that is CONCACAF games. Personally I think Calgary is an incredibly fickle sports city and they wouldn't draw more than 10000 for any opponent save Inter Miami. For every "Spruce Meadows is too far" I hear a "McMahon sucks" when people talk about soccer there.

[shermanator]

And to distract from the stadium talk, Cavalry just announced they have launched a fully funded year round academy. Cavalry U21 will also be rebranded to Cavalry FC II

https://www.canpl.ca/cavalryfc/news/...l-time-academy

[Muta]

On a related note, you know what I'd like to see for the next sports infrastructure in YYC? A rooftop footy field, like the really awesome one in Tokyo:



Some ambitious developer should do this on top of a parkade downtown, or even smaller indoor-sized or futsal courts (depending on available space) on a tower. There's no soccer fields anywhere downtown - pair it up with a sports store, media centre and a restaurant, and bam - soccer lives downtown now. Corporate Calgary can have fun with it during the day, and the community/leagues can have fun with it at night.

A man can dream.

[shermanator]

Put a caged in pitch on top of High Park

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Muta

On a related note, you know what I'd like to see for the next sports infrastructure in YYC? A rooftop footy field, like the really awesome one in Tokyo:



Some ambitious developer should do this on top of a parkade downtown, or even smaller indoor-sized or futsal courts (depending on available space) on a tower. There's no soccer fields anywhere downtown - pair it up with a sports store, media centre and a restaurant, and bam - soccer lives downtown now. Corporate Calgary can have fun with it during the day, and the community/leagues can have fun with it at night.

A man can dream.

Well, SAIT has one on their parkade. Maybe not as cool, but it’s there!

[Addick]

Originally Posted by Muta

Some ambitious developer should do this on top of a parkade downtown, or even smaller indoor-sized or futsal courts (depending on available space) on a tower. There's no soccer fields anywhere downtown - pair it up with a sports store, media centre and a restaurant, and bam - soccer lives downtown now. Corporate Calgary can have fun with it during the day, and the community/leagues can have fun with it at night.

A man can dream.

With the lack of pitches downtown and the Beltline, I've felt that converting one or two of the surface parking lots along 10th Ave into a Five-a-Side centre like Power Leagues in the UK would be a much better use of the land. The photo below is a Power Leagues centre in Leeds.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Originally Posted by shermanator

And to distract from the stadium talk, Cavalry just announced they have launched a fully funded year round academy. Cavalry U21 will also be rebranded to Cavalry FC II

https://www.canpl.ca/cavalryfc/news/...l-time-academy

A fully funded, year round academy is awesome to see here in Calgary. Really making inroads and establishing a lasting legacy for the sport in Calgary/Alberta. I wonder if they'll develop more infrastructure down the road as well

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by shermanator

Spruce Meadows struggles to keep that pitch maintained as it is and don't want more games played on it.

I can appreciate they don't want anyone playing on the best pitch in the CPL (all of Canada?), but do they actually struggle to maintain it? They seem to be doing fine. The first year or two, yeah it wasn't perfect. But they must have invested in pitch equipment and expertise because it looks amazing these past few seasons.

I've actually read arguments that long term grass pitches are cheaper to maintain than turf, because turf must be replaced every 10 years.