2019 Cavalry FC season thread

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by M*A*S*H 4077

They were going to have to lose eventually and that would be the way to do it. I thought Cavalry was the better team on the day but they were too wasteful with their opportunities and tried too often to make the perfect play rather than take what was available to them.

I thought Waterman had a decent game in midfield. I’d like to see him and Zator get a run of games if we’re going to play a back 4 more often as his passing ability would help facilitate the possession game they’re asking of the defenders.

Catching the end of the Whitecaps match and the commentators are talking up the next run of games the Whitecaps have and were quite complimentary of Cavalry and the football they’re playing, despite losing today.

Zators distribution isn’t good enough

[Barnet Flame]

Originally Posted by CofR

What size do you think you’d be? I can pick one up for you and ship it to you if you like

I’m usually an L for European soccer shirts.

The site didn’t have that size in stock.

Really kind of you to offer to do that, but they may deliver.

[Barnet Flame]

Originally Posted by shermanator

Also, with the crowd of 4697 yesterday, Cavalry have lept over York 9 and Pacific in average attendance. Hope they can keep the average moving in the right direction.

I’ve heard you’ve had terrible weather for some games. The colour commentary mentioned snow the last time he covered a game.

That had to have a negative effect on attendance.

[Howie_16]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

It was a lot of fun hanging out with the Foot Soldiers for the day. I hope we kept you well watered, Sherm. It is a shame that the result didn't go our way, but it was still a fun day out.

The Rose and Crown is a great "home pub" as well. The waitress was great, got us our free bus tickets, recommended against ordering food because by the time we made up our mind it would cut too close to the departure time (the kitchen had been slammed), and they even have the York v. Halifax match on the screen when we returned. Highly recommend the pub, bus, match, bus, pub routine if you're looking for a day out.

Hats off to Shermanator and the Foot Soldiers - they've really done a lot for the supporters culture in this city.

I second Jimmy Stang's comments; I had a great day and the only thing missing was a Cavs' late goal to seal the deal on the Spring Championship. I have now been to both Kildare's and R&C for Cavalry pre-game, and both are fantastic.

It was my pleasure to provide you with some liquid gratitude Shermanator. The atmosphere at Spruce Meadows is outstanding, and you & the Foot Soldiers have done much of the heavy lifting! I am also somewhat surprised at how quickly I have fallen in love with this team - they are now on par with the Flames and Stamps for me!

It was also great to meet TheIronMadien at the Rose & Crown. Thanks for introducing yourself to Jimmy & I!

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

Were ticket prices lower for the game?

Nope, interest was that high. Shame the fans couldn't go home with a win, but it had to happen eventually.

[CofR]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

I’m usually an L for European soccer shirts.

The site didn’t have that size in stock.

Really kind of you to offer to do that, but they may deliver.

Ok, well I’ll try and head down to Spruce Meadows this week and see what availability they have there. The Macron jerseys definitely run smaller

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Nope, interest was that high. Shame the fans couldn't go home with a win, but it had to happen eventually.

I think they did do an advertised family deal - 4 tickets for $99. But still it's clear there's some serious interest building in this team. I notice the team is starting to become a household name amongst sports fans, which it absolutely wasn't earlier this season.

That's excellent.

[Bill Bumface]

I talked with Calgary Pucker Slava so he could hook me up with life insurance. He must have noticed all the drunken Foot Clan ice cream cake posts, and hooked me up with his tickets in the 200s and I was able to take my family to the game.

The 200s are a great time, and we got lucky with a gorgeous evening sandwiched between all the rain. Thanks a ton Slava!

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by jayswin

I think they did do an advertised family deal - 4 tickets for $99. But still it's clear there's some serious interest building in this team. I notice the team is starting to become a household name amongst sports fans, which it absolutely wasn't earlier this season.

That's excellent.

They have been getting a lot of coverage thanks to the chance of winning the spring title coupled with facing the Whitecaps next month. Great things for building interest.

As far as that 4 for $99 deal goes, I hate how much that offer is misrepresented. It's actually about 4 for $140 when you add in all of the fees and surcharges - but is still a good deal as it cuts the $60 seats to half price. But, since those are all gone for the Whitecaps game, I'm curious to see what offer - if any - they might put out for the Whitecaps. Looks like they are already safely over 4000 for that game too.

[TheIronMaiden]

This last game proves that if you are going to beat CFC you'll have to do it one nill, no team has scored two goals against them all season.

[Resolute 14]

So while I know most of you don't care about the attendance debate and business side too much, I'm rather fascinated by it as it is interesting to watch the business of a fledgling new league. I have been talking about it a bit on Reddit this morning, so I'll share some stuff here too:

Between CanChamp home games and the CPL, the league has drawn 180,000 people in 39 games. Overall average of about 4618. League game average is 5080, and CanChamp average is 3275 - mostly pulled down by York. Weekday league game average is 4815, weekend is 6741 - the latter still dramatically inflated by Hamilton's opening game give away. Without that, the weekend average is around 6200.

York is a major problem for the league already. They are averaging less than 2400 over 6 games in all competitions, and drew only 700 for their CanChamp game against Edmonton. Their crowds have gotten smaller for each of their four league games.



Depending on some X-factors I can't really account for (such as how many SRO tickets are available per game, how many tickets are available in the accessible seating areas, etc), there's currently between 4200 and 4400 tickets sold or reserved for the game against the Whitecaps. At an average price of about $60. That's over a quarter million dollars on ticket sales alone.

Also, this shows how poorly optimized the middle sections are for revenue generation: The roughly 1000 seats in sections 101, 102, 108 and 109 at an average cost of around $37 are bringing in far more ticket revenue for that game than the just-over-quarter-sold 630 in section 105 are at $100 at this point. Plus, 1000 people in the cheap seats buy a lot more beer, merchandise and those surprisingly good hamburger-hot dogs than 250 people will.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

So while I know most of you don't care about the attendance debate and business side too much, I'm rather fascinated by it as it is interesting to watch the business of a fledgling new league. I have been talking about it a bit on Reddit this morning, so I'll share some stuff here too:

Between CanChamp home games and the CPL, the league has drawn 180,000 people in 39 games. Overall average of about 4618. League game average is 5080, and CanChamp average is 3275 - mostly pulled down by York. Weekday league game average is 4815, weekend is 6741 - the latter still dramatically inflated by Hamilton's opening game give away. Without that, the weekend average is around 6200.

York is a major problem for the league already. They are averaging less than 2400 over 6 games in all competitions, and drew only 700 for their CanChamp game against Edmonton. Their crowds have gotten smaller for each of their four league games.



Depending on some X-factors I can't really account for (such as how many SRO tickets are available per game, how many tickets are available in the accessible seating areas, etc), there's currently between 4200 and 4400 tickets sold or reserved for the game against the Whitecaps. At an average price of about $60. That's over a quarter million dollars on ticket sales alone.

Also, this shows how poorly optimized the middle sections are for revenue generation: The roughly 1000 seats in sections 101, 102, 108 and 109 at an average cost of around $37 are bringing in far more ticket revenue for that game than the just-over-quarter-sold 630 in section 105 are at $100 at this point. Plus, 1000 people in the cheap seats buy a lot more beer, merchandise and those surprisingly good hamburger-hot dogs than 250 people will.

I feel like a lot of this (disparity between clubs in their attendance) comes down to the experience. I think that the Cavalry experience has been great, and that word of mouth counts for more people interested in attending. It helps to have a good product on the field, and you can't just bank on that rolling into the inaugural season, but the overall atmosphere is fun and makes you want to go back. That's far more valuable than any marketing campaign or things like that.

[Resolute 14]

It's definitely symbiotic. If we were as bad as Edmonton, then we'd be in pretty big trouble. But nothing fills a bandwagon like success, and today's bandwagon fans are tomorrow's passionate fans.

[TheIronMaiden]

I have a pet theory that the Cavalry spent a lot of money on roster players to take advantage of the soft cap, and that is a part of the reason why they charge so much for tickets.

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

I have a pet theory that the Cavalry spent a lot of money on roster players to take advantage of the soft cap, and that is a part of the reason why they charge so much for tickets.

I suspect whatever the cap is, Cavalry is spending near it, so I think your theory has merit.

I think they spent a lot of money on players and stadium upgrades, but I think the pricing is reflective of where they want this team (and league) to be, which is pro level in the same category as the Stamps and the Flames at a caliber of play that is competitive with the lower end of MLS and higher end of USL.

It's been discussed before, but its hard to move prices up when your market is used to paying less. I think long term, if the Cavs build their proposed 12-16k+ stadium on the All Canada Ring, I suspect you'll see the price points stay roughly the same, but more of the lower price seating and a lot more of the top end options.

I also would not be surprised to see Cavalry do something when the transfer window opens up.

[Resolute 14]

Shame it's a few years out, because that 12,000 seat set up in the All Canada ring would be perfect. Even if they kept the same ratio of 1/3 "premium" and 2/3 everything else, that means 8000 affordable seats ($60 or less), which is plenty good for the market.

For next year, this is pretty much what I think they should do:



Basically, take the top 10 rows of each middle section and drop it to the lower price point. So the top of 103/107 goes to $40, 104/106 to $63 and 105 to $90. End result is that you trade about 240 $100 seats and 240 $90 seats for 480 $40 seats. Obviously reduces the maximum potential revenue, but honestly, they are never going to sell 1200 seats at $90 and 630 seats at $100. So get them down to the price points that the market has decided is good value, and for games like this weekend past and the upcoming one against Vancouver, get more casual fans into the building.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Zators distribution isn’t good enough

It’s not but I think it’s better than Trafford’s. Trafford has been handling the ball like a grenade for a couple matches now. That’s the biggest reason I want Waterman back there, we need someone who is comfortable on the ball

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by M*A*S*H 4077

It’s not but I think it’s better than Trafford’s. Trafford has been handling the ball like a grenade for a couple matches now. That’s the biggest reason I want Waterman back there, we need someone who is comfortable on the ball

I agree, and don't dispute Trafford as a CM. Zator, ironically reminds me of Phil Jones. He's weirdly, visually self critical. Maybe you don't recall, but sadly I do, the days of Phil Jones playing CM for United. Hello darkness, old friend.

Is Ledgerwood hurt?

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

I agree, and don't dispute Trafford as a CM. Zator, ironically reminds me of Phil Jones. He's weirdly, visually self critical. Maybe you don't recall, but sadly I do, the days of Phil Jones playing CM for United. Hello darkness, old friend.

Is Ledgerwood hurt?

Yes, but it sounds like he will be back fairly soon, Instagram has shown that he is taking reps with the team in practice.

[browna]

Tick tock CSA, 3 weeks tomorrow since the inappropriate or racial comments were made by members of the Forge.

This isn’t an OJ Simpson trial that needs weeks worth of evidence gathering. It wont go away if you wait it out or try and bury it in administrative and stakeholder red tape like so many other things you do. Where is the DeVos, who left broadcasting in his words to bring transparency to the CSA?

It’s an inappropriate comment in the heat of battle, but the longer the CSA takes to announce anything, it becomes a bigger issue, as it reinforces yet again, how impotent and clueless and self serving the CSA is and always has been, and why soccer is in the state it is in this country.