2019 Cavalry FC season thread

[CofR]

Forge beat Valour tonight 2-0, the Cavs have a two point lead in the standings with two games in hand

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by browna

Is the answer "5 degrees and snow, on a long weekend when many have/had plans to be out of town"?

Seems that tickets $40 and below are solidly sold out. But yeah - weather, long weekend, etc. Let's come back to this on May 25, June 22, July 21, and July 30 and see if the pattern holds.

Or... maybe their league-high pricing model completely missed the mark. Why do you feel the need to keep making excuses for them?

[Arsenal14]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Seems that tickets $40 and below are solidly sold out. But yeah - weather, long weekend, etc. Let's come back to this on May 25, June 22, July 21, and July 30 and see if the pattern holds.

Or... maybe their league-high pricing model completely missed the mark. Why do you feel the need to keep making excuses for them?

I'm curious what they are going to do with the second round of the Canadian Championship. Assuming we don't blow the game on Wednesday the next round against Forge will be the first game that is not part of the season ticket package. That makes it the first chance for the team to release tickets at a potentially different price. I'm hoping we see them price the cup games lower and try to get more people out. Probably won't see great attendance anyway but if they show a willingness to lower prices for those games it may indicate a direction for next season.

[shermanator]

Originally Posted by Arsenal14

I'm curious what they are going to do with the second round of the Canadian Championship. Assuming we don't blow the game on Wednesday the next round against Forge will be the first game that is not part of the season ticket package. That makes it the first chance for the team to release tickets at a potentially different price. I'm hoping we see them price the cup games lower and try to get more people out. Probably won't see great attendance anyway but if they show a willingness to lower prices for those games it may indicate a direction for next season.

Agreed. Given that Voyageurs Cup games are on a Wednesday, attendance won't be great to begin with. This is a first chance for the club to show that they recognize that their pricing model has missed the mark, and that they are listening to feedback.

[RM14]

$21 GA tickets are back-up. Looks like they will be adding these to TM a few days before each game for the walk-up crowds.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by RM14

$21 GA tickets are back-up. Looks like they will be adding these to TM a few days before each game for the walk-up crowds.

I honestly think they couldn't have ####ed this up more. I looked earlier in the week and the cheapest seats were 40 so I made other plans.

I have no idea who is incharge of ticketing but this is brutal.

[mrkajz44]

Could they not just lower prices across the board and offer up refunds to season ticket holders to adjust for the price difference? Seems like that would be much more prudent to do than just stick their heads in the sand right now.

[Bill Bumface]

Look out Shermanator, the Foot Clan is reunited and in the house Saturday!

[shermanator]

So the Edmonton supporters reached out to Kildare's, who welcomed them to use the bus from Kildare's to the game tomorrow. That really pisses me off, as that was a bus that was arranged for us, so maybe we should just pack Kildare's to the point where there is no room for Edmonton supporters to even enter the bar.

Also, a little history on how Al Classico came to be. Spoiler alert, it started at a pub with myself and one of the Edmonton supporters over beers.

It began with two guys in a pub

To those who were not aware of the Al Classico before the league made it the official name, I hope this article helps you understand the actual story behind it.

It’s hard to believe that one evening in 2016 two guys discussing soccer over a couple pints would eventually lead to all this.

We’re not going to take full credit by saying we made this all happen. It wouldn’t have happened without Tommy Wheeldon Jr., Jeff Paulus, Jay Ball, FC Edmonton general manager, the players and staff from Calgary Foothills FC, Cavalry FC and FC Edmonton. Credit should also go to all the members from the Foot Soldiers and ESG/River Valley Vanguard supporters groups, all the fans that came out to these matches and, of course, the Canadian Premier League who will continue this history with us.

Like what Tommy Wheeldon Jr. recently said on Twitter. “Al Classico – created by the fans, embraced by the coaches, competed by the players, trademarked by the league. And what’s possibly the best thing of all… it began totally tongue in cheek!!”

http://www.totalsoccerproject.com/20...eated-by-fans/

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

I honestly think they couldn't have ####ed this up more. I looked earlier in the week and the cheapest seats were 40 so I made other plans.

I have no idea who is incharge of ticketing but this is brutal.

Since you asked... Ian Allison. Here are some quotes from Total Soccer Project before the season started, but after the pricing was announced and widely criticized.

"Some people felt there was a little bit of sticker shock at a certain level. But that was a before reading and distilling all of the information."

"I fully appreciate it that not everybody may have gone about it the same way we are, but we’re the ones doing it."

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Since you asked... Ian Allison. Here are some quotes from Total Soccer Project before the season started, but after the pricing was announced and widely criticized.

This is pretty well what I expected. They obviously sunk a lot of money into building the grandstand, paying salaries and travel expenses, and they want to make that money back as quickly as possible. They probably had an sports economist on staff who offered a series of different models for expected revenues, and this one they believed to be the lowest risk or highest reward. I don't think they were been greedy as some suggested, they, like anyone, want to get out of the red and into the black as quickly as possible. I realize that these prices were not randomly generated, all the same, by no means were they the only option.

We could talk about the economic realities all day, and I would be interested was the different revenue models might have looked like, but the fact remains, the chosen model was at the expense of the fan experience.


All the same, I will pay for the tickets I can afford, and I will support the team the ways I can, because I love sports! economics be damned!

[shermanator]

You can support the league without buying the expensive tickets. Get OneSoccer. Go to pubs showing the games and support them by buying beer and food. Buy a jersey or other merch. Donate to me so that I can buy more beer and yell at FC Edmonton. Etc etc....

[Bill Bumface]

I really wanted to go to this game and was also really negligent in sorting out who else wanted to go. I also have a guest in from out of town and this is the only game we can take them to. They managed to get $65 x 6 out of us due to the perfect storm. If it's a ####ty game I'll feel a bit pissy about paying that much. Here's hoping it's another Cavs win.

[Resolute 14]

As long as we're still on about ticket prices, there is something decidedly weird with next Wednesday's CCL game. More $60 and $80 seats have been 'sold' for that one than for Edmonton tomorrow, and there's a rectangular block of $100 seats that have been greyed out as well.

[shermanator]

If I had five words left and I'm about to ####in expire and all I have left to say is to curse ####in FC Edmonton, I'm probably not going to say "FC Edmonton funkin blow"

[RM14]

I'm jacked for tomorrow, trying to recruit some newcomers, but riding solo to the Rose if I have to

[browna]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Seems that tickets $40 and below are solidly sold out. But yeah - weather, long weekend, etc. Let's come back to this on May 25, June 22, July 21, and July 30 and see if the pattern holds.

Or... maybe their league-high pricing model completely missed the mark. Why do you feel the need to keep making excuses for them?

Not excuses, an economic strategy in their minds which they are sticking too, shockingly, after a whole 2 home games. They didn’t pull a number out of their butt to price tickets, I’m sure they had some market research as to what numbers they’d get people wise, willing to pay the prices they are charging and have it for thier economic model.

Again, what’s the sweet spot for supply and demand given expectations of a new team in the city? Theyre gambling on to go high for a certain number of core group of people in this 1 million person city who want to watch as many of these these soccer games as they can first and foremost, and aren’t as concerned about a potential $20 ticket price premium, secondarily.

Will they get 20% more people, game in and game out, if they priced all tickets 20% less? Or the same argument, using 30%? 40%? Or double...will they get twice as many people to come out if they cut the ticket prices in half? My guess is no on the last one, and they figure, and have done research, that they won’t get that elastic demand. Instead they’ll get a core group that will pay the (example 30%)premium. Having that constant group of people willing to be paying that premium amount, helps make up the of difference of instead pricing the seats lower by that amount and hoping to get that many more people out to generate the same ticket revenue and insulates against casual fan fluctuations.

Put to hypothetical numbers, they estimate that they will get 2000 people x60$ a lot more regularly and likely, than *hopefully* getting 20% more people paying 20% less, to equal out revenue, as the (again, researched based analysis) threshold for seeing significant gains in casual interest in the first year, is probably pegged at people willing to pay (example) 20$ tickets...and that’s only reached if all the factors align for those casual people align to feel like coming out, such weather is good, game on a weekend etc.

And, there are expenses to cover. Each team is different, but if when next year the Forge for example have to raise their prices and change thier pricing scheme for everyone, because they got a core group paying $35, but didn’t get enough casual walk ups paying the $19, to generate enough ticket revenue for their business model, and have to raise prices to $45 for the core people and $30 for the lesser seats, as an example, then they’re going to lose people from the core.

Cavalry can come down, if required, with a lot less concern then revising and then raising prices. As mentioned, the Storm (when Tommy came across and Mark McLoughlin and others owned the team) back when in 2002 charged $10 and $5 for kids in their first year at Foothills and got a maybe 1500 people for nice day games. It didn’t cover expenses, so the second year they charged $25 and $10 and got under half that for people per game and folded that season.

[Howie_16]

Originally Posted by shermanator

So the Edmonton supporters reached out to Kildare's, who welcomed them to use the bus from Kildare's to the game tomorrow. That really pisses me off, as that was a bus that was arranged for us, so maybe we should just pack Kildare's to the point where there is no room for Edmonton supporters to even enter the bar.

Hmm... I wonder how a similar situation would play out in England? Perhaps we can get ourselves an "Al Classico" episode of The Real Football Factories? #KIDDING

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by browna

Not excuses, an economic strategy in their minds which they are sticking too, shockingly, after a whole 2 home games. They didn’t pull a number out of their butt to price tickets, I’m sure they had some market research as to what numbers they’d get people wise, willing to pay the prices they are charging and have it for thier economic model.

Again, what’s the sweet spot for supply and demand given expectations of a new team in the city? Theyre gambling on to go high for a certain number of core group of people in this 1 million person city who want to watch as many of these these soccer games as they can first and foremost, and aren’t as concerned about a potential $20 ticket price premium, secondarily.

Will they get 20% more people, game in and game out, if they priced all tickets 20% less? Or the same argument, using 30%? 40%? Or double...will they get twice as many people to come out if they cut the ticket prices in half? My guess is no on the last one, and they figure, and have done research, that they won’t get that elastic demand. Instead they’ll get a core group that will pay the (example 30%)premium. Having that constant group of people willing to be paying that premium amount, helps make up the of difference of instead pricing the seats lower by that amount and hoping to get that many more people out to generate the same ticket revenue and insulates against casual fan fluctuations.

Put to hypothetical numbers, they estimate that they will get 2000 people x60$ a lot more regularly and likely, than *hopefully* getting 20% more people paying 20% less, to equal out revenue, as the (again, researched based analysis) threshold for seeing significant gains in casual interest in the first year, is probably pegged at people willing to pay (example) 20$ tickets...and that’s only reached if all the factors align for those casual people align to feel like coming out, such weather is good, game on a weekend etc.

And, there are expenses to cover. Each team is different, but if when next year the Forge for example have to raise their prices and change thier pricing scheme for everyone, because they got a core group paying $35, but didn’t get enough casual walk ups paying the $19, to generate enough ticket revenue for their business model, and have to raise prices to $45 for the core people and $30 for the lesser seats, as an example, then they’re going to lose people from the core.

Cavalry can come down, if required, with a lot less concern then revising and then raising prices. As mentioned, the Storm (when Tommy came across and Mark McLoughlin and others owned the team) back when in 2002 charged $10 and $5 for kids in their first year at Foothills and got a maybe 1500 people for nice day games. It didn’t cover expenses, so the second year they charged $25 and $10 and got under half that for people per game and folded that season.

This is exactly right. When CanPL hits stride, it’s price point should be CFL not WHL. Right now there’s room to drop a little without alienating your battalion and officer club STH. Other teams frankly set the target too low and are likely not coming close to breaking even.

These are the critical years to establish market presence as a viable long term pro team. Part of that is having something resembling profit in the first 5 years.

Reality is 2000 core fans at $75 and a rabid 1000 in the cheap seats is better for the team financially right now than 6000 fans at $20. The goal is to steal market share from the Stamps, and to attract fans that can and will drop a couple hundred bucks per game. Calgary is littered with dead sports franchises that tried to appeal to the cost conscious and family crowd. The word will spread about this being a good product, and a good showing against MLS teams will go a real long way for people to buy into the pro aspect.

[jg13]

For those of you that have been to a match this season do they check your tickets? I'd love to come support but the cheapest tickets right now for a pair come to $127.30

With that being said there are a bunch of single tickets that come out to $35.00 each. If possible i'd just purchase 2 singles and we'd sit in section 104 together where it appears over half the section is empty.

Would there be any problem doing this? I appreciate the help