The Canadian Premier League thread

[RM14]

https://www.sprucemeadows.com/tournaments/rv_sites.jsp

Supporters Club can all buy RV's and camp every Saturday night.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by RM14

https://www.sprucemeadows.com/tournaments/rv_sites.jsp

Supporters Club can all buy RV's and camp every Saturday night.

That would actually make for great tail gating.

[Matty81]

Location is a bit trying but not bad all in all. They will have the coolest stadium of any CPL team if they use the old grandstands there as a starting point, might have a bit more of an old world football club feel plus they have great concessions etc. Would make for an OK day out if the weather is good. They just need a good pub on the grounds. Also I think they c-train is going out there eventually too?

[agulati]

Originally Posted by Matty81

Location is a bit trying but not bad all in all. They will have the coolest stadium of any CPL team if they use the old grandstands there as a starting point, might have a bit more of an old world football club feel plus they have great concessions etc. Would make for an OK day out if the weather is good. They just need a good pub on the grounds. Also I think they c-train is going out there eventually too?

I believe there is a plan for a c-train station at Silverado. They are currently working on extending 194th ave past Macleod Trail to connect with Silverado.

[browna]

A lot of complaining or just flat out excuses. Pity that the taxpayer-free stadium can't be a 10 minute walk from anyone and everyone in the city but thus the challenges of living in a 1 million person city. Thousands of people head up to Cross Iron every weekend, too to trudge around mall, and even a few hundred to the race track, with less accessibility.

Parking no problem, ingress and egress no problem. Transit and shuttle buses available. Right off the ring road, which by the time the stadium is built and club off the ground, the west leg should be almost done. It's actually a really well thought out venture by the Spruce Meadows folks.
Brings me back to the idea where who knows, maybe the Flames look to the Tsuu T'ina for the next area a, as part of the massive development just off the ring road.

Back to soccer, but when it was at Foothills Park 15 years ago or more the Storm had 1500 or 2000 people. When they doubled ticket prices the next year, attendance went down by more than half. I have a feeling the next excuse is ticket prices

If you truly want to support higher level soccer in the city then the options are opening up with Foothills FC and now this club and you'll make the trip work more often than not.

[CorbeauNoir]

Originally Posted by browna

A lot of complaining or just flat out excuses. Pity that the taxpayer-free stadium can't be a 10 minute walk from anyone and everyone in the city but thus the challenges of living in a 1 million person city. Thousands of people head up to Cross Iron every weekend, too to trudge around mall, and even a few hundred to the race track, with less accessibility.

Parking no problem, ingress and egress no problem. Transit and shuttle buses available. Right off the ring road, which by the time the stadium is built and club off the ground, the west leg should be almost done. It's actually a really well thought out venture by the Spruce Meadows folks.
Brings me back to the idea where who knows, maybe the Flames look to the Tsuu T'ina for the next area a, as part of the massive development just off the ring road.

It's an outdated, stuck-in-the-late-70s approach to sports infrastructure. Even CalgaryNEXT for all it's obvious problems had enough sense to locate it's facilities directly onto a central CTrain station, which should tell you everything about how much of a no-brainer it ought to be. Pitching a stadium in the middle of nowhere and expecting everyone to individually drive to games is completely out of touch with 21st century urban design in any sport - let alone soccer which is getting most of it's viewership momentum in NA from urbanite milennials who want that European march-to-the-match kind of experience.

It's all the mistakes that nearly killed early MLS and are now still in the process of trying to disentangle themselves out of. Do none of the organizers of this league have any accumulated memory?

[shermanator]

Global has mentioned more info on the stadium coming May 17...

FIFA, the sport’s world governing body, has been to Spruce Meadows to inspect the site ahead of renovations and further details about the project and which arena will be renovated are expected to be revealed on May 17.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4193137/s...0GlobalCalgary

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by browna

A lot of complaining or just flat out excuses. Pity that the taxpayer-free stadium can't be a 10 minute walk from anyone and everyone in the city but thus the challenges of living in a 1 million person city. Thousands of people head up to Cross Iron every weekend, too to trudge around mall, and even a few hundred to the race track, with less accessibility.

Parking no problem, ingress and egress no problem. Transit and shuttle buses available. Right off the ring road, which by the time the stadium is built and club off the ground, the west leg should be almost done. It's actually a really well thought out venture by the Spruce Meadows folks.
Brings me back to the idea where who knows, maybe the Flames look to the Tsuu T'ina for the next area a, as part of the massive development just off the ring road.

Back to soccer, but when it was at Foothills Park 15 years ago or more the Storm had 1500 or 2000 people. When they doubled ticket prices the next year, attendance went down by more than half. I have a feeling the next excuse is ticket prices

If you truly want to support higher level soccer in the city then the options are opening up with Foothills FC and now this club and you'll make the trip work more often than not.

That's not a good comparison at all. You cannot compare a mega-retail mall and surrounding retail (e.g. Costco) with a Minor pro stadium for entertainment. Two completely different purposes, and one that most people will drive to the mall over going to a soccer game - because they have groceries and goods to buy. They don't need a soccer ticket.

You can talk up the transit "options" all you want but if the sentiment of this thread is any indication then it's not as easy for a lot of people as it is for you. I don't disagree it's a fantastic facility to have a soccer stadium in, but you really need to see it for what it is - it's out of the way for a lot of people. It's pretty simple, especially with no ring road built.

When it comes to entertainment, that is a luxury expense that people can take elsewhere that makes more sense for a variety of reasons.

[Johnny199r]

I'm just glad they aren't trying to play at McMahon stadium.

[Reneeee]

Originally Posted by agulati

I believe there is a plan for a c-train station at Silverado. They are currently working on extending 194th ave past Macleod Trail to connect with Silverado.

Maybe in 2025???

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Reneeee]

Originally Posted by browna

A lot of complaining or just flat out excuses. Pity that the taxpayer-free stadium can't be a 10 minute walk from anyone and everyone in the city but thus the challenges of living in a 1 million person city. Thousands of people head up to Cross Iron every weekend, too to trudge around mall, and even a few hundred to the race track, with less accessibility.

Parking no problem, ingress and egress no problem. Transit and shuttle buses available. Right off the ring road, which by the time the stadium is built and club off the ground, the west leg should be almost done. It's actually a really well thought out venture by the Spruce Meadows folks.
Brings me back to the idea where who knows, maybe the Flames look to the Tsuu T'ina for the next area a, as part of the massive development just off the ring road.

Back to soccer, but when it was at Foothills Park 15 years ago or more the Storm had 1500 or 2000 people. When they doubled ticket prices the next year, attendance went down by more than half. I have a feeling the next excuse is ticket prices

If you truly want to support higher level soccer in the city then the options are opening up with Foothills FC and now this club and you'll make the trip work more often than not.

If the storm couldn't make it work at foothills I see no possibility a club draws 2-5 thousand at Spruce Meadows but by all means Calgary, prove me wrong. The Okotoks Dawgs already have and i've been proven wrong by the droves of people who would choose to live in Mahogany which is a generous 45- an hr drive across the city. A 3 hr trip up North to the city of chumps is now 4 hrs. Mind-blowing to me.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Reneeee]

Originally Posted by CorbeauNoir

It's an outdated, stuck-in-the-late-70s approach to sports infrastructure. Even CalgaryNEXT for all it's obvious problems had enough sense to locate it's facilities directly onto a central CTrain station, which should tell you everything about how much of a no-brainer it ought to be. Pitching a stadium in the middle of nowhere and expecting everyone to individually drive to games is completely out of touch with 21st century urban design in any sport - let alone soccer which is getting most of it's viewership momentum in NA from urbanite milennials who want that European march-to-the-match kind of experience.

It's all the mistakes that nearly killed early MLS and are now still in the process of trying to disentangle themselves out of. Do none of the organizers of this league have any accumulated memory?

He gets it

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[JerryUnderscore]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

A bit early to say, but any guesses about how many games will be played in this league? A 28 game schedule would be balanced (4x each opponent), but as is often the norm in North America, distance and cost may necessitate the league to adopt a conference format.

(Closes eyes and begins calculating 14 home games x travel time to Spruce Meadows from Tuscany)

It could get boring quickly if we see the same 3 teams excessively, and rarely get to see Halifax, for example.

Everything I've read and heard suggests it's going to be a single table league; no conferences. We're probably looking at 28 matches per season, 14 home matches, 2 against each team.

The lease the Halifax team filed with the city for use of the Wanderers Grounds specifically requested 14 matches in the first season and 18-20 in the second. We'll see if those additional matches come from league expansion or if those are for VC or CCL.

I've definitely heard some people bring up travel as a possible obstacle; the Halifax team isn't going to come out west and stay for three weeks to play Port City, Calgary, and Edmonton, which means you're looking at multiple trips across the country for each team. Hopefully the league has some way of cutting the cost of travel.

[MillerTime GFG]

Originally Posted by JerryUnderscore

Hopefully the league has some way of cutting the cost of travel.

Bottle drives.

[CorbeauNoir]

Originally Posted by JerryUnderscore

I've definitely heard some people bring up travel as a possible obstacle; the Halifax team isn't going to come out west and stay for three weeks to play Port City, Calgary, and Edmonton, which means you're looking at multiple trips across the country for each team. Hopefully the league has some way of cutting the cost of travel.

It's almost as if the league is purpose-built with easy excuses to dismantle itself once CONCACAF's Canadian president gets his (1/8th or whatever it is of a) World Cup party.

[Ozy_Flame]

Holy crap, the field in Halifax is at Wanderer Grounds? That's amazing, what a hell of a location - they're even likely to sell tourist tickets since it's so close to the Citadel.

While the assumption that FC Edmonton would play at Clarke Stadium, the CPL has had talks with the City on using the Re/Max Field as a field destination (pending structural changes to make it a soccer pitch). This would be amazing as it is a central location, and the Rossdale Redevelopment is going ahead.

One thing I do like about the Spruce Meadows location is that the field may end up being old-school English style if it's the field/location I'm thinking of. How awesome would that be.


FYI regarding the name for Calgary's team: The CPL has trademarked "Calgary FC".

[shermanator]

York has been officially announced by the CPL.

CanPL‏Verified account @CPLsoccer 10m10 minutes ago
Welcome York Region. We Are Many, We Are One. #CanPL

https://twitter.com/CPLsoccer/status/993883587400347648

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by browna

A lot of complaining or just flat out excuses. Pity that the taxpayer-free stadium can't be a 10 minute walk from anyone and everyone in the city but thus the challenges of living in a 1 million person city. Thousands of people head up to Cross Iron every weekend, too to trudge around mall, and even a few hundred to the race track, with less accessibility.

Parking no problem, ingress and egress no problem. Transit and shuttle buses available. Right off the ring road, which by the time the stadium is built and club off the ground, the west leg should be almost done. It's actually a really well thought out venture by the Spruce Meadows folks.
Brings me back to the idea where who knows, maybe the Flames look to the Tsuu T'ina for the next area a, as part of the massive development just off the ring road.

Back to soccer, but when it was at Foothills Park 15 years ago or more the Storm had 1500 or 2000 people. When they doubled ticket prices the next year, attendance went down by more than half. I have a feeling the next excuse is ticket prices

If you truly want to support higher level soccer in the city then the options are opening up with Foothills FC and now this club and you'll make the trip work more often than not.

If you insist on call it an excuse, it is a pretty valid one for a lot of people. Location will have an impact on attendance, especially for semi-casual fans. And while we can all admire the dedication of supporters who are able to travel far and wide to support the team, it does present a problem for others.

The main issue I have with the location is that the key to this league's survival is selling an experience. Marching to the match turns a lot of heads in Vancouver, for example, and it creates a bit of buzz and excitement. Non-fans notice, and it helps sell the experience. The festivities before and after the match are hugely important - food, beers, etc.

With the time of travel for me being more than double than if it were located centrally, I will need to weigh whether I spend 90 minutes round trip for 90 minutes of soccer, and perhaps skip some of the pre-game stuff. Or, if I was to decide to pour a lot of money into the beer tent, my commute becomes a lot more lengthy (shuttle bus and train), or expensive (Uber). Sure - a lot of that is due to where I chose to live. And I'm slightly jealous of the guy who lives in Silverado, perhaps only for this single reason!

All of that being said, there are a few things that please me about the Spruce Meadows location:

- It has the potential to be a unique little stadium, depending on what structures they decide to incorporate.
- Lots of opportunities for food trucks, beer gardens, and they also have some hospitality on-site which will make it a destination.
- It isn't McMahon. Even though McMahon would be more convenient for myself and most others in the city, the atmosphere would kill this whole venture after a season or two. Plus football lines. Blech.

So call it being negative, excuse-making, etc. but the location is a significant factor. There is no way that it can't be a factor for a large chunk of the potential supporters.

That being said, the site itself does have a number of positives that I am excited about. In general, I am feeling optimistic about this league. To have high level soccer in Calgary (well, sort of. ) is a dream come true, and it will beat going to a Whitecaps game every few years. I am just personally a little disappointed in the distance I'll have to travel to be a part of it. It'll be tricky for some casual fans, but hopefully the experience that they build around it will make it worth the trip for them and get them hooked.

[CorbeauNoir]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Holy crap, the field in Halifax is at Wanderer Grounds? That's amazing, what a hell of a location - they're even likely to sell tourist tickets since it's so close to the Citadel.

While the assumption that FC Edmonton would play at Clarke Stadium, the CPL has had talks with the City on using the Re/Max Field as a field destination (pending structural changes to make it a soccer pitch). This would be amazing as it is a central location, and the Rossdale Redevelopment is going ahead.

One thing I do like about the Spruce Meadows location is that the field may end up being old-school English style if it's the field/location I'm thinking of. How awesome would that be.


FYI regarding the name for Calgary's team: The CPL has trademarked "Calgary FC".

Considering the personal experiences I've had with Halifax's circus sideshow that is their local urban planning, it's stunning to me that they of all places have the proposal that makes the most sense for the scale of this league. Find a green patch that can fit a soccer field, put up some bleachers that are an easy and attractive walk to and from the downtown bars and pubs, and dismantle everything for the winter when the season's over and it's no longer required. They've done the same kind of thing with their speed skating oval on the Commons and it's been a big success as well.

Also trademarking doesn't necessarily mean that's going to be the team's name, usually with these kinds of things they'll trademark a handful of names to hedge their bets.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by CorbeauNoir

Considering the personal experiences I've had with Halifax's circus sideshow that is their local urban planning, it's stunning to me that they of all places have the proposal that makes the most sense for the scale of this league. Find a green patch that can fit a soccer field, put up some bleachers that are an easy and attractive walk to and from the downtown bars and pubs, and dismantle everything for the winter when the season's over and it's no longer required. They've done the same kind of thing with their speed skating oval on the Commons and it's been a big success as well.

Also trademarking doesn't necessarily mean that's going to be the team's name, usually with these kinds of things they'll trademark a handful of names to hedge their bets.

To be clear, the 2019 season in Halifax will be a temporary arrangement, then after the conclusion of the season, the City and the CPL will review the success of the location and possibly extend the Wanderers Grounds by 2 more years (I believe). If they extend it, they will erect a more permanent structure. That's my understanding of the arrangement.

Read an article that said they can erect the temp stadium in only one week!

Regarding the name for Calgary, it's more to go on than anything else. Calgary FC is rather ordinary, but is classy and matches football club expectations.

Also, if you want good CPL news, follow the CPL subreddit on Reddit.