seether Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 quote:Originally posted by DoyleG Zerr still takes the 11K. The Journal takes the more realistic approach fo saying 10K as a average. Most would take the idea that the real target for the teams was less that that. Well, todays Journal says otherwise, and this one DOES quote 11,000 Before the season, management announced a predicted average attendance of 11,000, when the 2003 league-wide average was 3,300. The Aviators' six-game average is 2,552. http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/news/sports/story.html?id=8cccf232-fe1a-437a-af7e-28af5091f64d Now both major dailies have used the 11,000 number, I guess Zerr isn't just making it up, or the only one using it. How you gonna lamely try to spin this one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 quote:Originally posted by seether Well, todays Journal says otherwise, and this one DOES quote 11,000 Before the season, management announced a predicted average attendance of 11,000, when the 2003 league-wide average was 3,300. The Aviators' six-game average is 2,552. http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/news/sports/story.html?id=8cccf232-fe1a-437a-af7e-28af5091f64d Now both major dailies have used the 11,000 number, I guess Zerr isn't just making it up, or the only one using it. How you gonna lamely try to spin this one? I was talking about the article that was posted then. Figure that out before you say anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishman Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 I am with seether on this one... I am not trying to paint people as apologists for the Aviators. I think it is good that the franchise has unabashed supporters. But it is becoming irrefutable that this group hadn't a clue what they were doing relative to projected crowds / revenue. The impending doom has been hanging around since the team's infancy, and how many people had been saying that Commonwealth would be the death of the franchise? Well, DoyleG, it is so freakin' obvious that indeed the caverns of Commonwealth could serve as a tomb for the Aviators. I don't want to hear about the lack of other suitable facilities....that is a dead refrain. There were other possibilites, as the game at Clarke proved...temporary stands could have been erected for this season, and lobbying to the city might have ensured that a more permanent solution was in place. The Edmonton Sun had an article recently about the city's position regarding the Aviators and Clarke Park. Check back in past posts, the date of the piece is there. So...I too challenge you, DoyleG, to doctor up a spin. I am not blaming Petrone or Ongaro on this issue...it is the administration that is at fault. Who in their right mind could have envisioned an average crowd of 11,000 this season? And if that is the number they needed to make this venture a go, they would have been better off waiting for more investors, etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seether Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 quote: I was talking about the article that was posted then. Figure that out before you say anything. I was making reference to that as well as your previous statement "Try reading others besides Zerr. Only he seems to have bought that." Since it was a natural continuation, I didn't feel the need to include the back quotes. If the best defense for your being wrong is trying to change the subject, maybe you should just save it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Two, indepth articles in the Journal today (one on page 1 of sports section!), both by Collin Gallant. He obviously reads this and other sites, aware of issues beoing discussed here. Don't have Journal account so can't reproduce them. the overall impression is negative. #1 "Aviators Headed For Crash Landing" (the same name as a column in the Sun by Zerr a month ago, only without Zerr's question mark) -mainly an interview with Newton, interim Club President -quote: "The if-you-build-it-they-will-come approach hasn't worked." -$ 300,000 Franchise fee for both teams -emergency meeting of investors to see if shortfall can be met to keep going after women's match tonight and men's match Saturday in Milwaukee -Commonwealth was chosen because of unrealistic (in Gallant's words) prediction to lead league in attendance. Refers to management's own announcemnt of 11,000 per game for this season. -no reference to moving men's games for rest of season, or for reducing $15 tickets in effect on Tuesday for non-doubleheaders -rest of the article is usual club boilerplate about costs and optimistic statements of future if community gets behind club #2 "Petrone, Ongaro Reject Blame for Aviator's Struggling Fortunes" -both correctly distance themselves from Club's finanncial woes, and not involved in administration -Ongaro: "I woke up Thursday morning and found out that I've got to tell them [players] they might not have a job next week." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Aviators headed for crash landing Financial difficulties could see teams fold before end of United Soccer League season Collin Gallant The Edmonton Journal July 16, 2004 1 | 2 | NEXT >> CREDIT: Chris Schwarz, The Journal Joe Petrone, the Edmonton Aviators director of soccer operations, gestures at a reporter on Thursday as he expresses optimism that the team can survive its mounting financial woes. EDMONTON - The Edmonton Aviators men's and women's soccer teams could crash land as early as next week. Just two months into their inaugural United Soccer League season, the Aviators' 19-member ownership group will meet this Sunday to decide whether or not to provide an immediate cash injection to keep the teams afloat. A lethal combination of low attendance and large operating losses have threatened to permanently ground the franchise. "The 'if-you-build-it-they-will-come' approach hasn't worked," said Tom Newton, interim club president and lead spokesman for Edmonton Professional Soccer Ltd., the 19-person consortium which paid a reported $300,000 expansion fee for the two teams. "We have a huge revenue shortfall and the major problem is that our business plan had high expectations for the number of people in the seats. We haven't done a good job in getting people interested." With ticket sales less than one-quarter of initial projections, Newton will inform investors that an unspecified amount of cash in needed for the team to manage its debt. The Aviators men's team plays on the road this weekend in Milwaukee and would have 13 games remaining in a 28-game season, including eight home dates. The next home game is scheduled for next Tuesday. The shorter women's regular season ends tonight at 7 p.m. with a game relocated to Foote Field to accommodate Saturday's CFL game at Commonwealth Stadium. The franchise is also ready to scrap the original business plan authored by former president and current team investor Wylie Stafford, who resigned as president on June 23. Before the season, management announced a predicted average attendance of 11,000, when the 2003 league-wide average was 3,300. The Aviators' six-game average is 2,552. The unrealistic prediction to lead the league in attendance forced the team to Commonwealth Stadium, the city's only venue large enough to handle such a crowd. In turn, the team charged the highest ticket prices of any Canadian franchise to cover costs at the 60,000-seat goliath. Before this week's $5 reduction, a game day adult ticket cost $20, and youths aged five-17 paid $18. In Montreal, where the Impact regularly fills its 8,000-seat stadium, tickets are offered for as low as $10 for adults and $5 for youths. The rental agreement between the city-owned Commonwealth Stadium and the franchise is secret, but Newton acknowledged that last Tuesday's crowd of 1,984 didn't cover staffing costs, the use of field lights or the stadium's jumbotron replay screen. With player salaries, travel, hotel and office expenses all building, the situation has come to a head, said Newton. "Every penny of this payroll has been met, that's my No. 1 concern," he said. "The men's team is ready to go to Milwaukee for Saturday's game. We have money to do that and some other things, but do we have money to get to the end of the season?... If I look at the amount of (revenue at current attendance levels), probably not." The investors contacted for comment on Thursday deferred to Newton. Joe Petrone, the Aviators director of soccer operations who owns a small non-voting share of the club, was confident that the team would be able to survive. "We have very good owners," Petrone said. "They're very upstanding citizens who have put up the money accordingly. I don't think folding is a question." If extra money arrives, the franchise will need a large boost in attendance for the remainder of the season before they can contemplate fielding teams in the future. There are several factors that could work in their favour. There are no more doubleheader game nights, which have ended as late as 11:15 on weeknights, and the team has lowered walk-up ticket prices to $15 for adults and $11 for youths. But without the new money from investors to help control an already sizable debt, the changes might be a moot point. For future seasons, a move out of Commonwealth would be necessary, either to Clarke Park which can hold 4,000 people with temporary stands, or the University of Alberta facility at Foote Field. "There's no reason that this team can't play this year and next and the year after that," said Newton. "What we need now is basically for the people of Edmonton to support this -- that's what it comes down to. "The question is whether professional soccer is viable in Edmonton, and the answer lies with the people in the community." cgallant@thejournal.canwest.com © The Edmonton Journal 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 quote:Originally posted by seether I was making reference to that as well as your previous statement "Try reading others besides Zerr. Only he seems to have bought that." Since it was a natural continuation, I didn't feel the need to include the back quotes. If the best defense for your being wrong is trying to change the subject, maybe you should just save it. The fact you had to edit you post shows a lot to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seether Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 quote:Originally posted by DoyleG The fact you had to edit you post shows a lot to learn. Case in point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Winnipeg Fury The loss of Edmonton would also be a blow to a faltering Calgary Mustang organization, and Canadian professional soccer in general. Yes, let's hope they make the necessay changes quickly. I wondered off the hop what they were thinking when they stated they were budgeting for 11,000 attendance per game. Calgary just signed two more players from South America, both strikers, one from Uruguay and one from Argentina. Will they solve the goal scoring woes?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Since when is the Mustangs organization faltering? Maybe the team is faltering but the management seems solid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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