Jason Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 After reading about Korthius winning Canada West MVP, it makes me miss the presense of a pro club in Calgary (or alternatively Edmonton) all the more. How many players have had to give up on their pro dreams because of the demise of Alberta pro clubs? Waldo Dutra, Nick Zuniga, Chris Lemire, John Castrillon Jr., Jordan Gillespie, Jordan Robinson, Steffan Holdt, and I'm sure many others. There has been a legacy of some players going on to bigger and better things. However, the sooner the pro game returns to these parts, the better. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 No argument there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River City Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 If it makes a difference, the USL hasn't given up hope on us yet. There is at least one group(in Edmonton anyway) that has been in contact with and trying to get something off the ground. Personally, I'm not holding my breath for an announcement anytime soon, but it will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calgary Boomer Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 I would love nothing more to have Edmonton back. However, I think some people are skewed by the success of some big internationals and the Women's U19 success. I believe Edmonton is a big event soccer city, but needs a different venue to succeed in USL-1. If they do come back...bring back the "Drillers". I worry that if ever a team goes to Houston, they'll scoop that one up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calgary Boomer Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 I would love nothing more to have Edmonton back. However, I think some people are skewed by the success of some big internationals and the Women's U19 success. I believe Edmonton is a big event soccer city, but needs a different venue to succeed in USL-1. If they do come back...bring back the "Drillers". I worry that if ever a team goes to Houston, they'll scoop that one up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leafs Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 Lets hope if it comes back, people will support it. Edmonton has drawn what 3 proper Soccer crowds and they think they are World Class. Support local soccer . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leafs Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 Lets hope if it comes back, people will support it. Edmonton has drawn what 3 proper Soccer crowds and they think they are World Class. Support local soccer . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaydog2006 Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 Unconfirmed reports that edmonton and calgary both were not aprroved at the usl meeting for pdl teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River City Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 The problem as I see it is that there have been unrealistic expectations the last two times around. The Indoor Drillers thought that marketing to kids was a good strategy that would fill up Skyreach, or Rexall, or the Coliseum or whatever you wanna call it. It's a good long-term strategy, but you need to target the 18-30 male demographic as they have the disposable income NOW. With the Aviators, well, Commonwealth Stadium would have worked if everything in their business plan was rock solid - especially the deal with Edmonton Minor Soccer Association, and the original dates they had booked before they got hosed by the Eskimos. But it was too ambitious, and they should have known it. For outdoor soccer in Edmonton, I think the trick is to start in a small stadium (either Foote or Clarke for Outdoor and the Agricom for Indoor), build the atmosphere, fan base, get some feel good stories in the community, and then slowly expand. If that means purchasing and donating bleachers to whatever facility they choose, so be it. Interesting thought though, the lady Aviators were a financially viable operation because their payroll was insignificant. If the USL was ok with letting the Ladies team be operate here without being tied to a Men's team, it could prove to be the solid foundation we need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 The Drillers didn't have the problems of drawing fans to their games. I was a regular at those games and I never saw much of what would be called freebee tickets. The Agricom is just too small and outdated to be of any use. Foote Field only has the football field with large enough capacity but there are no plans to remove the AstroTurf that is in palce there. Not enough parking or Transit links. As for Clarke, the city had the opprotunity to improve the facility and botched it just so they could satisfy the Esks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River City Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 Hey Doyle. Knowing someone in the Indoor Drillers organization, I could have gotten as many free tickets as I wanted. Silly me though as I bought season tickets. Even for the season that was not to be. I have them at home displayed with the rest of my soccer memorabilia. Their attendance was good, but not good enough for the Skyreach. They were paying 20k in rent per game for no reason whatsoever. The game they had at the Agricom (I believe they were relocated because of Shania Twain), was full, had a great atmosphere and saved them a bunch of money. Having worked at the Agricom and done numerous events in the Hall D arena, I do agree with you that it is small but very much usable and cheap to rent! Foote Field sucks for public transit, but they have two fields - the 1,000 person grass pitch where the Edmonton FC played, and the 3,000 person Fieldturf. I was refering to the grass field with potential bleachers being bought and placed on the West side of the pitch. You should be able to increase seating by another 1,000. Having played on Fieldturf, it still sucks compared to grass, but considering it was April and there was still snow on the ground, it wasn't too bad. As for Clarke, I'm not sure what the capacity is, although when I go running, I pass by it and the high school football games look like they're drawing 500 people, with space for another 500 or so. Again, there is tons of space for bleachers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted November 8, 2005 Author Share Posted November 8, 2005 quote:Originally posted by jaydog2006 Unconfirmed reports that edmonton and calgary both were not aprroved at the usl meeting for pdl teams. Wow, the USL turns people down? I assumed that the main requirements were a cheque and a pulse. At least that would explain away several poorly run clubs in the recent past. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted November 8, 2005 Author Share Posted November 8, 2005 I think the biggest barrier to Alberta returning to pro soccer (not PDL) is that there is no pro league at this time that has an environment which would make the team viable. USL D1 probably won't work without the right venue or else someone who had bushels of money and doesn't care about losing gobs of it. The USL D1 business model is tough. To be competitive you need a budget in the range of US $1million and unless you are getting five figure crowds you are going to lose a lot of money. The alternative is the Mustangs/Lynx model of a shoestring budget and just being happy to be there. I don't know when someone will be willing to try that again in Calgary. I'd think that D2 might be workable budget-wise but there are no teams geographically nearby. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EZmac Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 quote:Originally posted by DoyleG Foote Field only has the football field with large enough capacity but there are no plans to remove the AstroTurf that is in palce there. Not enough parking or Transit links. The Foote Field astroturf will be replaced by fieldtrurf by fall of '06 in time for the UofA's hosting of the CIS national soccer championship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 quote:Originally posted by River City Hey Doyle. Knowing someone in the Indoor Drillers organization, I could have gotten as many free tickets as I wanted. Silly me though as I bought season tickets. Even for the season that was not to be. I have them at home displayed with the rest of my soccer memorabilia. Their attendance was good, but not good enough for the Skyreach. They were paying 20k in rent per game for no reason whatsoever. The game they had at the Agricom (I believe they were relocated because of Shania Twain), was full, had a great atmosphere and saved them a bunch of money. Having worked at the Agricom and done numerous events in the Hall D arena, I do agree with you that it is small but very much usable and cheap to rent! The problem with the Agricom is the public perception. If you were to ask someone what they know about the Agricom, they would be talking about it as a trade centre and not as a sporting complex. There aren't as many sports playing at the Agricom as they used to. Minor Hockey Week has moved all it's finals from the Agricom to Rexall. I missed that game but the fans knew that it was only a short term fix. The city wouldn't have put as mcuh development into the Agricom to make it viable as we had seen with the Ice. People would eventually clammour for a move to Rexall. When it comes to city facilities, we just need tougher negotiators when it comes to a lease. quote:Originally posted by River City Foote Field sucks for public transit, but they have two fields - the 1,000 person grass pitch where the Edmonton FC played, and the 3,000 person Fieldturf. I was refering to the grass field with potential bleachers being bought and placed on the West side of the pitch. You should be able to increase seating by another 1,000. Having played on Fieldturf, it still sucks compared to grass, but considering it was April and there was still snow on the ground, it wasn't too bad. As for Clarke, I'm not sure what the capacity is, although when I go running, I pass by it and the high school football games look like they're drawing 500 people, with space for another 500 or so. Again, there is tons of space for bleachers. The grass field at Foote is rigged for the viewing of Athletics and not soccer. The grass field doesn't have lights for night play and the decision to install them and any other stands would have to be done with public consultation. One would have a better chance of putting in more seats where the berm is on the football field. You would still have to deal with the lack of public knowledge of the facility and the lack of parking spaces. Clarke can work but it would have to be more of a permanent facility instead of bleachers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River City Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 I think we're on the same page here, but my preference to use the Agricom and Foote is only to get the teams started and get the right atmosphere (which I think is crucial). Then after a couple of years (2-4) you make the move to a larger facility. Northlands is going ahead with a huge expansion where they'll demolish the Sportex, admin building and their north parking area so they can build 3 - 55,000 square foot exhibit/conference halls (those were the specs I got a while back, they may have changed slightly). Once that happens, the public perception of Northlands as a whole is going to be a multi-event venue, and I think selling tickets for an indoor game in Hall D won't be an issue. I personally think that a move to Rexall would be bad, especially since the Edmonton Rush Lacrosse team is the second tenant. An indoor team would have a tough time getting only the booking scraps from the Oilers, the Rush, CFR, concerts, etc There is hope though as West Edmonton Mall also has expansion plans including a 7,000 person arena. So that could be the next step up from the Agricom and a good progression from an attendance point of view. Their priority seems to be getting a junior hockey league team but an indoor team would make a good second tenant. As for Outdoor, the City needs to give us something. It's dreadful that the ASA, Edmonton Soccer Facilities and the big clubs haven't gotten together and lobbied the city for something nice to attract a future team. Unfortunately, everybody is busy taking care of their own interests that they forget about the bigger picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 The thing with the CFR is that their in town only a week and wouldn't affect permanent tennants that much. The Oilers would lose really only one date. Same with the indoor team. The Rush don't begin play till January and that would still leave a lot of spots open. The WEM arena has been on the cards for quite some time now. With the Oilers pushing for a WHL franchise, I think it would be hard for them to get the funding to support a stadium (Triple Five is aiming for private financing) As for an outdoor stadium, depends on who we have on council. I sit in Ward 2 and one of my councillors is Ron Hayter, who's a well known baseball supporter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River City Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 CFR would eliminate a date, and so would all other special events that they have as long standing accounts (Spring Gift Show, Fall Gift Show), plus concerts. The point is that while there would be dates available, an indoor team would be at the bottom of the pecking order and wouldn't have much leverage. The other issue is rent. I can't see Northlands reducing its rental rates for an indoor team when they know they don't need those bookings. And yes, part of the problem is Councillors like Ron Hayter, who although very hard working and community minded, favour their own pet projects like Baseball and Boxing. Nice guy though. Interestingly, former Ward 2 councillor Allan Bolstad is heading up the 2007 LOC. I've already sent the ASA an email offering my volunteer time, so it might be interesting seeing the impact of the tourney on city council. 2007 is an election year.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted November 10, 2005 Author Share Posted November 10, 2005 Not sure if anyone heard, but today the Alberta government gave $35 million to upgrade the Calgary Zoo. It seems any halfway decent project these days is getting funding here. An amount like $35 million could build nice little soccer parks for Calgary and Edmonton and still have some cash to spare. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoyleG Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 City council is planning to spend $42 million on a sports and recreational facility in the south end. Terwilligar I belive is the destination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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