wpgscrfan Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 ALLIANCE TICKET SALES TOP 4,000 FOR WINNIPEG DEBUT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 27, 2007 Winnipeg, MB - The Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League Winnipeg Alliance FC announced today ticket sales for the scheduled April 1 Showcase Season doubleheader have surpassed expectations. The team has sold more than 4,000 tickets leading team officials to expect a crowd in excess 6,000 when the team makes its MTS Centre debut versus the Edmonton Drillers. "It is indicative that Winnipeggers will support pro soccer." said Bill Stewart, team owner. “Winnipeg sport fans have long proven they will support the local teams. Look at the success of the Blue Bombers, the Moose and the Goldeyes.” Game tickets are available through Ticketmaster by calling 780-3333 or visiting www.ticketmaster.ca online. For group tickets, or to inquire about corporate sponsorship, please visit the Winnipeg Alliance FC website, www.alliancefc.net or telephone 204.925.5926. The Winnipeg Alliance FC is one of the founding members of the Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League. The CMISL is comprised of four cornerstone clubs including Calgary United FC, Edmonton Drillers and Saskatoon Accelerators, who have the long-term goal of facilitating a successful re-birth of professional indoor soccer in Canada. Additional Information J. William (Bill) Hogan Marketing, Communication and Media Winnipeg Alliance 204.510.7155 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin McMillan Posted March 28, 2007 Share Posted March 28, 2007 It's nice that the Winnipeg group appears to be putting in more of an effort into thing thing than the other groups... but after hearing that Edmonton needed 10K to break even, and Calgary was expecting 5-6K for theirs... well, I'll take all ticket sale claims with a grain of salt (the size of a hockey puck). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrpopulistfutebol Posted March 28, 2007 Share Posted March 28, 2007 This is amazing. I am surprised that 4000 tickets are sold and possibly up to 6000 people could be at the phone booth on Sunday. It did not look good about three weeks ago when only 1000 tickets have been sold. A few weeks ago, IMO, I though if this game got at least 3000-3500, then that would ahve been acceptable. But 4000. Good Stuff. Bascially this proves that Winnipeg will hopefully be the cornerstone of the CMISL. The owners of the CMISL will have a lot to chew on the next few months with regards to going to a full blown schedule for 2008; a quasi full schedule, or just continue the "showcase" season for 2008. It looks like a good chunk of the soccer community is rallying around the Alliance and CMISL. Add to the fact the Winnipeg logo is the best looking logo in the CMISL, doesnt hurt either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted March 28, 2007 Share Posted March 28, 2007 Hmmm. We'll see. Very curious to know how many tickets have gone out on-the-cheap to the local football community. Still, if they get 6,000 paying customers on Sunday I going to admit that's impressive. Will fill up the lower sections nicely and give the event a sense of occasion as it were. Can't make up my mind whether to cab it or no. World of Wheels at the convention centre this weekend and a reasonable crowd at MTS might make parking a bit tighter than usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpgscrfan Posted March 28, 2007 Author Share Posted March 28, 2007 Cheeta, If you don't have a ticket yet, you can get a ticket to the game and catch a party bus to and from the MTS Centre from Dylan O'Connor's Pub on Pembina Hwy for $20. I think the team is going back to Dylan's after the game to celebrate (hopefully in a better mood than on Friday night). Call Adam at Sweat Shack (soccer retailer) if you are interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted March 28, 2007 Share Posted March 28, 2007 Sounds like a pretty sweet deal but maybe next time. Always up for a bev or two but unless something changes I should have a pair of 14 year olds in tow so it kind of puts the brakes on Dylan O'Connor's. Shuttle package is a grand idea. But Tavern United (odviously) and Shannon's are just too close to ignore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrpopulistfutebol Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 I have just watched Global Sports on Channel 12 in Winnipeg. They had a nice 2 minute feature on the Alliance-Drillers game this sunday @ the MTS Centre. They said that just under 5000 tickets have been sold. The owner Bill Stewart said that it is realistic between 6000-7000 tickets could be sold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrpopulistfutebol Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 An article from today's Winnipeg Sun, just basically discussing, their is a good chance that the league will actually get off the ground for this November possibly. http://www.winnipegsun.com/Sports/OtherSports/2007/03/30/3870089-sun.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 Any reports from people who went to the game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin McMillan Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 From what I've heard on the field Edmonton took both games (5-1, 2-1)... but the big story was in the stands. Announced attendance of 7,727... more than the prior three games combined. Very Impressive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 That attendance sounds pretty good. Maybe the lower ticket prices (at least compared to Calgary and Edmonton) had something to do with it. But that is nearly the whole lower bowl (at least with a hockey configuration). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin McMillan Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 quote:Originally posted by jonovision That attendance sounds pretty good. Maybe the lower ticket prices (at least compared to Calgary and Edmonton) had something to do with it. But that is nearly the whole lower bowl (at least with a hockey configuration). I'm sure that helped, but I think the big thing was the Winnipeg group actually put some marketing push behind this thing... everyone else just kind of did the bare minimum and hoped people showed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrpopulistfutebol Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I was at that game. Winnipeg lost both games. I have to agree the story was the stands. Never would I have though 7727 people would fill a hockey arena to watch an indoor soccer game. Perhaps, this is a good sign of things to come for the alliance. The fact is a professional indoor soccer game got almost as much as a Manitoba Moose game is something. It is incredible. Like I mentioned earlier, Winnipeg lost both games 6-1 and 2-1. Winnipeg put a much more spirited effort in game two. Very interesting some of the rule differences between the indoor and outdoor game in particular penalizing players in the penalty box for things like tripping, charging, unsportsmanlike conduct etc. I did have a massive problem with them blaring loud insipid music in the first game. I hated it. The second game, they either had not music at all or the music volume was very low indeed. I am hoping the CMISL will be back for a real season next year. I think a Winnipeg-Edmonton soccer rivalry would be a great thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDO Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I was at the game and I thought the atmosphere was unreal! That being said I thought that the Winnipeg team looked very nervous and unprepared. 7700 people for an exhibition game is great. The Wpg kit looked great and the whole day seemed to flow smoothly. Thought Jordan Goetting of Lucania was the man of the match for Wpg and Sam Lam was awful sharp for Edm. Winnipeg was terrible in the first game and it really looked like Edm let up in game #2. The coaching of the Wpg team left alot to be desired IMO. Not only that but I didn't even recognize 3/4 of the players on Wpgs team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrpopulistfutebol Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 quote:Originally posted by IDO I was at the game and I thought the atmosphere was unreal! That being said I thought that the Winnipeg team looked very nervous and unprepared. 7700 people for an exhibition game is great. The Wpg kit looked great and the whole day seemed to flow smoothly. Thought Jordan Goetting of Lucania was the man of the match for Wpg and Sam Lam was awful sharp for Edm. Winnipeg was terrible in the first game and it really looked like Edm let up in game #2. The coaching of the Wpg team left alot to be desired IMO. Not only that but I didn't even recognize 3/4 of the players on Wpgs team. I have to agree with you IDO. Winnipeg was pretty bad the first game. A lot better the second game. The coaching of the Winnipeg team could have been better. Mr. Goetting was great for Winnipeg. While Wolde Harris, IMO left a lot to be desired. I dont think he was (Wolde Harris) use to the indoor game. Rarely did "Bling Bling" finish off anything. I did not recognized almost most of Winnipeg's players except for Wolde Harris. Here is hoping Winnipeg plays better (whenever) they play next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sKriSh Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 Wow 7000+ attendance. This league may last after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 quote:Originally posted by jonovision That attendance sounds pretty good. Maybe the lower ticket prices (at least compared to Calgary and Edmonton) had something to do with it. Probably. But there were a Hell of a lot of kids at the game so there must have been a distribution scheme of some sorts. That being said we got round later and had to have been 40th back to buy tickets so the buying public were walking up (ended up with free ones by the way, SCORE!). Still made the kickoff as they had a little ceremony before the 1st game. Distribution scheme or not they had to have sold a good amount of tickets no matter what. Many of the box suites were occupied to varied degrees as well. THAT I found very interesting. Should also mention the Alliance was pretty damned organized. They had a goodly number of people selling charity 50/50 tickets. A single leaf glossy line up sheet was distributed. A group of volunteers painting kids faces and twisting baloons and what not. A couple of well stocked booths selling hats and t-shirts. All came off very, very, well I'd say. By the by, the sold a Hell of a lot of shirts. Bloody things were everywhere. Wee Elf bought one! So anyway, good on them. Looked a real team effort and somebody had to organize it and they did. So again, well done. As to the game... Schooled. Edmonton schooled Winnipeg. Both games although the 2nd game was much closer I don't think it was ever in doubt. You got the distinct impression that at least one of Edmonton's lines was probably made up of one of their elite indoor club teams while Winnipeg was put together from all directions. Does that sound fair? It's ment to be. Lion's effort from the Alliance boys, very game, but they were in over their heads in more than one way. All nerves the 1st match. Understandable. A very new experience for all of them on Sunday. Agreed. Goetting did very well. A rare bright light out there. But I think Wolde can adjust to this funny game. He was already towards the 2nd half of the 2nd game and once the boys learn to support each other better (learning the indoor movements) I think we could see much more from him. Didn't mind the music once they reduced it to "background elevator" levels. Let the crowd get a little more into it as it were. And all things considered the crowd wasn't that bad, eh? Enjoyed myself. Would certainly go again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueNorth Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I attended the game yesterday as well and was overall impressed by the organization of the event and the overall level of professionalism. The merchandise they were selling looked good as well and it did seem like they were selling a fair bit. The quality of the Winnipeg side did leave alot to be desired. They looked pretty lost out there, despite playing two games last weekend in Saskatoon. The Edmonton side really seemed to back off the second game as well, and left a few of there better players at home. The turf was pretty awful to look at too, and required repairs on it throughout the games. These two articles from the Winnipeg Sun seem to be pretty good summaries of the day: http://www.winnipegsun.com/Sports/OtherSports/2007/04/02/3896176-sun.html http://www.winnipegsun.com/Sports/OtherSports/2007/04/02/3896178-sun.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpfan68 Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I was at the game with three of my adult children and everyone agreed that they would be back, even at the full price of $20. The rules seem a reasonable compromise for taking an outdoor game indoors, BUT stop allowing the goalie to pick up a back pass. It makes defense very easy to play. I don't like the use of the boards because it changes the game to much, but we will have to put up with that in Canada because of the Hockey mentality. I agree that we don't need music during the play. At breaks it is ok. I am a bit concerned about the level of physical play. The refs let too much go and we might expect to see the same level of agression in youth play. Again too much of the hockey idea of checking, interference etc. Does anyone know how much the players are being paid? What is the breakeven attendance? Could they use field turf which simulates grass better? Should they prohibit a three line pass to prevent "cherry picking"? They seem to allow sliding tackles which are prohibited in league indoor play. Any answers out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.