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A capital idea: Pro soccer in Victoria


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A capital idea: Pro soccer in Victoria

Business group tries to land USL franchise, rival for Whitecaps

Cleve Dheensaw, CanWest News Service

Published: Friday, June 29, 2007

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VICTORIA - A group of soccer enthusiasts led by a Victoria businessman is interested in bringing a United Soccer League team to the B.C. capital.

Businessman Alex Campbell Jr. is spearheading the Victoria USL bid and said a pro team could be in place at Royal Athletic Park as soon as the 2008 season. The 12-team USL, the second-tier pro soccer league in North America below Major League Soccer, already includes potential Victoria rivals such as the Vancouver Whitecaps, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Montreal Impact.

"The USL is a good, strong league and a good fit," said Campbell.

Font: ****Matt Weibe, the USL's managing director of club development and communications, will be in Victoria on Saturday to inspect the facilities at Royal Athletic Park and will stay Sunday to watch the opening games of Group F in the Under-20 World Cup.

Campbell would not divulge the other members of the potential Victoria ownership group, but was scheduled to meet Thursday with Len Barrie, CEO and president of the Bear Mountain golf resort.

"When we first contacted the USL, they said 'no' because Victoria was too small a market," Campbell said.

"But then we brought up that Victoria has pro hockey."

The Victoria Salmon Kings, a Vancouver Canucks affiliate in the ECHL, averaged 4,248 fans per game last season.

"We stayed in touch and kept at it," Campbell said, "and the USL really started coming around and liking what we had to say, to the point where we're getting an ownership group together for entry possibly as soon as the 2008 season. But there's a lot of work that needs to get done, yet."

Campbell said the Salmon Kings have proved that pro sports can work in Victoria and said a USL team would need 4,000 to 4,500 fans per game to succeed. The USL average per-game attendance last season was 4,667. Average 2006 attendance for the three nearest USL franchises was 5,085 for Vancouver, 3,826 for Seattle and 5,575 for Portland.

Campbell said the USL has canvassed the Whitecaps, Sounders and Timbers about the idea of a Victoria team and "there was general interest among those three teams in having Victoria join."

"I think it would work," said Campbell.

"Victorians, and fans all over the Island, are ready for this and would love to see the Whitecaps, Sounders, Portland and Montreal come through to play."

Victoria mayor Alan Lowe began the speculation that pro soccer was potentially afoot when he said two weeks ago the new pitch installed at Royal Athletic Park for the U-20 World Cup was permanent and would stay.

"I understand the (USL) will be here Saturday ... the city will do what it can to assist making pro soccer happen," Lowe said Wednesday.

"We're very supportive of another pro team coming to our city and giving our citizens the opportunity to watch pro-calibre sports."

The last pro soccer team in Victoria was the Vistas. The team played two seasons, 1989 and '90, in the now-defunct Canadian Soccer League.

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

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Ahh, this is the article that states they need 4,000-4,500 to succeed. Does this mean if they don't draw those numbers that they'll consider it a failure and close up shop? I'd be more confident in ownership if they said they expect crowds in the 2,000 range and try to build from there.

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quote:Originally posted by Krammerhead

Ahh, this is the article that states they need 4,000-4,500 to succeed. Does this mean if they don't draw those numbers that they'll consider it a failure and close up shop? I'd be more confident in ownership if they said they expect crowds in the 2,000 range and try to build from there.

These numbers concern me as well. What is their definition of success? Are they talking about making a profit for the investors or simply building a long-term club that can survive without going back to investors for more money every year?

IMO it would be possible to reach 4K+ in 5-10 years of successful operation in a well-run league. As anyone who has been on this board for any amount of time will note however, there are a lot of "ifs" implied in that statement.

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You're right on Ted. I think people are getting a little amped up because of the U20's which has drawn INCREDIBLE interest in Victoria. That city has always been a one-off big event town. Soccer Qualifiers, the Commonwealth games etc were well attended.

I do think things have changed significantly in the soccer landscape since the Vistas. The ECHL and USL are very similar.

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quote:Originally posted by Calgary Boomer

I do think things have changed significantly in the soccer landscape since the Vistas. The ECHL and USL are very similar.

They are also vastly different as well. ECHL is hockey, and we all know about hockey and Canadians. It also doesn't hurt their attendance numbers when the ECHL team plays in a brand spanking new arena with all of the modern amenities that come with it. Having said that I do think a team in Victoria could be a success, but not if that success is measured by drawing 4,000-4,500 per game right off the bat. I have seen a few posts on different boards saying that they certainly couldn't draw worse crowds than Miami and California. Of course the big difference there is that Miami and California have owners with deep pockets who probably aren't expecting to draw crowds over 4,000 a game.

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quote:Originally posted by Krammerhead

They are also vastly different as well. ECHL is hockey, and we all know about hockey and Canadians. It also doesn't hurt their attendance numbers when the ECHL team plays in a brand spanking new arena with all of the modern amenities that come with it. Having said that I do think a team in Victoria could be a success, but not if that success is measured by drawing 4,000-4,500 per game right off the bat. I have seen a few posts on different boards saying that they certainly couldn't draw worse crowds than Miami and California. Of course the big difference there is that Miami and California have owners with deep pockets who probably aren't expecting to draw crowds over 4,000 a game.

The SOFMC was built to brign the WHL to Victoria. They got what many consider a second-rate league comapred to the WHL. Even if it is professional.

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The Thrifty's people and Bear Mountain folks are not poor. But what would really make this work...is Steve Nash. Big local name, rich, a guy who loves sports, and is knowlegable about Victoria and Pro-sports. He'd be a great person to have in an ownership group, and with Martin a USL vet, they'd maybe be able to avoid some of the pitfalls of the past.

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quote:Originally posted by Calgary Boomer

The Thrifty's people and Bear Mountain folks are not poor.

But do they have deep pockets? Are they willing to lose money each season?

quote:He'd be a great person to have in an ownership group, and with Martin a USL vet, they'd maybe be able to avoid some of the pitfalls of the past.

One of the pitfalls to be avoided is unrealistic attendance expectations off the bat.

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You're right. However, I would have never guessed that Victorians would have averaged 4500 fans for an ECHL team that features such high profile teams as the Idaho Steelheads and Alaska Aces. This is AA hockey. Sure they have a new arena, but it's not that great of an arena to be honest.

I agree that Campbell Jr & Co. should expect less, and be happy with more. The potential owners are far more equipped than the group that brought the Vistas in. And as far as wanting to lose money every year...some people need write-downs. It's one of the reasons Greg Kerfoot is involved with the Whitecaps.

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I posted my reply (text below) to todays story on the re-vamped www.victoriasoccer.net.

Opinion: Do the Numbers Make Sense?

Tuesday, July 03, 2007 - As the party gets under way at Royal Athletic Park several stories have appeared about a possible pro team for Victoria but do the numbers add up?

At the games on Sunday the topic of a potential USL team in Victoria was clearly on the minds of many spectators. Articles published before the games began in the Times-Colonist encouraged speculation and gave some numbers.

Those numbers however, are questionable. To his credit the Times-Colonist's Cleve Dheensaw has started asking Tough questions about whether Victoria can host a pro soccer team.

beneath the superimposed sheen of the U-20 World Cup, the currently primped-up Royal Athletic Park is a venue with some serious concerns once the FIFA circus leaves town.

But perhaps Cleve needs to ask more questions such as:

* Do they really think 40-50% of the people in the stands on Sunday will come to USL games week in and week out?

* Does the 4,500 attendance target make for corporate profitability or simple survival of a competitive team?

* Will the city negotiate a deal for control of the park (and attendant revenue streams) or will the team be a tenant?

* When the USL rep speaks of a Victoria-Whitecaps rivalry is he so deluded to think that the Whitecaps will be playing anywhere other than in the MLS when their stadium is built?

* Why are they talking about 4,000+ as if that is a minimum number when more than half the league averaged less than that - in larger markets - in 2006?

There is an opportunity here but Victoria's fans have long memories and an undercurrent of mistrust so Mr. Campbell and his group might do well to shy away from big claims and concentrate on realistic numbers.

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quote:* When the USL rep speaks of a Victoria-Whitecaps rivalry is he so deluded to think that the Whitecaps will be playing anywhere other than in the MLS when their stadium is built?

I think they are deluded when they keep saying Montreal will be a big rival.

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