Jason Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I don't think anyone else has mentioned this yet: http://www.24thminute.com/2010/06/fc-regina-really.html "There were two Canadian expansion presentations to the NASL this weekend at meetings in Montreal. One, Neil Malhotra and his Ottawa group, has been known for some time. The other, a group from Regina (yes, Saskatchewan) was a bit surprising." Anyone have more info on this? Matthew? Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerpro Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Imagine that Calgary and Winnipeg/Victoria also joined. A 4 team western Canadian division. In order for Edmonton to survive there must be more teams geographically closer to them. I'm convinced with the league makeup right now that travel costs will kill them in their inaugural season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Don't forget that the Whitecaps have a franchise slot in play. They could base it out of the Lower Mainland/Fraser Valley or put it in Kelowna (my recommendation). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerpro Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I would love for some Canadian teams to start smaller, and build up, like the way the Victoria Highlanders are doing. A first class organization finding their legs in the PDL and then hopefully building up to something bigger. Starting at a lower level and evolving, should lessen the chance of a 1 and done. I know that Calgary Mustangs/Storm are an exception to this, but I think the Highlanders are a blueprint that a few Canadian cities could follow. This talk of Regina playing a domed football stadium, and Edmonton having to regularly travel the east/ south east coast of the U.S worries me. If we could just get a few committed owners to start at a PDL or slightly above level in Western Canada, find their market and slowly build for 2 or 3 years, success would be possible over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Go Riders !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Starting at a lower level and evolving, should lessen the chance of a 1 and done. I know that Calgary Mustangs/Storm are an exception to this, but I think the Highlanders are a blueprint that a few Canadian cities could follow. Calgary jumped up way too early. Had we stayed in PDL for a while and gotten our fawn legs a little steadier and stronger, we may have stood a chance (It's at this point when my fellow Storm Chasers/Horse Power start giggling - we never had an ownership group that had a hope in hades). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jloome Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Local blogger Stephen LeRose is reporting the NASL says the blog report isn't true and they've had no Saskatchewan bid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alberta white Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Sound to me like someone thrown it out there to see what reaction it gets. intresting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 My guess would be that there is interest in a PDL team in Regina and somebody got their wires crossed a bit as this rumour was circulating. Most people grasp that soccer is still primarily a post-WWII immigrant thing in spectator terms and that TFC's success doesn't mean that all of Canadian society has suddenly become fanatical about soccer. Beyond that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if pro soccer teams have struggled to get off the grounds in cities like Calgary and Edmonton in recent years at this sort of level, Regina is probably not an optimal location for a new franchise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jloome Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 The franchises in Calgary and Edmonton struggled for the same reason USL struggled in Toronto long before the MLS got there: it's how it's run, not where it's located. Soccer can work anywhere in this country that has a large second-generation ex-pat base, i.e. any city over about 300,000 people. There may not be enough support in Regina, but I believe you can make it work in both Calgary and Edmonton, if the initial capital is there, the long-term plan for improvement is there and the club follows the lessons from Toronto and Seattle with respect to reaching out to fans with teams overseas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Toronto had something going for it at USL-D1 level that Edmonton and Calgary didn't in the shape of a stronger local soccer scene at the elite amateur and semi-pro level that made it significantly easier to field a reasonably competitive side while operating on a shoestring budget after fan support failed to materialize to the levels that had been budgeted for in the first season. That in addition to the willingness of the Hartrells to subsidize the operation was the key reason why the Lynx were able to stagger on year after year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFCRegina Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 I don't think anyone else has mentioned this yet: http://www.24thminute.com/2010/06/fc-regina-really.html "There were two Canadian expansion presentations to the NASL this weekend at meetings in Montreal. One, Neil Malhotra and his Ottawa group, has been known for some time. The other, a group from Regina (yes, Saskatchewan) was a bit surprising." Anyone have more info on this? Matthew? Jason Disaster...it would be a disaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFCRegina Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Go Riders !! Haha, I'm surprised they haven't run you out of winnipeg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerpro Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 There are tons of Rider fans in this province (Manitoba) as someone who moved here from the East, I couldn't believe it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jloome Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Disaster...it would be a disaster. Is there any second-generation base there TFCR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootmaster_44 Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Disaster...it would be a disaster. Yeah I don't see a huge fanbase for soccer in this province. I think in maybe 15 or so years the youth playing soccer might grow into a soccer fanbase. Right now soccer is very definitely seen as a foreign game and there is a tiny percentage of the population in Saskatoon or Regina that would attend games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFCRegina Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Is there any second-generation base there TFCR? Maybe like 10 guys. Lots of people played as youth but it's Gridiron country. The attitude towards soccer is one of pure hatred among the masses. If it's questionable to succeed in Edmonton, the last thing we want is a team in Regina. You'd have a better shot at Saskatoon, where the Riders, although popular, are less prominant in the city. This is largely because the Riders are a Regina based team and the members of the team are usually found around the city, unlike in Saskatoon. There's always raw feelings in Saskatoon about how the team plays in a 'marginal' (quotations because Saskatoon is arguably just as bad although it's up for debate) city like Regina, undeserving of the team...etc. Soccer doesn't have much chance of success in Saskatchewan unless it's at the semi-pro level, I'm afraid. But if you're gonna do it, do it in Toon Town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolando Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I sincerely think there is a better chance of a team called FC Vagina entering NASL than there is a club from Regina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rico Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 well if the roughrider put in the money i think they will do fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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