Victoria to NASL?

[Richard]

USSF is muttering about requiring the majority owner have a net worth of $20 million minimum, does the Highlanders ownership meet that criterion. Also, the number on non-USA teams in D2 may be limited to a max of 25% of the total which could put a crimp in Canadian hopes.

[Lord Bob]

I don't know how rich the Campbells are, but my conservative guess from what I've heard is "more money than God".

[Blue and White Army]

I don't know how rich the Campbells are, but my conservative guess from what I've heard is "more money than God".

That's a bad sign. A transient on the street with a nickel in his hand has more money than God, Allah, and Buddha put together.

[alberta white]

Alright that did make sense, but are you sure our city wouldn't embrace an MLS team? I have been wearing my Edmonton scarf around the city and not only do people know who they are, but they have expressed interest in getting out to one of the games. Remember the old adage, if you build it they will come. Just look at how soccer exploded in philly this year.

and on the side note for alberta white; are the eddies supposed to be Edmonton? because every time I try and figure that out Iron Maiden starts playing in my head.

NOW THEN! Eddie would make a GREAT! mascot, complete with (Rubber) Axe of course.

Anyone got a mask to take wear at the next game. Sure we could get one online:D

Actually when i think of it i'm sure Dicko (Bruce Dickison) and the boys use to play a fair bit of soccer. Someone should send them a scarf and try and get them on the Famous Fans list.

[strobe_z]

We shouldn't hi-jack the Victoria to NASL thread, but I have to say I like "the Eddies"... either as a FC Edmonton nickname or for the ESG. Perhaps we should discuss this more in our own thread.

[tovan1]

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/100805589.html

After two seasons, Highlanders FC eyeing bigger stadiums

By Andrew Farris - Victoria News

Published: August 16, 2010 3:00 PM

Updated: August 16, 2010 4:18 PM

Looking back on their just-completed second season, the Victoria Highlanders FC have a lot to hang their hats on, but growing pains loom on the horizon.

The soccer team ended its season Aug. 11, out of the Premier Development League’s playoffs. The club still managed a positive record (7-6-3) in the highly competitive Northwest Division. The best news, perhaps, is that interest continues to grow. Average attendance was 1,647 at Langford’s Bear Mountain Stadium – topping the division, and fourth among the PDL’s 70 teams.

“It went very well, but not well enough,” Highlanders GM Drew Finerty said, noting the clubs talent pool has grown. “Our No. 1 objective is to win.”

The 2010 season was hobbled by absences. The team’s two young English players and “great leaders,” Max Wragg and Callum Harrison, missed long stretches of the schedule. As well, the team’s talented goaltender Trevor Stiles only played two games due to a concussion.

Eighteen-year-old Brandon Watson bravely stood in goal for Stiles and stayed “very consistent, very calm,” goaltending coach Bob Stankov said. In the six games Stiles played, the team won four including two shutouts.

The development of players like Wragg and Harrison -- who will likely return next year -- as well as Jamar Dixon, Craig Robertson and a host of local reserves looking to move up to the first team, means season three is looking bright.

“We’re finally starting to see the fruits of our labours trying to develop players,” Finerty said.

In fact, the future could be a different story altogether as the young club’s ambitions extend beyond the amateur PDL. The Highlanders are intent on going pro “When the time is right,” said Finerty.

That would mean either climbing the United Soccer Leagues ladder to the professional Second Division, or into the resurrected North American Soccer League. There are some major obstacles to that happening.

For starters pro soccer in North America is in a state of flux.

It might be some time before soccer’s governing bodies in North America decide what shape pro soccer, especially on the West Coast, will take.

The other major impediment is that to be viable a pro team’s home stadium needs at least 2,500 permanent seats. Langford’s Bear Mountain Stadium has less than half that number.

Finnerty said that leaves the Highlanders with two choices: expand Bear Mountain and double its permanent seating capacity, or move somewhere else in Greater Victoria.

“We’re considering all our options,” he said.

Langford councillor Lanny Seaton believes they should expand the stadium.

“There’s room for the expansion,” he said. “We’d like to see them stay.”

But as to who would foot the bill for enlarging the two-year-old stadium is a question Seaton isn’t ready to answer.

However, there are drawbacks to extending Bear Mountain Stadium beyond its current capacity, Finerty said.

“We’re hearing a lot of people giving us feedback saying they aren’t willing to get in the traffic snarls to come out to the West Shore.”

He estimated that a move to Royal Athletic Park in downtown Victoria could go so far as to double the attendance at games, essential if the team is to survive in the pro leagues.

Councillor Seaton offered a different perspective.

“For years and years, the people on the West Shore have gone into Victoria for all the events. There’s no reason it can’t go the other way.”

Aside from Royal Athletic Park, the only other stadium in the region that’s large enough to accommodate a pro team is Centennial Stadium in Saanich.

But it, like RAP, would have to undergo extensive renovations to food and beverage concessions, dressing rooms, and parking.

“We like to be loyal (to Langford) but we also have a business to run, we have an owner who has invested a lot of money and is losing a lot of money,” Finerty said.

Given the fluctuating pro soccer environment, the team will likely remain in the PDL for next season, but Finerty said they hope to come to a conclusion on the stadium question before that, possibly “by the end of the year.”

sports@vicnews.com

[ted]

Thanks for spotting the article. RAP all the way!