FC Edmonton: a litmus test for Canadian soccer

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

A blog entry examining why there are reasons for optimism that pro soccer might finally succeed in Edmonton this time and exploring what the wider implications would be for Canadian soccer if that were to happen.

http://canadiansocceropinion.blogspot.com/2011/04/fc-edmonton-litmus-test-for-canadian.html

Over the past forty years going back to the early years of the North American Soccer League, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal have usually been able to field some sort of pro soccer side almost every summer in a top tier league either in a North American or Canadian context. One of the key problems faced by Canadian soccer has always been moving beyond those three cities where the sport is now reasonably firmly entrenched as a spectator sport into the other cities which are successfully able to sustain pro teams in the context of the CFL and NHL. Edmonton has always been the city outside of the big three where pro soccer has appeared to be most likely to make the breakthrough so if FC Edmonton can't make a go of it in the North American Soccer League this summer despite the recent progress in an MLS context many people will probably conclude that soccer remains a niche interest followed primarily by the recent immigrant demographic, which is concentrated to a large extent in the GTA, lower mainland BC and Montreal.

Pro soccer first surfaced in Edmonton during the Pele boom years of the late 70s with a semi-pro side called the Black Gold. They were soon replaced by an NASL team called the Edmonton Drillers after the Oilers' owner Peter Pocklington bought the Oakland Stompers franchise from Milan Mandaric and moved it to Alberta. The Drillers lasted for four seasons at times drawing crowds of up to 10,000 but were one of the franchises to quickly fall by the wayside as the recession of the early 80s and inflated player salaries due to competition from the MISL slowly and the unsustainable spending of the New York Cosmos led to the NASL's relatively rapid death spiral. Along the way the NASL's indoor title was won in 1981, however, and subsequently Pocklington resurrected the Drillers in the context of the now defunct National Professional Soccer League, which eventually folded due to an unsustainable economic model and competition for top North American players from the newly emerged MLS but at times drew highly encouraging paid attendances of between 5,000 and 10,000. In contrast post-original NASL outdoor teams like the Brickmen and Aviators of the original CSL and USL-D1 struggled to make the same sort of headway in terms of fan support and soon folded.

So why is there reason to believe that things will be different this time?...

[1867]

A blog entry examining why there are reasons for optimism that pro soccer might finally succeed in Edmonton this time and exploring what the wider implications would be for Canadian soccer if that were to happen.

http://canadiansocceropinion.blogspot.com/2011/04/fc-edmonton-litmus-test-for-canadian.html

Over the past forty years going back to the early years of the North American Soccer League, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal have usually been able to field some sort of pro soccer side almost every summer in a top tier league either in a North American or Canadian context. One of the key problems faced by Canadian soccer has always been moving beyond those three cities where the sport is now reasonably firmly entrenched as a spectator sport into the other cities which are successfully able to sustain pro teams in the context of the CFL and NHL. Edmonton has always been the city outside of the big three where pro soccer has appeared to be most likely to make the breakthrough so if FC Edmonton can't make a go of it in the North American Soccer League this summer despite the recent progress in an MLS context many people will probably conclude that soccer remains a niche interest followed primarily by the recent immigrant demographic, which is concentrated to a large extent in the GTA, lower mainland BC and Montreal.

Pro soccer first surfaced in Edmonton during the Pele boom years of the late 70s with a semi-pro side called the Black Gold. They were soon replaced by an NASL team called the Edmonton Drillers after the Oilers' owner Peter Pocklington bought the Oakland Stompers franchise from Milan Mandaric and moved it to Alberta. The Drillers lasted for four seasons at times drawing crowds of up to 10,000 but were one of the franchises to quickly fall by the wayside as the recession of the early 80s and inflated player salaries due to competition from the MISL slowly and the unsustainable spending of the New York Cosmos led to the NASL's relatively rapid death spiral. Along the way the NASL's indoor title was won in 1981, however, and subsequently Pocklington resurrected the Drillers in the context of the now defunct National Professional Soccer League, which eventually folded due to an unsustainable economic model and competition for top North American players from the newly emerged MLS but at times drew highly encouraging paid attendances of between 5,000 and 10,000. In contrast post-original NASL outdoor teams like the Brickmen and Aviators of the original CSL and USL-D1 struggled to make the same sort of headway in terms of fan support and soon folded.

So why is there reason to believe that things will be different this time?...

I hope they do succeed-they have a good owner-good team/soccer structure -good local connection-but the deck is certainly stacked agaisnt them. Dodgy league-brutal travel schedule-abysmal marketing-cynical and soccer shy local media-association with the dodgiest soccer association in the province/same association that helped sink the Aviators. If they succeed it will be because of a good structure-improved marketing and patience and support of the many true soccer fans in the central alberta area.

I wish them the best. Without a level 2 league and teams like FC Edmonton the development of a pool of top 19 to 23 year olds will be impossible in Canada.

[strobe_z]

A good blog... even handed and shows why there's reason for cautious optimism. I especially liked how it was pointed out that successful teams like Montreal and Vancouver aren't overnight successes. A good job to remind people that 10 years ago 2000 fans was a good night.

Despite the failures here, I believe there's a reason it keeps coming back... and that reason is that the opportunity exists to do it right. Have the Fath brothers made some mistakes? Absolutely, but I'm am encouraged by their willingness to learn from them and their continued statements of being in it for the long haul. Terry Jones' articles in the Sun often leave a bad taste in my mouth - one example is that he never fails to point out how much money the Fath group has sunk into this team already. You're simply not going to get buy in right away.

One thing I think they have started to do right is to actually engage the "hard core" fan base. I told them at the initial press conference that THOSE are the fans that will be out supporting the team in the rain/snow while the Oilers are playing in a game 7 playoff match (really, it could happen!). You have to strike a careful balance between the "soccer mom" crowd and the supporters, but the soccer mom crowd is a base of shifting sand. What you really need is to convert the hockey fans and the "old world footie" fanatics.

Maybe we should create a task force using ForeverThursday and Alberta White as reps of both those demographics. The key is to create atmosphere... to teach the Hockey guys that Soccer and Hockey are not incompatible and that you can love both (as I'm sure almost all of us can attest to), and to show the "old world" crowd that, while it might not be the same as at home, our hearts are in the right place and we're willing to learn. One way to do that is not to screw around too much with the formula that's made football the world's game. You can't make up silly new rules and try to "north americanize" the sport (one thing I'm very glad both MLS and NASL have kept to a minimum). That never works because a)it puts off the real fans of the game and b)it never goes far enough to avoid some confusion from the newbies. One of the great feelings is figuring out something new... and that comes through education. Watering it down just creates unpalatable broth that no one wants to eat. It brought a smile to my lips hearing ForeverThursday explaining to his buddy that TFC v. 10-men EFC was like an NHL team playing an AHL team with a man in the box the whole game. Not 100% correct analogy, but enough to set a frame of reference.

While I'm at it, I think there needs to be an education strategy around the fact that north america is not the top of the soccer pyramid... but that's ok. It's one thing to understand that mentally, but in NA ALL of the other popular sports boast the top league in the world. People need to get their heads around the fact that we won't have the top players in the world, but there's nothing wrong with that. I've already heard people complain about the level of play (i.e. it's not the EPL or La Liga etc.). That will also be a process... especially for the NASL.

[fishman]

As someone highly invested in the soccer community, I can say without reservation that it is critical that FC Edmonton succeed where so many others have failed.

To succeed, a number of hurdles need to be cleared; some must be met quickly while others are longer-term challenges.

Firstly, marketing efforts must be directed to the demographic most likely to buy-in - people who already know and love football. Soccer moms and dads are a piece of the puzzle, but must not be the foundation (something tried with the Aviators debacle). This is well-known by some of the FCE people; the issue for them is to how best reach out to those that already follow EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, etc.. One way might be to get the EDSA and EIYSA not to schedule matches at the same time as the NASL home dates. Another is to create an area for the ESG and other loud beer guzzlers to congregate before, during and after the home matches - call it a tailgate idea. This is something they are discussing.

Another area of concern is atmosphere...chants, scarves, drums and the like help create an environment in which people want to be involved. Foote - at 3,500ish seats is a decent sized venue if temporary seats are brought in to get it up to ~5,500. Fill the place, make tickets scarce, create demand. Perhaps the U of A would be interested in sharing Foote, if the Fath Group put in FIFA Two-Star Field Turf. The kind where lines can be easily removed (like Commonwealth). Building improved stands on the east side would be welcome, too.

Foote is a decent location...on the LRT line, somewhat central (south-central, anyway). The NASL schedule doesn't run into the CIS football / soccer schedule too much (an overlap of about 3ish weeks).

Other issues abound, I suppose...but initially focusing marketing efforts on the right demographic, reaching out to the local associations and finding a SSS solution would go a long way towards firmly establishing Edmonton as a viable home for Division II professional soccer.

[jloome]

As someone highly invested in the soccer community, I can say without reservation that it is critical that FC Edmonton succeed where so many others have failed.

To succeed, a number of hurdles need to be cleared; some must be met quickly while others are longer-term challenges.

Firstly, marketing efforts must be directed to the demographic most likely to buy-in - people who already know and love football. Soccer moms and dads are a piece of the puzzle, but must not be the foundation (something tried with the Aviators debacle). This is well-known by some of the FCE people; the issue for them is to how best reach out to those that already follow EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, etc.. One way might be to get the EDSA and EIYSA not to schedule matches at the same time as the NASL home dates. Another is to create an area for the ESG and other loud beer guzzlers to congregate before, during and after the home matches - call it a tailgate idea. This is something they are discussing.

Another area of concern is atmosphere...chants, scarves, drums and the like help create an environment in which people want to be involved. Foote - at 3,500ish seats is a decent sized venue if temporary seats are brought in to get it up to ~5,500. Fill the place, make tickets scarce, create demand. Perhaps the U of A would be interested in sharing Foote, if the Fath Group put in FIFA Two-Star Field Turf. The kind where lines can be easily removed (like Commonwealth). Building improved stands on the east side would be welcome, too.

Foote is a decent location...on the LRT line, somewhat central (south-central, anyway). The NASL schedule doesn't run into the CIS football / soccer schedule too much (an overlap of about 3ish weeks).

Other issues abound, I suppose...but initially focusing marketing efforts on the right demographic, reaching out to the local associations and finding a SSS solution would go a long way towards firmly establishing Edmonton as a viable home for Division II professional soccer.

It's a start. They have a lot of small, niggling things too that need work, things like their own match report having three major errors in it, including one completely incorrect goal scorer. It reads like the person who wrote it wasn't even watching the game. And their web presence continues to be amateurish.

They have prospects if they address most of what you mentioned. One Key: if they can get a good campaign going for a stadium with some conceptual images, something tangible for the hardcores to consider, some possibilities. Pull together a few dozen images of existing facilities in the ideal vein and get a CAD expert to draft some sketches.

[strobe_z]

I have a feeling (based on almost nothing more than my gut and one conversation at a pub) that Kowalchuk's departure may have had something to do with a difference in philosophy. It was quite clear to me that the Kowalchuk strategy hinged on the soccer moms - largely based on experience in Baseball. To me this was indicative of the problem... naivete about the market. There are tons of disgruntled Oilers fans out there who don't even know how great a time hey could be having at the games (although there were three of them at Commonwealth on Wednesday... wearing plastic ice cream buckets on their heads and carrying wooden spoons for some strange reason).

The stadium issue is the single biggest one... soccer games nead atmosphere, and you only get that from chanting crazed fans. Hockey games with the glass around the boards which creates a physical and psychological barrier between the fans and the players. Baseball's slower pace lends itself well to "lazy days of summer"... but soccer is as much about the atmosphere in the stands as what's going on on the pitch. You need to have a stadium that can create some of that atmosphere.

One thing I was glad about is that no one told us to sit down at a match yet... something that I've experienced many times at Canada matches. However, we did have one concerned mom come down at Commonwealth and tell us to watch the language. Classic response from Sergio was "but... well... it's in the songs...."

[jedinathan]

Seriously? Some mom came and talked to us? I totally missed that... And honestly there was only the one chant ( by he way, props of the night go to Tobi for the new york/Toronto improvisation!).

I'm pretty sure the boys with the ice cream buckets didn't think there would be drums. It was awesome to see the crowd grow during the game. Exactly what is needed in Edmonton. Im very hopeful that the boys can trun in a clean, dominating effort on Sunday.

Lines did suck, merch table was unorganized but hear are problems that can be easily fixed. I've seen a lot of the buses with the FCE ads on them lately and I was struck by the different demographics that are on them. For example I know there is one with a younger female (think 20-22ish). Awesome way of going for both the younger females (your cool if you support fce!!!) and the younger males (there's hot girls at fce games!!). Another has an middle aged woman (45-60ish) on it, lending itself more to the family and soccer mom crowd. The billboards also seemed to be aimed at the hardcore ex-pat crowd. All in all, I think the campaign is a good one, just came a little late. Good to see the change from last yearthough, and the more widespread acceptance of all fans of soccer nthe ESG is asked for it's opinion and feedback on a regular basis instead of ignored. As much as I was skeptical of PMI, I gotta say, drew has done a lot of good in his time with club.

[jloome]

Isn't there a beer festival in Edmonton this weekend? They should be all over that like ...oh insert your own here. Totally the market they want. Guys 19-60, like beer, like watching soccer on TV. Although as my wife has pointed out, young women like checking out soccer players.

But the parent market should be a minimal consideration. You need the atmosphere and that is best when well lubricated. Ergo, beerfest.

[alberta white]

What I have found infuriating in respect of Local exposure is the CBC.

I'm an early riser and tend to listen to Edmonton AM in the car, on the way to work.

Now I expect the Sportscasts to lead with the Hockey, Stupid not to. Bit of CFL build up goes without saying, Bit of Skating? Naturaly. Oh yes and Some of Canadas actual national Sport woul;dn't go amise either. ButsStill in the week leading up to the TFC game FCE , getting bumped for a peice on an amature batton twirling competition been undertaken somewhere in Alabama?

When the game did get mentioned, the Sportscaster couldn't get out of the habit of calling FC Edmonton, "The FC Emonton" as he would The Edmonton Oilers. (actually what he was doing sytacticly would amount to calling the The "The Edmontonoilers Oilers)

I think he even called TFC "The TFC". Its similar to the Aussie way of calling out Teams under singular nouns as oppose to the English way of using a collective noun; Liverpool FC IS 1-0 up against Manchester United as oppossed to Liverpool FC ARE 1-0 up against Manchester United. (or to be totally UK provincial- the Scousers spanked the Mancs!)

Okay again, the aditional "the" before the Clubs name is redundant and Irksome but I can Live with it. No, what really gots up my nose was the Sportscaster giving Edmonton the "Oh here we go again" style hard time copy for going down 3-0 to a team from a higher league, without reporting the fact that they played shorthanded for over an hour. Quite obviously the report didn't come from anybody who'd actually been to the game. Or if it did the Sub who did the edit really wanted to do a hatchet job on it. (something we have to consider may well exist in the local media- a desire to MAKE FC fail)

This was then followed by a banal explanation of the Canadian Championship which resulted in Maark Shultz comment of , "So the Winners of the Canadaian Cup Competition go on to represent Canada in the World Cup!

This in the week following wall to wall coverage of "Edmontons Mini world Cup Competion" which even had Website highlights and Play -by- Play commentary.And to cap it all , One of CBC producers who apparently heavily involved in putting the Mini WC to air is an Englishman by the name of Gareth Hampshire!

Gareth, if you post to this form please explain yourself (the Edits may not be your fault)

Its this "yeah yeah we love soccer! but not if the real thing turns up on our doorstep, in fear that we'll lose Hockey Night in Canada to CTV" attitude. As if thats ever going to happen.

And no I'm not having a dig at the Hockey, I actually do like the game and watched in back in the UK when the wasp were still playing in Durham, and not Newcastle.

Still, on a more positive note I get a sense that the Fath Brothers seem to have fallen in love with the game, and not the business of soccer, Which is why they'll ante up more than they really should, and is probably why, In the most recent interviews I have heard, they never really mention "the Franchise" but tend to refer to "The Team or the The Club".

Or should that be the "The Club"

[alberta white]

Following yesterdays rant I picked up the Jornal today to see that Gareth is Calling the Game against Montreal for the NASL webstream.

Good for you Gareth!

My apologies for getting on your case, but CBC's ambivolence to FCEdmonton is very confusing.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

A crowd for 2651 for the home opener:

http://www.nasl.com/index.php?id=3&newsid=404

Not brilliant unfortunately. Hopefully the fans hang in there despite what happened in this game.

[strobe_z]

We were probably down to 2000 at the half too... hopefully people will remember a)we ARE an expansion team and b)Montreal are better than they've shown before today. Still we made them look good with some really really silly plays... not the home opener we were hoping for.

[foreverthursday]

We were probably down to 2000 at the half too... hopefully people will remember a)we ARE an expansion team and b)Montreal are better than they've shown before today. Still we made them look good with some really really silly plays... not the home opener we were hoping for.

You are more positive then I am by far. Right now I am puking blood over what I saw tonight.

[strobe_z]

Well it wasn't pretty, but it was bound to happen. At the home opener right after getting blasted 3-0 from Toronto was NOT when I was hoping it was going to happen. My point is that to expect we were going to light up the NASL was always unrealistic. Montreal has a good, established team... they should be top of the NASL and tonight they proved it. Of course we did give them more help than they needed.

We've been so nice to all the other Canadian teams, it's kinda like handing out stunning victories to struggling Canadian clubs is our "thing". Maybe we should send Vancouver some chocolates or something since we don't get a chance to stoke their egos this year.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Since I mentioned Terry Jones by name in the blog entry in a negative way, I should probably point out that this was a very reasonable article based on an interview with Nick DeSantis of the Impact:

http://www.lfpress.com/sports/soccer/2011/05/01/18088951.html

The model for Tom Fath’s FC Edmonton to follow is that of the team they play in their first North American Soccer League home game Sunday at Foote Field.

Forget Toronto FC. Forget the Vancouver Whitecaps. It’s the Montreal Impact.

“Edmonton has the right mindset,” said Nick DeSantis, the former Edmonton Driller indoor player who is GM of the Montreal team which next year will follow the Whitecaps to Major League Soccer with Toronto FC and the top teams in the U.S.

[redhat]

It happens. Being thumped by Montreal is surely disappointing, but having 2 road wins is not too bad at this stage of the game. Montreal is a seasoned USL/NASL team that did not look out of place against Vancouver in V-Cup action, so the loss by your expansion team is not terribly disasterous.

[Mr.Caca]

Yeah, it's definitely not as bad as it seems. Montreal underplayed until that Vancouver match where everything started to come together. The team was quite starved for goals and was ramping up for Wednesday. It's probably not the last 5-0 win we'll get this year (watch out NSC/Atlanta). Plus Edmonton players looked quite nervous in the first half (maybe because some MLS scouts were there?). Your midfield didn't look so bad and there's definitely some young quality players in your team (Porter, Saiko, Surprenant). The last game against Toronoto probably also affected the morale of your players. You're still ahead of us in the standings and next game is against Atlanta. That's the perfect opponent for a rebound!

[Drew Shaw]

their web presence continues to be amateurish.

They have just killed their fan chat forum (I have been there regularly, and can't find it there anymore). Not exactly an encouraging signal.

[Drew Shaw]

The stadium issue is the single biggest one... soccer games nead atmosphere, and you only get that from chanting crazed fans. One thing I was glad about is that no one told us to sit down at a match yet... something that I've experienced many times at Canada matches. However, we did have one concerned mom come down at Commonwealth and tell us to watch the language. Classic response from Sergio was "but... well... it's in the songs...."

Stadia are the make-or-break issue in Canadian soccer. Victoria Highlanders are moving back downtown this summer. Bear Mountain is a great little venue, but it's suburban, and Royal Athletic Park is both downtown, and has a lot of soccer history. It will be interesting to see if VHFC gets over the 1500 fan hump this summer at RAP with a downtown location. If they can, Campbell will probably continue the move towards more than PDL soccer. Big empty stadia are the easiest way to ensure that most fans will stay away, and the soccer-hating media will have something to criticise. They have been the bane of Canadian soccer for decades, in the old NASL and CSL. The new BC Place will also lose it's shine within five years, just like last time. The Caps will need to pursue their own 30,000 seat grass facility in the long run, because Vancouver fans are a fickle bunch.

I guess what I don't understand about Cdn soccer is that putting up a decent stadium should be something that anyone wanting to be at the PDL or NASL level should expect to do, not just some sort of afterthought. Build a simple main stand that holds 2000 people, and put a roof over it to ensure weather isn't an issue. Put in bathrooms and 2 team change rooms, and concession. Have a merchandise kiosk. Put temporary seating in both end zones, with tent-style covers that can go up or down. Make one a family section and one a supporters' section. Build a small elevated broadcast booth on the OTHER side of the field, by itself, so that cameras point toward the crowd, not at an empty unused stand. The cost of doing all of this is in the $10M dollar range, from what I can figure based on following the cost of various stadia. There are people like Steve Nash, Joey Saputo, etc that are out there, and there are Canadians like Stronach who have done this sort of thing in Europe (Stronach in Vienna, McCann with Celtic). People like Bob Young in Hamilton are also coming forward. We need clubs in Hamilton and Ottawa, because if Edmonton can field a mostly-local NASL roster, than so can Ontario.

If the team succeeds you can then build a second main stand (either also 2000 seats, or up to 4000 if demand is there), and make the endzone seating permanent.

I've bought an FC Edmonton scarf not because it looks good, or they came up with a decent name, emblem or colours: but rather because I wanted to do my little bit to encourage this ownership group. It's not a lot, but if 10,000 Canadian soccer fans did the same . . .

[foreverthursday]

Stadia are the make-or-break issue in Canadian soccer. Victoria Highlanders are moving back downtown this summer. Bear Mountain is a great little venue, but it's suburban, and Royal Athletic Park is both downtown, and has a lot of soccer history. It will be interesting to see if VHFC gets over the 1500 fan hump this summer at RAP with a downtown location. If they can, Campbell will probably continue the move towards more than PDL soccer. Big empty stadia are the easiest way to ensure that most fans will stay away, and the soccer-hating media will have something to criticise. They have been the bane of Canadian soccer for decades, in the old NASL and CSL. The new BC Place will also lose it's shine within five years, just like last time. The Caps will need to pursue their own 30,000 seat grass facility in the long run, because Vancouver fans are a fickle bunch.

I guess what I don't understand about Cdn soccer is that putting up a decent stadium should be something that anyone wanting to be at the PDL or NASL level should expect to do, not just some sort of afterthought. Build a simple main stand that holds 2000 people, and put a roof over it to ensure weather isn't an issue. Put in bathrooms and 2 team change rooms, and concession. Have a merchandise kiosk. Put temporary seating in both end zones, with tent-style covers that can go up or down. Make one a family section and one a supporters' section. Build a small elevated broadcast booth on the OTHER side of the field, by itself, so that cameras point toward the crowd, not at an empty unused stand. The cost of doing all of this is in the $10M dollar range, from what I can figure based on following the cost of various stadia. There are people like Steve Nash, Joey Saputo, etc that are out there, and there are Canadians like Stronach who have done this sort of thing in Europe (Stronach in Vienna, McCann with Celtic). People like Bob Young in Hamilton are also coming forward. We need clubs in Hamilton and Ottawa, because if Edmonton can field a mostly-local NASL roster, than so can Ontario.

If the team succeeds you can then build a second main stand (either also 2000 seats, or up to 4000 if demand is there), and make the endzone seating permanent.

I've bought an FC Edmonton scarf not because it looks good, or they came up with a decent name, emblem or colours: but rather because I wanted to do my little bit to encourage this ownership group. It's not a lot, but if 10,000 Canadian soccer fans did the same . . .

+1

Brilliant.

[kodiakTFC]

I can't agree with you any more about the stadium part. This is exactly what needs to be done by incoming ownerships.

[strobe_z]

They have just killed their fan chat forum (I have been there regularly, and can't find it there anymore). Not exactly an encouraging signal.

It's still there... but they seem to have lost the link off the main site - http://forums.fcedmonton.com/

I never post there anyway... but stay tuned... I'm going to pull "The Hangar" out of mothballs in June, give it a new paintjob and have a place the ESG can call its own.

[jedinathan]

They have just killed their fan chat forum (I have been there regularly, and can't find it there anymore). Not exactly an encouraging signal.

Actually its still there (just posted on it today) but its disappeared out of the drop down menu. Not a good thing, but its still there. I've already send them an email to let them know.

EDIT: damn it.. Sorry Strobe_z. That'll teach me not to scroll and read all the posts before responding...

[jedinathan]

Stadia are the make-or-break issue in Canadian soccer. Victoria Highlanders are moving back downtown this summer. Bear Mountain is a great little venue, but it's suburban, and Royal Athletic Park is both downtown, and has a lot of soccer history. It will be interesting to see if VHFC gets over the 1500 fan hump this summer at RAP with a downtown location. If they can, Campbell will probably continue the move towards more than PDL soccer. Big empty stadia are the easiest way to ensure that most fans will stay away, and the soccer-hating media will have something to criticise. They have been the bane of Canadian soccer for decades, in the old NASL and CSL. The new BC Place will also lose it's shine within five years, just like last time. The Caps will need to pursue their own 30,000 seat grass facility in the long run, because Vancouver fans are a fickle bunch.

I guess what I don't understand about Cdn soccer is that putting up a decent stadium should be something that anyone wanting to be at the PDL or NASL level should expect to do, not just some sort of afterthought. Build a simple main stand that holds 2000 people, and put a roof over it to ensure weather isn't an issue. Put in bathrooms and 2 team change rooms, and concession. Have a merchandise kiosk. Put temporary seating in both end zones, with tent-style covers that can go up or down. Make one a family section and one a supporters' section. Build a small elevated broadcast booth on the OTHER side of the field, by itself, so that cameras point toward the crowd, not at an empty unused stand. The cost of doing all of this is in the $10M dollar range, from what I can figure based on following the cost of various stadia. There are people like Steve Nash, Joey Saputo, etc that are out there, and there are Canadians like Stronach who have done this sort of thing in Europe (Stronach in Vienna, McCann with Celtic). People like Bob Young in Hamilton are also coming forward. We need clubs in Hamilton and Ottawa, because if Edmonton can field a mostly-local NASL roster, than so can Ontario.

If the team succeeds you can then build a second main stand (either also 2000 seats, or up to 4000 if demand is there), and make the endzone seating permanent.

I've bought an FC Edmonton scarf not because it looks good, or they came up with a decent name, emblem or colours: but rather because I wanted to do my little bit to encourage this ownership group. It's not a lot, but if 10,000 Canadian soccer fans did the same . . .

Awesome post, I think you nailed it. The positive out of this is that in Edmonton, the Fath bros have already said they're going to build one. To my way of thinking (and I don't have the money to throw around like they do) I'd want to make sure that there is enough interest to make sure it doesn't flop. I think the stadium you suggest is awesome. Hopefully if FCE gets crowds like they did Sunday (and fill up the GA like they did Sunday) then the Fath bros will make a serious push towards a stadium in a few years.

Related: I was complaining to my wife today as we drove through downtown about Telus field. If only FCE had been around a few years ago when the Cracker Cats were failing, they might have been able to jump in there, and make an amazing river valley stadium by salvaging the baseball diamond... Sigh... Would have been so nice...

[strobe_z]

Yeah, I've long thought that, but Telus Field is in a tough spot. I'm not sure "as is" it's wide or long enough for a real soccer pitch. It's stuck in there between the Epcor power station and First Nations' burial grounds...

In related news, did anyone see Nigel Reid's blog about the V-Cup? Really the best thing about the article is the picture. Too bad Reid took the easy way out and didn't really bother to find out WHY Commonwealth had to be chosen before Foote Field. There really is NO OTHER OPTION!

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/blogs/nigelreed/2011/05/missing-fans-must-back-canadian-championship.html

Still... good pic~

BTW... for you young Voyageurs out there, the guy second from the right (next to me!) is Reza... one of the original, founding Voyageurs. He said standing with the ESG was a lot like the Voyageurs early days... 3 guys and red/white tarp