NASL to Winnipeg

[DigzTFC]

http://rednationonline.ca/RedNationInterviewSeriesEduardoBadescu.aspx

In this interview, RedNation and Eduardo discuss WSA Winnipegs's vision of professional soccer in Winnipeg and the state of player development in Canada. He specifically mentions joining NASL in the future

http://the11.ca/2012/12/12/new-nasl...pansion-stadium-traffic-and-working-with-mls/

NASL Commissioner Peterson said he still has eyes on Canadian expansion.

“Maybe it’s a little premature to say anything. But the city everyone says first is Calgary. It makes a lot of sense geographically. But I have spent a lot of time in Winnipeg. And they have a new stadium. And they great sports-fan base. I think they could be an option, as well.”

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/spor... potential Eddies Edmonton/7684283/story.html

“It’s obvious we need some Western expansion.”

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports...ssioner visit city January/7618027/story.html

Commissioner Peterson spent nine months in Manitoba as a consultant for the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers

[Soccerpro]

http://rednationonline.ca/RedNationInterviewSeriesEduardoBadescu.aspx

In this interview, RedNation and Eduardo discuss WSA Winnipegs's vision of professional soccer in Winnipeg and the state of player development in Canada. He specifically mentions joining NASL in the future

http://the11.ca/2012/12/12/new-nasl...pansion-stadium-traffic-and-working-with-mls/

NASL Commissioner Peterson said he still has eyes on Canadian expansion.

“Maybe it’s a little premature to say anything. But the city everyone says first is Calgary. It makes a lot of sense geographically. But I have spent a lot of time in Winnipeg. And they have a new stadium. And they great sports-fan base. I think they could be an option, as well.”

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/spor... potential Eddies Edmonton/7684283/story.html

“It’s obvious we need some Western expansion.”

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports...ssioner visit city January/7618027/story.html

Commissioner Peterson spent nine months in Manitoba as a consultant for the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Winnipeg need a sugar daddy for a team, until then, No team.

There aren't quite as many wealthy Winnipegers as bigger Canadian cities. Those that are wealthy, tend to be frugal, ie the Aspers.

[Macksam]

Winnipeg need a sugar daddy for a team, until then, No team.

There aren't quite as many wealthy Winnipegers as bigger Canadian cities. Those that are wealthy, tend to be frugal, ie the Aspers.

Maybe potential Canadian NASL cities should try that old-school, membership-owned style of operation. After finding suitable stadia (I guess the new Winnipeg stadium can work), the team should find roughly five thousand Winnipegers willing to put down $100 in annual membership fees and voila, a pretty good budget for a division 2 side. Anything on top of that can come from ticket sales, concessions, merchandising, whatever.

[stevensandor]

Maybe potential Canadian NASL cities should try that old-school, membership-owned style of operation. After finding suitable stadia (I guess the new Winnipeg stadium can work), the team should find roughly five thousand Winnipegers willing to put down $100 in annual membership fees and voila, a pretty good budget for a division 2 side. Anything on top of that can come from ticket sales, concessions, merchandising, whatever.

Except that community ownership like that is not allowed as per new Div. 2 rules. Must have an owner who has net worth of $20 million and is willing to put down a $750,000 bond. You can have multiple owners, but one of them must have that $20M in the bank.

[Macksam]

Except that community ownership like that is not allowed as per new Div. 2 rules. Must have an owner who has net worth of $20 million and is willing to put down a $750,000 bond. You can have multiple owners, but one of them must have that $20M in the bank.

Dam...I guess community ownership can be used for division 3, or a Canadian division 2.

[DigzTFC]

I honestly don't see this as a major issue. Most people get hung up on local billionaires. Truth be told, ownership can be located anywhere. The big issue in Div 2 is the availability of facilities. Winnipeg has that and little investment is needed to make that work given the configuration of the split level. It's crazy how we've heard from the commissioner, identified potential owners and they have stadium, yet when Hamilton mentioned an NASL team would be part of the stadium deal it went gangbusters.

[alberta white]

Except that community ownership like that is not allowed as per new Div. 2 rules. Must have an owner who has net worth of $20 million and is willing to put down a $750,000 bond. You can have multiple owners, but one of them must have that $20M in the bank.

Steve, if I read this right Is it feesible then for Macksams community group to form, then use its finacials to look to recruit a Local/ Major comercial sponsor to act as a consortium head to underwrite a club (in this case I'll say club, because its darn close to actually been one;)) ?

[madmonte]

http://rednationonline.ca/RedNationInterviewSeriesEduardoBadescu.aspx

In this interview, RedNation and Eduardo discuss WSA Winnipegs's vision of professional soccer in Winnipeg and the state of player development in Canada. He specifically mentions joining NASL in the future

http://the11.ca/2012/12/12/new-nasl...pansion-stadium-traffic-and-working-with-mls/

NASL Commissioner Peterson said he still has eyes on Canadian expansion.

“Maybe it’s a little premature to say anything. But the city everyone says first is Calgary. It makes a lot of sense geographically. But I have spent a lot of time in Winnipeg. And they have a new stadium. And they great sports-fan base. I think they could be an option, as well.”

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/spor... potential Eddies Edmonton/7684283/story.html

“It’s obvious we need some Western expansion.”

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports...ssioner visit city January/7618027/story.html

Commissioner Peterson spent nine months in Manitoba as a consultant for the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers

I can tell you this, if they do expand to Calgary, I will become a massive supporter.

[stevensandor]

Steve, if I read this right Is it feesible then for Macksams community group to form, then use its finacials to look to recruit a Local/ Major comercial sponsor to act as a consortium head to underwrite a club (in this case I'll say club, because its darn close to actually been one;)) ?

A sponsor would only work if the owner of said company signed the paperwork and agreed to go to BoG meetings, and be recognized as the "official" owner of the club. Those rules are in place to stop the old trend of teams folding in mid-season. So, if a team runs into trouble, the league draws on that bond to keep the team stable for at least the season. Would a "sponsor" be willing to take on such risk?

Really, this is par for the course in North American sports. Most leagues or pro associations now have clauses that prevent "community" ownership. For example, the Green Bay Packers are grandfathered into the NFL, but there can never be another ownership model like the Packers in the league.

San Antonio, because of the size of its benefactor, can get around this with its unique for-charity model in NASL.

[Jason]

Winnipeg need a sugar daddy for a team, until then, No team.

There aren't quite as many wealthy Winnipegers as bigger Canadian cities. Those that are wealthy, tend to be frugal, ie the Aspers.

The Aspers are taking over the Blue Bombers now that they are moving into the new stadium. It seems like a really logical fit to have a NASL team to fill more dates in the new digs, just like Ottawa.

The CFL building boom should help pro soccer in Canada one way or the other. Some have been cynical about Hamilton for example planning a NASL club in the new CFL stadium. Things in Ottawa seem to be going a bit smoother. Who cares if a CFL team wants a NASL club primarily to help fill dates in new buildings? They have the benefit of existing front office infrastructure and will be set up to try to be successful. Even if they're not traditional "soccer people?" Any opportunity for new clubs is better than nothing in these cities, which is what we have now.

Jason

[Grizzly]

I think the success or failure of the Ottawa NASL club is going to be a large factor in how many other Canadian NASL clubs get started in the near future. The stadiums are there and in the case of the new stadiums should be more suitable to dual sport functions than the old CFL stadiums. If there is another sport that can get a decent number of people into the stadiums during the many days when they are not being used for the CFL, the owners will definitely be interested in using them for this whether they are soccer people or not. Especially since NASL will be a pretty minor investment for these people both in terms of franchise fee and yearly budget and they will be able to use many of the same front office resources. There will be a lot riding on the Ottawa NASL franchise in terms of the development of div 2 soccer in Canada.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

...Some have been cynical about Hamilton for example planning a NASL club in the new CFL stadium...

Maybe worth noting that the NASL commissioner mentions Calgary rather than Hamilton as the next most likely expansion city despite the pro soccer commitment that went with the Pam-Am games funding.

[Jason]

Maybe worth noting that the NASL commissioner mentions Calgary rather than Hamilton as the next most likely expansion city despite the pro soccer commitment that went with the Pam-Am games funding.

I found the Calgary comment interesting. While I would love it to happen, there really hasn't been any specific talk that I'm aware of. I know Stu made a comment in another thread, but I haven't heard anything more than that. I think Calgary would be ideal for the NASL as it would be an obvious rival for Edmonton and help expand their footprint out west. But there is still the facility issue. With there being no baseball in Foothills Stadium this year and no sign for 2013, maybe getting in there might be easier than it would've been. But that park would need work to be an acceptable soccer venue.

Who knows, maybe Fath has been bending the ears of some of his wealthy friends in Calgary to invest. That would be great for us in Calgary.

Jason

[Lord Bob]

I don't think we should necessarily read too much into the Calgary comment; Peterson was in Edmonton and may have been pandering to the locals.

[shermanator]

I can tell you this, if they do expand to Calgary, I will become a massive supporter.

I'll second this.

[alberta white]

The Aspers are taking over the Blue Bombers now that they are moving into the new stadium. It seems like a really logical fit to have a NASL team to fill more dates in the new digs, just like Ottawa.

The CFL building boom should help pro soccer in Canada one way or the other. Some have been cynical about Hamilton for example planning a NASL club in the new CFL stadium. Things in Ottawa seem to be going a bit smoother. Who cares if a CFL team wants a NASL club primarily to help fill dates in new buildings? They have the benefit of existing front office infrastructure and will be set up to try to be successful. Even if they're not traditional "soccer people?" Any opportunity for new clubs is better than nothing in these cities, which is what we have now.

Jason

Hey what's so wrong with Hamilton or Ottawa "United" football clubs

[alberta white]

I think the success or failure of the Ottawa NASL club is going to be a large factor in how many other Canadian NASL clubs get started in the near future. The stadiums are there and in the case of the new stadiums should be more suitable to dual sport functions than the old CFL stadiums. If there is another sport that can get a decent number of people into the stadiums during the many days when they are not being used for the CFL, the owners will definitely be interested in using them for this whether they are soccer people or not. Especially since NASL will be a pretty minor investment for these people both in terms of franchise fee and yearly budget and they will be able to use many of the same front office resources. There will be a lot riding on the Ottawa NASL franchise in terms of the development of div 2 soccer in Canada.

Seems not too dissimilar to the M.O. used by a number of clubs in the English RU when the League went Pro. I think Wasps or Saracens went to Vicarage Road and play alternate weeks to Watford. Leeds RU and the Rhinos may even share a number of FO activities.