Jason Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Now I want to start this off by saying I have total respect for the Faths and what they have done with FC Edmonton. I'm throwing this idea out there not because I wish anything negative for them. It's a bit of a devil's advocate argument, but that being said, I think in the big picture of soccer in Edmonton and Canada, it's worth considering. Let's assume the C-League happens. FCE has been clear they don't want to join. So if I were the Edmonton Eskimos, I'd seriously consider joining and facing off with FCE in the battle for supremacy in Edmonton pro soccer. For all of the good FCE has done for Canadian soccer, it has not translated into success on or off the field and in the stands. They have not broken into the mainstream sports conversation in Edmonton from what I understand. So I could see the Eskimos deciding to use their resources at their disposal to make a run at a mainstream audience in Edmonton. Let's look at it from a strictly business perspective and use a comparable non-soccer situation. You own a very successful and established hamburger restaurant. Everything is going well and is stable. Meanwhile, a small hot dog stand opens up across the street from you. You realize that there is demand for hot dogs in your area, and this is probably a decent idea. You'll just continue to focus on hamburgers and let this little guy do whatever. Cut ahead a few years later. Your hamburger restaurant is doing better than ever. Meanwhile, the hot dog stand is still there, but it's struggling. They serve a pretty good hot dog, and have a devoted but small number of regulars, but they have not really been able to tap the potential of the market. Meanwhile, you hear that some of your partner locations in other cities are adding hot dogs to their menu. They have done a lot of the ground work, and wanted to know if you wanted to get in on it too. You realize that while you never have spent a lot of time thinking about hot dogs, you know there is a lot of untapped potential. Maybe you wouldn't ever get into the hot dog business, but you can get in on the ground floor with your other partners, so you have the benefit of limiting the risk by working on it with them. Maybe you even think the owner of the hot dog stand is nice guy, and they have a nice little operation. But if they aren't capturing the market and you have an easy way to try and get it for yourself and grow your business even more. So if you're the owner of the hamburger stand (Eskimos), wouldn't you strongly consider doing it? If the hot dog stand (FCE) can't compete, that's too bad but business is business. In an ideal situation, FCE would have already been in the playoffs, and would be consistently drawing 5000+ fans, and we'd be talking about expanding Clarke or a SSS. But they have not achieved any of these targets on or off the field. If they haven't cracked the mainstream after 5 full seasons, what makes us think it's going to happen at all? How many successful sports teams took more than 5 years to capture the imagination of their audience? Why couldn't an Eskimos C-League team give a bunch of Canadian players a place to play, and maybe develop some young Alberta and Canadian talent? Thoughts? Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Its a good question but IMO it'll never happen. Fath has a very good relationship with the Esks, and I honestly don't think that the Esks are in the market to expand to a different sport. To the best of my awareness, Fath has already been talked to about a C League, and is VERY much against it (don't blame him, seeing as how heavy he is invested in the NASL). Honestly, to continue your analogy, if I'm the big burger place, I look at the small fan base, and say "why do I need/want to take over". The Esks are the biggest draw in the league right now. I don't think they need to worry about the little guy next door. It would take a LOT of convincing for them to look at starting up their own IMO. Most have seen too many soccer clubs fail to think its a positive investment. Also, FCEd did make the playoffs already. 2011. They've also been about as close as you can get in 2014. If there's one thing that stops them from attracting 5000 consistently, its the lack of marketing IMO, which (when you consider how much they have to spend on flights, players and the Canadian dollar conversion) is def something to focus on after the fact. I think FCEd needs to work on sponsors so that they can afford some of the extra stuff to bring in fans more consistently. And no more Fort Mac games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigzTFC Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 The Eskimos are owned by 80 shareholders and those shares are privately held. Given how political big construction is I am sure Fath has ties and relationships with many of these shareholders. The most likely scenario is that FC Edmonton becomes part of the Eskimo group of companies and he's issued shares with an operating fee or if he becomes weary of financial burden he sells the team to the Eskimos. Like every other industry, live sports usually becomes consolidated in every city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I've heard a rumor that Katz group put in an offer on FCEd and Fath turned them down flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigzTFC Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 That could very well be another avenue. Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Honestly I see that even less likely to happen. Right now FCEd is doing everything they can to build bridges with all the other sports teams, but they are very clear about their own identity. Don't think they are willing to sell, and I don't see any other sports owner looking to create another club in the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shermanator Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I've heard a rumor that Katz group put in an offer on FCEd and Fath turned them down flat. If true, that's good news. Katz is the antithesis of Fath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 Its a good question but IMO it'll never happen. Fath has a very good relationship with the Esks, and I honestly don't think that the Esks are in the market to expand to a different sport. To the best of my awareness, Fath has already been talked to about a C League, and is VERY much against it (don't blame him, seeing as how heavy he is invested in the NASL). Honestly, to continue your analogy, if I'm the big burger place, I look at the small fan base, and say "why do I need/want to take over". The Esks are the biggest draw in the league right now. I don't think they need to worry about the little guy next door. It would take a LOT of convincing for them to look at starting up their own IMO. Most have seen too many soccer clubs fail to think its a positive investment. Also, FCEd did make the playoffs already. 2011. They've also been about as close as you can get in 2014. If there's one thing that stops them from attracting 5000 consistently, its the lack of marketing IMO, which (when you consider how much they have to spend on flights, players and the Canadian dollar conversion) is def something to focus on after the fact. I think FCEd needs to work on sponsors so that they can afford some of the extra stuff to bring in fans more consistently. And no more Fort Mac games. I did not know that Fath and the Eskimos were on really good terms. That would likely factor in. I just remember back in the day, the Eskimos hated the old A-League Edmonton Aviators and did everything they could to make life difficult for them. As far as why the burger place would want to get into hot dogs - most every business wants to see growth of some sort. It doesn't have to double their business, but considering they have infrastructure in place and some other partners working on it, it would make it relatively easy to get into it. The Esks did own the AAA Trappers so their involvement in other sports has occurred in the past. I forgot about the 2011 playoff appearance. As far as lack of marketing goes, that's a familiar refrain among sports teams struggling at the box office. After 5 years, they should have a lot of experience knowing what does or doesn't work. Fath has put a lot of $ into the club so is it really the lack of a few more $ in marketing that has made the difference? If it was that simple why wouldn't he have done it yet? Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I did not know that Fath and the Eskimos were on really good terms. That would likely factor in. I just remember back in the day, the Eskimos hated the old A-League Edmonton Aviators and did everything they could to make life difficult for them. As far as why the burger place would want to get into hot dogs - most every business wants to see growth of some sort. It doesn't have to double their business, but considering they have infrastructure in place and some other partners working on it, it would make it relatively easy to get into it. The Esks did own the AAA Trappers so their involvement in other sports has occurred in the past. I forgot about the 2011 playoff appearance. As far as lack of marketing goes, that's a familiar refrain among sports teams struggling at the box office. After 5 years, they should have a lot of experience knowing what does or doesn't work. Fath has put a lot of $ into the club so is it really the lack of a few more $ in marketing that has made the difference? If it was that simple why wouldn't he have done it yet? Jason From what I've heard/gathered from reading between the lines, Fath invested a TON of money in advertising in 2011, but didn't see it result in any real growth at the turnstile. Apparently he has taken that to mean that its not a worthwhile investment in the club. Now if you've ever sat down and talked with Fath, it's VERY clear that he's a fantastic guy, and VERY generous (he bought my wife and I SOOOO many beers in 2011). However, he's rather odd, and very stubborn. Not to mention that with a smaller budget, I think he's looking at trimming the fat from the advertising/marketing side of things and looking to put a winning team on the pitch to act as his promotional side of things. Personally, I'd like to see him open the purse-strings somewhere in between 2011 and 2015. Put some ads up in target locations, not everywhere in the city. Avoid the transit ads on buses or LRT. Really push things on the radio, and try to get regular mentions during morning show sports reports (its starting to happen naturally, which is great). Personally I think the supporters need to step up more as well, and use some ground roots approach to attract people both to the supporter section as well as the club in general. But that's become a controversial topic to some hahahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerpro Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I've heard a rumor that Katz group put in an offer on FCEd and Fath turned them down flat. How reliable do you think that rumour is? I was an Eddies STH for the two years I lived in Edmonton. Loved going to games. Even made a supporter out of my wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 To be honest I can't recall where I heard it from. If anything I have to think it was a lowball offer. I'd give it a 45% chance of being true. I could see Katz (or at least his organization) trying to snap up all the local sports teams they could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerpro Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 To be honest I can't recall where I heard it from. If anything I have to think it was a lowball offer. I'd give it a 45% chance of being true. I could see Katz (or at least his organization) trying to snap up all the local sports teams they could. He's a smart guy, no idea why he'd want to buy into minor league soccer, a sport where no one makes money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Well he is invested into the Oil Kings, and had the Capitals for a decent amount of time... I'd imagine it was all about growing his Edmonton Sports Empire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the Humberlands Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Well he is invested into the Oil Kings, and had the Capitals for a decent amount of time... I'd imagine it was all about growing his Edmonton Sports Empire. For the sake of Canadian footy, let's all put a little Fath into Katz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 HA! Ain't that the truth. If all sports or soccer cities in Canada could have a Fath, we would have a Can league in no time. Dude is 110% committed to FCEd and the sport here in Edmonton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuillermoDelQuarto Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 "Old Strathcona Football Club" - Edmonton and Strathcona actually used to be two seperate cities, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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