Canadian Premier League

[Complete Homer 2,759]

8 hours ago, fmfranck said:

Not that im overly shocked, but it seems the demographical weight of the Québec province is not taken into account by most here when establishing a dream CanPL. If we take Cheetah's lineup : 

The Prairies (AB, MB, SK) are 6mil+ -> 4 teams = one team per 1.5 mil.

BC is 4,5mil+ -> 2 teams = one team per 2.25 mil

Maritimes are 2,5mil -> 1 team = one team per 2.5 mil

Ontario is 14mil -> 4 teams = one team per 3.5 mil.

Québec is 8mil + -> 1 team (Québec) = one team per 8 million inhabitants. And to be fair, the team will be accessible to less than 2 out of those 8 millions (I'm being very generous).

Look, I know that it's down to personal preference, and other factors besides demography weigh in, but I'm curious to know why people seem ready to abandon the idea of a hypothetical team in Montreal, but seem to think that teams in Vancouver or Toronto are conditions sine qua non for the welfare of CanPL.

To me, a second Toronto team just makes sense with the population and position as the largest media marketing, and frankly TFC's less established history helps. 

For BC, I'm generally doubtful, but I'll defer to BC based posters who have presented the opinion that Surrey or Vancouver Island present sufficiently differentiated and large communities that they can build their own identity.

Montreal? I am personally hesitant about a team in Montreal proper, but do you think Laval could effectively support a team? The Impact themselves have had inconsistent attendance, which worries me a bit about Montreal proper 

However, I am very hopeful for a Quebec City team eventually emerging

Edited February 21, 2017 by Complete Homer

[Marc 103]

On 2/17/2017 at 1:42 PM, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Was OK for soccer back in the day, but a portion of the UofT community appears to be dead set against pro sports. Otherwise that could easily have been where the 2007 U20 World Cup stadium would have been built. MLSE first got interested based on that location then backed out due to all the opposition from people at UofT. Think the reality is that there are no easy options in the GTA for a team competing with TFC in a league that expects 8,000 or so spectators per game. Only Lamport really fits the bill as things stand, and is less than ideal and may not even be available.

Yup.  I think too that people don't realize that that area still has bits and bobs of residential communities - mostly students, but not all - so while I never agreed with them myself, I could appreciate them not wanting to live kitty corner to a multi-use sports venue.  I think the idea of these tidy little stadiums smack dab in the middle of multi-use communities in towns/cities is romantic, but dead.

[Ansem 8,906]

1 hour ago, Complete Homer said:

Montreal? I am personally hesitant about a team in Montreal proper, but do you think Laval could effectively support a team? The Impact themselves have had inconsistent attendance, which worries me a bit about Montreal proper 

I had posted this a while back regarding a Montreal team

 

A case for a CPL Montreal team:

I had discussions with friends in Montreal and they are of the opposite opinion that a CPL Montreal team could indeed work based on theses factors:

• Location: CPL stadium MUST be downtown, and ideally use the McGill Percival Molson stadium or build a new one. The Saputo stadium where the Impact plays right now is in Eastern Montreal, next to the Olympic Stadium on the green subway line. It`s not the most ideal place for people to get there, and quite frankly, I always thought it was an odd location to pick.

Montreal Impact

Potential downtown CPL venue

Downtown has 3 metro lines with another one on the way. With links to South shore, Laval, the whole Island, downtown business area and literally being the heart of the city, this location is very convenient to just hop on the metro and go see a game.

Percival Molson Stadium of McGill University on the mountain: Perfect for TV

25 000 seats

 

• Establishing a rivalry right away : What`s hotter than a Toronto-Montreal rivalry? Quebec City. CPL Quebec City vs. Montreal CPL are automatic sellouts! The hate between those cities transcends sports and a CPL Quebec City playing against a CPL Montreal downtown team would create instant classics which would make the Montreal Impact jealous. CPL Toronto vs. CPL Montreal is also a vital rivalry that the league needs.
• Local content: Nothing sells more, especially in Quebec than having local players helping their team win.
• TV Contract: You need the Montreal to increase the value of said TV Contract. Expect the TV ratings to be very high when they play Quebec City and Toronto.
• Ownership: Montreal Canadiens & Molson Family for CPL Montreal would be the best case scenario. Attaching the Montreal Brand with a CPL Montreal team would immediately turn head and get the city's attention. Call them Canadiens if you must. They have the resources and expertise to rival Montreal Impact on the marketing side and how to run a sport franchise. Saputo is very rich and respected but not at Molson's level

 

[m-g-williams 807]

This is probably just wishful thinking, but here goes nothing.
 

 

[Diamondium 189]

Just now, m-g-williams said:

This is probably just wishful thinking, but here goes nothing.
 

 

Hey! You watch yourself, Canada Soccer. Don't be getting my hopes up for nothing.

[shermanator 4,405]

Perhaps the CSA are teasing Rob Gale's firing...

[Ansem 8,906]

seems related to Women's soccer

[nolbertos 269]

Chances of the Canadian women winning a World Cup are higher than the creation and kickoff of this mythical CPL league with "rich" owners.  Kudos to the CSA for keeping us in suspense.

[Ansem 8,906]

2 minutes ago, nolbertos said:

Chances of the Canadian women winning a World Cup are higher than the creation and kickoff of this mythical CPL league with "rich" owners.  Kudos to the CSA for keeping us in suspense.

Bill Manning wouldn't be freaking out over a Toronto CPL team if that league was "mythical"

[Levi Oakey 555]

3 minutes ago, nolbertos said:

Chances of the Canadian women winning a World Cup are higher than the creation and kickoff of this mythical CPL league with "rich" owners.  Kudos to the CSA for keeping us in suspense.

Sigh.

Anthony Totera's interview from this weekend included the mention of "a couple of surprises in Ontario".

ALL ABOARD THE KW HYPE TRAIN!

[GuillermoDelQuarto 1,144]

13 hours ago, GimliJetsMan said:

The Canadiens were owned by Molson Brewery. When the news got out that the Canadiens had voted against the deal, fans in Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Quebec City organized a boycott of Molson products, believing that Molson was standing in the way of their cities remaining big-league hockey towns.[9] The boycott quickly spread nationwide. It caused a drain on the Canucks' revenue as well, since Pacific Coliseum sold Molson products. The Canadian House of Commons weighed in as well, unanimously passing a motion urging the NHL to reconsider. A second vote was held in Chicago on March 22, 1979, which passed by a 14–3 margin as both Montreal and Vancouver reversed their positions.[4] Both teams' hands were forced by the boycott, and the Canucks were also won over by the promise of a balanced schedule, with each team playing the others twice at home and twice on the road.

I've always felt that this was the likeliest way to get more Canadian NHL teams.  at the end of the day money talks and the fans vote with their dollar.  

If a city(say hamilton for example) organized a NHL boycott until they got a team, I think it might be surprising what could happen.

Right now we all whine and complain but we keep watching(giving them ad revenue) anyways.

[Ansem 8,906]

20 minutes ago, GuillermoDelQuarto said:

I've always felt that this was the likeliest way to get more Canadian NHL teams.  at the end of the day money talks and the fans vote with their dollar.  

If a city(say hamilton for example) organized a NHL boycott until they got a team, I think it might be surprising what could happen.

Right now we all whine and complain but we keep watching(giving them ad revenue) anyways.

It would take more than that I'm afraid. You'd need a countrywide movement to force the NHL hands. Canadians turning off their TV when no Canadian Clubs made the playoffs last year hurt the league and the clubs. A boycott might be too much but not watching games held in the desert/bible belt is a realistic way of protest. Also turning the TV off when no Canadian clubs make the playoffs or when they are all out.

In regard to CPL, Manning did himself no favors. I talked with a lot of TFC supporters and his horrible PR stunt turned them a bit off and made them curious about the CPL. TV viewership exceeding MLS numbers in Canada, would be a huge statement. 

 

[GuillermoDelQuarto 1,144]

1 minute ago, Ansem said:

It would take more than that I'm afraid. You'd need a countrywide movement to force the NHL hands. Canadians turning off their TV when no Canadian Clubs made the playoffs last year hurt the league and the clubs. A boycott might be too much but not watching games held in the desert/bible belt is a realistic way of protest. Also turning the TV off when no Canadian clubs make the playoffs or when they are all out.

In regard to CPL, Manning did himself no favors. I talked with a lot of TFC supporters and his horrible PR stunt turned them a bit off and made them curious about the CPL. TV viewership exceeding MLS numbers in Canada, would be a huge statement. 

 

I'm honestly surprised they even mentioned the CPL clubs to be honest.  Any PR is good PR for the CPL and mentioning it gives it credibility.   If I were in charge I simply would have pretended they didn't exist.

But yea I'm not even so much certain on the specifics, but I find it funny that people expect the nhl to change without offering them any real incentive.

[Rheo 2,962]

I've never seen Totera this excited.  He just did a whole bunch of get ready CPL tweets.  Not to get anyone's hopes up but seems like something may be coming.  I'm not holding my breath but seems a bit different than other times of hype

[Ansem 8,906]

Sportsnet 590 Radio reacted to TFC signing of Vasquez. They expressed their disappointment at TFC and other MLS Canadian clubs at not giving Canadian players more spots and he just said out loud : "They are not doing it"

[Complete Homer 2,759]

14 minutes ago, Rheo said:

I've never seen Totera this excited.  He just did a whole bunch of get ready CPL tweets.  Not to get anyone's hopes up but seems like something may be coming.  I'm not holding my breath but seems a bit different than other times of hype

I'm very certain we are not just days from an announcement. Not really sure what he's alluding to

Edited February 21, 2017 by Complete Homer

[matty 3,282]

3 minutes ago, Complete Homer said:

I'm very certain we are not just days from an announcement. Not really sure what he's alluding to

Because he's an overly excited fan who didn't want to post his excitement on page 2194?

[Kent 5,459]

On 11/02/2017 at 9:36 AM, grasshopper1917 said:

Largest university student population in all of Canada

I don't know why, but I'm getting hung up on this claim. I assume you mean per capita, but even that I can't seem to find support for. It's probably right up there though. Possibly it's neck and neck between greater Halifax and metro KWC. If you take Waterloo by itself though, I think it would far outperform Halifax proper. Obviously if you get rid of per capita, Toronto has the most students.

[Complete Homer 2,759]

16 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Sportsnet 590 Radio reacted to TFC signing of Vasquez. They expressed their disappointment at TFC and other MLS Canadian clubs at not giving Canadian players more spots and he just said out loud : "They are not doing it"

Who was the host?

[Rheo 2,962]

5 minutes ago, Complete Homer said:

I'm very certain we are not just days from an announcement. Not really sure what he's alluding to

No clue but I find it interesting.  I didn't listen to the interview he's been pimping the last couple of days from the weekend so no clue if there was anything there.  I agree that I don't think ianything is days away but ust seems to be a bunch more solid stuff out lately (Manning saying "when", the Larson article itself) as well as Totera being more excited than normal (which is saying something) that has me a bit more optimistic that we might hear something concrete sooner than later (although that's probably foolish given the track record lol)

Edited February 21, 2017 by Rheo

[shermanator 4,405]

Thought this was interesting. 1990/91 attendance figures for the old CSL.

 

[BringBackTheBlizzard 5]

Meaningless numbers that often bore no correlation to the crowds actually at the games with the exception of Vancouver.

Edited February 21, 2017 by BringBackTheBlizzard

[Rheo 2,962]

Insert Debbie Downer trombone noise here

[BringBackTheBlizzard 5]

You know you are well and truly through the looking glass when North York Rockets crowds are being used as an argument in support of a new Canadian pro soccer league. Any time I was at their games (including during the 1991 season) the crowd was in the dozens rather than in the hundreds or thousands. They had almost zero regular home support. The Blizzard had a few hundred regulars and could draw higher than that into the low thousands when the Whitecaps were involved, but the GTA team that had the biggest regular following in that era was probably Toronto Croatia of the NSL, who Dale Barnes and the CSL in their infinite wisdom decided to reject as an applicant along with Toronto Italia (lots of sponsors, but not so many fans) because of intransigence over club names, when either of those clubs would have had more to offer than the North York Rockets did. 

Edited February 21, 2017 by BringBackTheBlizzard

[Cheeta 1,834]

26 year old stats are kinda neat but absolutely useless otherwise.

Think the market we're concerning ourselves with is soooo very different today than it was in the late '80s ('90-'91).  Not similar at all.

Geezus, that's like before cel phones.