Canadian Premier League

[lazlo_80]

3 hours ago, grande said:

I'm generally against Euro names, but Hamilton's had identity issues since it was amalgamated, so I wouldn't be fully opposed to Hamilton United.

My top fear for the league is that it's going to be way more Mickey Mouse than we're all hoping. We've thrown around "NASL level" a few times, but I'm a little worried we're going to be "top half of L1O level."

I understand the logic behind Hamilton United, I just think it's a lame name. And if they think that putting United in the name suddenly means people from Ancaster, Dundas and Caledonia suddenly think it's their team...frankly I think they're wrong.

Now flip it to Hamilton Steelers...it brings me back to seeing games at Bernie Arbor, it has a shout out to the Steel workers of present and past (alot of whom lived in Ancaster, Dundas and Caledonia), it gives the team a blue collar identity in the league as a whole, and lets be honest, all the hipsters rebuilding downtown hamilton love to play off of the hardened blue-collar identity of what that city used to be, heck they sell shirts that say "Art is the new steel" which, I'm not quite sure I understand, haha. 

So you have one that's a ploy to try and attract the amalgamated city

and you have another that speaks to the soccer history, the industrial history, and the incoming 20-35 year-old downtown residents who you hopefully want to fill up your stadium...not to mention you suddenly have an identity in the league as a whole to help teams differentiate from eachother. 

Seems like a no brainer.

[marauder01]

3 minutes ago, lazlo_80 said:

I understand the logic behind Hamilton United, I just think it's a lame name. And if they think that putting United in the name suddenly means people from Ancaster, Dundas and Caledonia suddenly think it's their team...frankly I think they're wrong.

Now flip it to Hamilton Steelers...it brings me back to seeing games at Bernie Arbor, it has a shout out to the Steel workers of present and past (alot of whom lived in Ancaster, Dundas and Caledonia), it gives the team a blue collar identity in the league as a whole, and lets be honest, all the hipsters rebuilding downtown hamilton love to play off of the hardened blue-collar identity of what that city used to be, heck they sell shirts that say "Art is the new steel" which, I'm not quite sure I understand, haha. 

So you have one that's a ploy to try and attract the amalgamated city

and you have another that speaks to the soccer history, the industrial history, and the incoming 20-35 year-old downtown residents who you hopefully want to fill up your stadium...not to mention you suddenly have an identity in the league as a whole to help teams differentiate from eachother. 

Seems like a no brainer.

I'll preface this with Ticats telling us that the United & Steelers were names that they wanted to trademark, but there will be a name contest so we aren't limited to just Steelers or United.

Speaking specifically to Steelers, I expect there to be more young fans in the stands then those who saw the old Steelers play, so I don't see that being something they identify with. Since the Steelers went under steel has meant less and less to the city. Its still the largest private sector employer, but that decreases every year and if the name means less than it did in the 80s it will mean far less 20 years from now.

For me I'd like a name that is more representative of Hamilton and that means getting away from a declining image of Hamilton.

 

AC Hamilton is a neat idea. Hamilton Argyle was another one thrown around at a prior meeting that I liked. Regardless, I think when the Ticats have their team name contest/vote it will say a lot about 1) the people who will be going to games 2) How Hamiltonians really view the city.

[Futballer]

27 minutes ago, -Hammer- said:

That's actually pretty good, as for a while in the 30s Hamilton was known as the Electric city, and Hamilton does have a large Italian community. That said, even if you did some kind of electric branding, there would be certain groups that wouldn't take a shine to it.

Hamilton Steelers would work best for Hamilton  considering the jersey colors associated with that city. While Athletics Club would work best for Moncton. AC Moncton! 

[lazlo_80]

3 minutes ago, marauder01 said:

I'll preface this with Ticats telling us that the United & Steelers were names that they wanted to trademark, but there will be a name contest so we aren't limited to just Steelers or United.

Speaking specifically to Steelers, I expect there to be more young fans in the stands then those who saw the old Steelers play, so I don't see that being something they identify with. Since the Steelers went under steel has meant less and less to the city. Its still the largest private sector employer, but that decreases every year and if the name means less than it did in the 80s it will mean far less 20 years from now.

For me I'd like a name that is more representative of Hamilton and that means getting away from a declining image of Hamilton.

 

AC Hamilton is a neat idea. Hamilton Argyle was another one thrown around at a prior meeting that I liked. Regardless, I think when the Ticats have their team name contest/vote it will say a lot about 1) the people who will be going to games 2) How Hamiltonians really view the city.

Appreciate the back and forth.

I guarantee most fans probably weren't around for the old Steelers days, but that's not as big of a concern to me. I think it's still cool to call the team "The Steelers" compared to "United" especially with the young people who they likely want to make up a big part of their fan base. The blue collar history of the city is celebrated, especially by the younger demographic living in its core. Sure it's becoming more of a medical science city day by day, and I'm certainly glad it is...but it doesn't mean it's cool. Pittsburgh went through a very similar revitilization years back where they are now a giant medical hub...but the name "Steelers" still resonates widely for what it represented to the city.

The blue collar thing is why places like Brooklyn used to, and Detroit now has cache. I think it would be silly to turn away from something authentic you can draw on to go with as bland a name as "United". Though I'm curious to see what other names come up in the competition.

 

 

[matty]

Hamilton hamiltons would win solely because of the popular musical

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

16 minutes ago, lazlo_80 said:

Appreciate the back and forth.

I guarantee most fans probably weren't around for the old Steelers days,...

There's something that has remained in place from those day:

http://www.thebeerstore.ca/beers/steeler

[Complete Homer]

I get the reasoning against "Steelers", I just don't to see 3+ teams in an 8 team league called "United" 

KW already has a claim, assuming they'd keep the name going forward, and uniting the cities in the KW region makes the name pretty reasonable. 

I get the reasoning from the Hamilton FO on "United", but it seems much weaker to me. Would rather go with 3rd option. 

Then again, all I can think of when I hear about naming competitions is "Railhawks"... 

[Futballer]

On 3/20/2017 at 10:24 PM, Pat Carrasco said:

In the recent interview, Anthony Totera has mentioned that 12 to 14 teams have expressed interest in joining the CPL. Here are those teams and this is what my gut is now telling me: Toronto - Montreal - Ottawa - Hamilton - Quebec City - Halifax - Moncton - London - Kitchener-Waterloo - Vancouver - Victoria - Edmonton - Calgary - Regina - Saskatoon - Winnipeg.  I don't think all 12-14 teams are ready to start by 2018. They will probably start with 8 or probably 10 teams, but with the potentials of growing to 14 teams. 

From my standpoint CPL will not be in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in season 1, the second season will, as the MLS clubs would then change their outlook on professional soccer for Canada and North America as they see the success of the Canadian Premier League and the format that the Concacaf Champions League allow for better competition and revenues.

To go without MLS clubs at this stage will be best for Business. 

[matty]

1 hour ago, Futballer said:

From my standpoint CPL will not be in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in season 1, the second season will, as the MLS clubs would then change their outlook on professional soccer for Canada and North America as they see the success of the Canadian Premier League and the format that the Concacaf Champions League allow for better competition and revenues.

The GTA seems 50/50 right now. Makes to much sense not to be there business wise but also so many questions about going into it. Of the three it's easily the most likely to have a CPL team within the first few years.

Money making will be a question but, beyond league ticket sales, kit deals will likely bring each team between 500k-1.5m a year, media deals will likely give each team a few hundred thousand extra, general sponsorships another couple hundred thousand and of course the god tier money maker which is friendlies against the Euro clubs. Lots of money potential

CCL success will be great too but I see the CPL entering in the fall tourney to start which could be good if the CPL wins that shit asap

[dyslexic nam]

1 hour ago, Futballer said:

From my standpoint CPL will not be in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in season 1, the second season will, as the MLS clubs would then change their outlook on professional soccer for Canada and North America as they see the success of the Canadian Premier League and the format that the Concacaf Champions League allow for better competition and revenues.

To go without MLS clubs at this stage will be best for Business. 

Part of this depends on whether or not a few ambitious investors may seek to get in on the ground floor to corner the CPL presence in those potentially lucrative markets.  It is difficult to predict league success in the absence of the kind of info/analysis that potential investors would have at their disposal, but the growth of MLS may be a bit of a siren's call for investors with a degree of risk tolerance.  

• TFC spent $10M on the expansion fee in 2007.
• Vancouver spent $35M in 2011.
• Montreal spent $40M in 2012.
• Current expansion fees are rumoured at $150M.

While the context is quite different, there is obviously some incentive to get in early - and it doesn't get any earlier than league launch.  Throw in the fact that potential investors may be wary of others becoming interested if/when the league demonstrates success, and there may be sufficient incentive to be there from the outset.

--------

All just based on my armchair expertise, and no real insight to boots-on-the-ground knowledge of investors, but it does seem like a risk worth taking since any delays may lead to increased costs and competition.

[Ansem]

Just to add to a potential "explosive" rivalry between Moncton and Halifax. This is what Via Rail is planning as of January 31st 2017:

1 daily return train between Moncton and Halifax. Current driving time is around 2h45. A train could perhaps cut it down to 2 hours. That's a fun trip to go see those teams and add alternatives for those who don't have a car.

A smart way to have a good schedule would be to always make sure that 1 of those 2 teams play at home at any given weekend so that people from both cities can fill the stadium when their home town team is away

[matty]

Via should be a cpl sponsor or CP raiL

[Ansem]

7 minutes ago, matty said:

Via should be a cpl sponsor or CP raiL

They most likely will. That's a smart way to reduce travel cost if you have teams within the Quebec-Windsor corridor. Just pre-book 1st class trains for the entire team and this could significantly reduce travel costs for teams. Even better if they do Moncton-Halifax. You won't attract top talent by telling them they have to travel by buses but they will like 1st class train. This extra business is good for Via Rail which could be a huge incentive for sponsorship.

*For those who didn't know: free meals, free alcohol and more leg space is part of the perks.

You could limit plane travelling for inter-provincial match ups. Another great way to have sponsorship from WestJet or Air Canada

[matty]

5 hours ago, Ansem said:

They most likely will. That's a smart way to reduce travel cost if you have teams within the Quebec-Windsor corridor. Just pre-book 1st class trains for the entire team and this could significantly reduce travel costs for teams. Even better if they do Moncton-Halifax. You won't attract top talent by telling them they have to travel by buses but they will like 1st class train. This extra business is good for Via Rail which could be a huge incentive for sponsorship.

*For those who didn't know: Meals, alcohol and more leg space is part of the perks.

You could limit plane travelling for inter-provincial match ups. Another great way to have sponsorship from WestJet or Air Canada

I was thinking something like porter or west jet or jazz as the air sponsor but think via would be a natural get (especially for the eastern teams).

[Gopherbashi]

3 hours ago, matty said:

Hamilton hamiltons would win solely because of the popular musical

Steelers team of Hamilton
We are the Steelers team of Hamilton
And there's a million things we haven't done
But just you wait, just you wait...

[matty]

5 hours ago, Gopherbashi said:

Steelers team of Hamilton
We are the Steelers team of Hamilton
And there's a million things we haven't done
But just you wait, just you wait...

lin manuel miranda? Is that you?

[Gopherbashi]

39 minutes ago, matty said:

lin manuel miranda? Is that you?

Pardon me, are you Vancouver, sir?

[SuperCanuck]

17 hours ago, matty said:

You haven't been to a game in Europe recently have you. Shit is full of North American sports tropes. Player superhero intros, pregame and mid game rock songs, dumb as fuck mascots for beer companies parading around and ads blasting on the megatron the whole freaking time.

The issue with naming you team FC Calgary is that it isn't at all special anymore and is a cheap as fuck way of naming your team to get cheap purist love. I'd rather see a hybrid of the two styles which we've seen done very well in Canada with the Whitecaps (as pointed out above).

Also Wiz-Burn is amazingly funny.

BTW on Wiz is perfect if we are naming from a city's history/culture

It seems that you think that we disagree on this topic, but from your above post, we agree.  

I haven't been to an anything in Europe recently, or ever for that matter.  Perhaps like you, I don't believe that just because something footy-related is done or not done in Europe, that makes it better.  If people do stupid shit in Europe, that's their funeral.  I like or dislike something based on its own merits, not by who else likes it.  

I never said that FC Calgary is necessarily a good name either.   I like Whitecaps.  United makes sense for KW, as mentioned above.  There are even some hockey teams with names I love a lot more than "cool" football club names:

Trail Smoke Eaters, Regina Pats, Brandon Wheat Kings, Kingston Frontenacs, Acadie-Bathurst Titan,   Québec Remparts, Baie-Comeau Drakkar

Just please no Storm, Sting, Metro-Stars, Wiz, Spit, Barf, etc.

[Alex D]

Chatham Barf FC. I like it!

[matty]

6 hours ago, SuperCanuck said:

Just please no Storm, Sting, Metro-Stars, Wiz, Spit, Barf, etc.

My mistake

[Rheo]

Not news per say but Rollins had Simon Fudge on Soccer Today yesterday talking about his thoughts on Vancouver, Victoria and Saskatchewan and what the league should be at start in his opinion.  Main points...

-Vancouver-questioned if there was enough of a hardcore market for a second team

-Victoria-thought it could be supported but wonder about the extra costs associated with travel (ferry, planes) make it possible

-Saskatchewan-He's from there and he asked people from there and no one had heard anything

 

[Kent]

18 hours ago, matty said:

lin manuel miranda? Is that you?

 

18 hours ago, Gopherbashi said:

Pardon me, are you Vancouver, sir?

These seem so random to me, I feel like a hit has just been ordered and acknowledged.

[BradMack]

20 hours ago, Ansem said:

A smart way to have a good schedule would be to always make sure that 1 of those 2 teams play at home at any given weekend so that people from both cities can fill the stadium when their home town team is away

I'm about 45 minutes outside of Halifax, I really doubt Halifax supporters would be going to Moncton (our potential rival) to support them. You'll be lucky to get people from Fredericton and Saint John to go support Moncton. I'd say 90% or higher of the crowd would be from Moncton or the immediate surrounding area. 

[Futballer]

21 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

Part of this depends on whether or not a few ambitious investors may seek to get in on the ground floor to corner the CPL presence in those potentially lucrative markets.  It is difficult to predict league success in the absence of the kind of info/analysis that potential investors would have at their disposal, but the growth of MLS may be a bit of a siren's call for investors with a degree of risk tolerance.  

• TFC spent $10M on the expansion fee in 2007.
• Vancouver spent $35M in 2011.
• Montreal spent $40M in 2012.
• Current expansion fees are rumoured at $150M.

While the context is quite different, there is obviously some incentive to get in early - and it doesn't get any earlier than league launch.  Throw in the fact that potential investors may be wary of others becoming interested if/when the league demonstrates success, and there may be sufficient incentive to be there from the outset.

--------

All just based on my armchair expertise, and no real insight to boots-on-the-ground knowledge of investors, but it does seem like a risk worth taking since any delays may lead to increased costs and competition.

Your statements are on point . MLS Clubs in Canada Must see the Vision of the Canadian Premier League that it benefits the entire continent for Canada to have its own League separate from the United states. The Article further explains the vision http://www.worldsoccer.com/columnists/champions-league-for-the-americas-could-benefit-entire-continent-396477  This CPL is the final piece of the puzzle to achieved this Champions League successfully. 

[Macksam]

3 hours ago, Rheo said:

Not news per say but Rollins had Simon Fudge on Soccer Today yesterday talking about his thoughts on Vancouver, Victoria and Saskatchewan and what the league should be at start in his opinion.  Main points...

-Vancouver-questioned if there was enough of a hardcore market for a second team

-Victoria-thought it could be supported but wonder about the extra costs associated with travel (ferry, planes) make it possible

-Saskatchewan-He's from there and he asked people from there and no one had heard anything

 

What are everyones thoughts from Vancouver of making a counter culture club that plays out of Swangard? Considering the team had a great following back in the USL/NASL days unlike Toronto, I was thinking this could be an avenue to explore for that city. 

Also, does anyone remember back in 2009/2010 how Aqualani tried to half heartedly hijack Kerfoot's MLS bid in Vancouver? The key word is half heartedly so that should end the conversation right there but I was wondering if there have bee any rumblings in his camp.