CPL Stadium Thread

[Reign]

Yeah it’s really not that hard to understand why this country isn’t littered with soccer specific stadiums. If we flip the script, Canada has 58 hockey arenas with 5K + capacity. England has 11. 

[Initial B]

I think part of the problem will be coming up with enough funding to build a stadium from whole cloth. I get the feeling that CPL stadiums will need to be build in piecemeal chunks. Build the temporary seating for 5000 on two sides first with food trucks and porta-potties, then slowly add additional seating stands around the other two sides as attendance warrants, then remove one of the temporary stands and build a proper, permanent stand with concessions, corporate suites, washrooms, change rooms, and space for club administration/training along one side.

[SkuseisLoose]

Just thought I’d post a photo of the completed pacific fc stand.

 

[ted]

^ Thanks for posting. I meant to have a look when I was out that was this past weekend.

[CDNFootballer]

3 hours ago, SkuseisLoose said:

Just thought I’d post a photo of the completed pacific fc stand.

 

Looks fantastic, seems they're foregoing putting the old family section bleachers back in? If so, probably a good idea as the extra capacity is not needed yet and it looks better without them below the newly erected stand.

[Aird25]

40 minutes ago, CDNFootballer said:

Looks fantastic, seems they're foregoing putting the old family section bleachers back in? If so, probably a good idea as the extra capacity is not needed yet and it looks better without them below the newly erected stand.

They might also just be moved to clear the endzone for football/rugby. They're still selling tickets for both the supporters stand and the family stand on ticketmaster, even though they're not currently in place. Tickets in the new end seem to be selling well though

Edited August 14, 2019 by Aird25

[m-g-williams]

. . . what's with the gridiron lines?

[SkuseisLoose]

19 minutes ago, m-g-williams said:

. . . what's with the gridiron lines?

The local football team uses the ground as well as of now.

[Unnamed Trialist]

@ted posted here that the club was proposing the supporter sections would go to the new stand and that family would go to the other end, which would make sense. 

Now to fill a supporter section, or at least, if a lower quarter was supporter sections, the rest would be fans eager to be close to it.

[m-g-williams]

7 hours ago, SkuseisLoose said:

The local football team uses the ground as well as of now.

Eww. Well, I hope those lines can be scrubbed out easily enough for PFC matches. 

[ted]

9 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

@ted posted here that the club was proposing the supporter sections would go to the new stand and that family would go to the other end, which would make sense. 

But not until next year.

[SpursFlu]

Going to my first game and excited about the completion of the stands. Looks amazing and getting tickets seems like a pretty good crowd. I think Pacific has been un lucky this year with injuries. I predict big things for this club

[Unnamed Trialist]

7 hours ago, ted said:

But not until next year.

Okay, Ted, so how are they going to do things? That is a big stand and it'd be a shame for them not to find a way to fill it, like with youth clubs, that sort of thing. They are going to have to do some very enticing pricing I'd think.

I hear a lot of Vancouverites talking about coming over for the next home game, brace yourself!!

[Obinna]

I haven't been to the PFC (yet), but they already had the best looking stadium. That end stand makes it even better and the maple leaf is the cherry on top!

[Mikmacdo]

5 hours ago, Obinna said:

I haven't been to the PFC (yet), but they already had the best looking stadium. That end stand makes it even better and the maple leaf is the cherry on top!

Spruce Meadows is my number 1. If PFC gets grass and finds a way to film from a higher location it would probably go to number 1. 

[Obinna]

22 minutes ago, Mikmacdo said:

Spruce Meadows is my number 1. If PFC gets grass and finds a way to film from a higher location it would probably go to number 1. 

Spruce Meadows is a close second for me. The grass is nice to have, but remember, it is a modular stadium and you can really feel that when you are there, stomping on the bleachers. Great for generating noise, of course, but I would prefer something that feels more permanent.

The lighting too is something that needs fixing. At the beginning of the year they had no floodlights, but now the ones they have, while better than nothing, are insufficient. The days are only getting shorter, so I hope they are working o  a solution.

My final remark is more positive: Going into the season, I was critical of the choice to play at Spruce Meadows, and although I still do not enjoy the commute, I am really digging the ambience. It's a really cool, unique atmosphere, with people mingling about! I love the big screen outside of the stadium, in fact I love that the team store, consessions, etc. are all just outside of the stadium (but on the grounds). Food choices are top notch and having gone by car last night, I would say the parking "problems" are not as bad as I thought.

Edited August 15, 2019 by Obinna

[ted]

23 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Okay, Ted, so how are they going to do things? That is a big stand and it'd be a shame for them not to find a way to fill it, like with youth clubs, that sort of thing. They are going to have to do some very enticing pricing I'd think.

I hear a lot of Vancouverites talking about coming over for the next home game, brace yourself!!

I don't understand your question? They will fill it by selling the same , cheaper tickets that have been selling at both ends all season. The ends were full on opening day and looks like they may be full again on the 24th.

We get lots of Vancouverites all the time.

 

[Unnamed Trialist]

46 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Spruce Meadows is a close second for me. The grass is nice to have, but remember, it is a modular stadium and you can really feel that when you are there, stomping on the bleachers. Great for generating noise, of course, but I would prefer something that feels more permanent.

The lighting too is something that needs fixing. At the beginning of the year they had no floodlights, but now the ones they have, while better than nothing, are insufficient. The days are only getting shorter, so I hope they are working o  a solution.

My final remark is more positive: Going into the season, I was critical of the choice to play at Spruce Meadows, and although I still do not enjoy the commute, I am really digging the ambience. It's a really cool, unique atmosphere, with people mingling about! I love the big screen outside of the stadium, in fact I love that the team store, consessions, etc. are all just outside of the stadium (but on the grounds). Food choices are top notch and having gone by car last night, I would say the parking "problems" are not as bad as I thought.

I too agree it looks good on screen, as does Wanderers Grounds. I think that the supporters section is too small and they should try to find a way to expand that, perhaps by doing an alteration to the stand for next season. I also think that on the opposite end the grassy slope is a bit lax, and does not look good, nor is it really ever sold out--so why not find a way to fit seating into a part of the slope?

Pacific may look good but they have work to do on the overall in-game ambience, not for any fault of the supporters section. Basically, they need to get bums in seats, and enliven the fans with stronger play. The stadium also has some pretty glaring design errors, most notably the gaps between the roof on the main stand, which is actually three roofs with a couple metre gap between them, meaning a swath of fans paying the same as someone three seats over will get rained on--totally senseless planning. Apart from that, the feel around the stadium, for food, drink, entry, parking, all very good.

[Unnamed Trialist]

4 minutes ago, ted said:

I don't understand your question? They will fill it by selling the same , cheaper tickets that have been selling at both ends all season. The ends were full on opening day and looks like they may be full again on the 24th.

We get lots of Vancouverites all the time.

 

Both ends were more empty than full the day I was there, July 6. Did not look good and has not most games I have seen on OneSoccer either.

[ted]

17 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Both ends were more empty than full the day I was there, July 6. Did not look good and has not most games I have seen on OneSoccer either.

Ah, fair enough. What you are really asking is how to improve attendance overall as opposed to selling tickets in the ends.

I should note, no one checks tickets currently once you are in the stadium (except maybe the suites)  and lots of people who are buying seats in the ends see empty seats in the main stand, IN THE SHADE, and move there. If no one has tickets for those assigned seats, they don't get moved.

My main complaint is scheduling games at 3:00 pm in the freaking afternoon on the hottest days of the year. I think that is a bad move as Victoria is an "outdoor" town, especially in the summer. Local trails, beaches, parks and waterways are full of hikers, swimmers, kayakers, etc in the middle of the day on a weekend.

[Macksam]

I think the league's attendance would benefit the most by having mid-week games with some teams playing on Friday nights. Saturday and Sunday are for the cottage/beach during the summer months.

Edited August 16, 2019 by Macksam

[Kent]

1 hour ago, ted said:

Ah, fair enough. What you are really asking is how to improve attendance overall as opposed to selling tickets in the ends.

I should note, no one checks tickets currently once you are in the stadium (except maybe the suites)  and lots of people who are buying seats in the ends see empty seats in the main stand, IN THE SHADE, and move there. If no one has tickets for those assigned seats, they don't get moved.

My main complaint is scheduling games at 3:00 pm in the freaking afternoon on the hottest days of the year. I think that is a bad move as Victoria is an "outdoor" town, especially in the summer. Local trails, beaches, parks and waterways are full of hikers, swimmers, kayakers, etc in the middle of the day on a weekend.

I'd love to go to more York 9 games (have only been to one home game, plus the inaugural game in Hamilton), but the afternoon it's too hard to pull me away from my family. I'd definitely prefer evening games, but to be fair, in a couple years maybe my kids could be interested in going to games, which would mean afternoons would be better for me all of a sudden.

[SpursFlu]

As I've been watching this league including Pacific all year. The cash register in my head has been working and my overall observation is the league is doing great. Pacific need to stay healthy, win games, now the nicest stadium in the league, grow the brand, that area of the Island continues to grow.. in other words, it's all to the good

[CDNFootballer]

PHOTOS: Inside the opening of the expanded Westhills Stadium

The grand opening of the expanded stadium in Langford is on schedule for Aug. 24

Home to the Premier League soccer team, which approached the City in spring 2018, as well as Rugby Canada and the Westshore Rebels football team, the stadium has undergone significant upgrades costing about $8.8 million since Langford City Counil approved the expansion last July. Once complete, the expanded stadium will accommodate 6,000 spectators in the purple or white plastic seats that were added to the new and existing grandstands, on the folding bleachers on the field, or in one of 18 VIP suites.

https://www.saanichnews.com/sports/photos-inside-the-opening-of-the-expanded-westhills-stadium/

 

[Aird25]

1 hour ago, CDNFootballer said:

PHOTOS: Inside the opening of the expanded Westhills Stadium

The grand opening of the expanded stadium in Langford is on schedule for Aug. 24

Home to the Premier League soccer team, which approached the City in spring 2018, as well as Rugby Canada and the Westshore Rebels football team, the stadium has undergone significant upgrades costing about $8.8 million since Langford City Counil approved the expansion last July. Once complete, the expanded stadium will accommodate 6,000 spectators in the purple or white plastic seats that were added to the new and existing grandstands, on the folding bleachers on the field, or in one of 18 VIP suites.

https://www.saanichnews.com/sports/photos-inside-the-opening-of-the-expanded-westhills-stadium/

 

Lol it's certainly still looks like a construction site in some of those pictures, but the new stand looks amazing. I'm looking forward to this weekend. Hopefully it fills up.

Edited August 21, 2019 by Aird25