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The link seems to be taken down now. What were the details? Did they give a timeline for this stadium? Did they say it will be 12k or just "expandable" to 12k or something? Am I right in thinking RAP is where the Highlanders play(ed)?

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5 hours ago, Kent said:

The link seems to be taken down now. What were the details? Did they give a timeline for this stadium? Did they say it will be 12k or just "expandable" to 12k or something? Am I right in thinking RAP is where the Highlanders play(ed)?

I think, dumbly, I did not save the pdf. Anyone else get it?

The key idea, apart from running the field sideways, was that the stadium would be conceived for big matches, overflow crowds, Voyageur Cup, other major soccer events, etc. 

They left the Vic West and Rob Friend's emails, and called for public support. 

Although they cite Westhills (ignoring the name change) as their main ground, it certainly seems this is a move either to pressure Langford, invite Victoria to host them, or both. 

I would not be surprised if they have some disagreement with the mayor of Langford, as the guy is not the most up and up person, and a lot of his decision making is ambitious but sloppy. Residential development in that town is amongst the worst I have seen anywhere.

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I’m confused, this seems like a backwards move... why?

- smaller stadium from Starlight. Is Starlights capacity capped/limited  
- Grass vs Turf... okay but the turf can be replaced
- location? Which one is better?
- the hydropole cant be moved huh

 All in all I’m trying to understand the benefit of leaving the initial investment that Is Westhill Stadium to update another stadium under less conditions.

 Someone please educate me.

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21 hours ago, T_Bison said:

Looks like they're planning the next phase - downtown, expandable to 12K, grass pitch. It's not right now, but imagine if they start getting close to the Wanderers' crowd's they'll be busting at the seams at Westhills plus they still have the hydro pole and other nonsense to deal with. 

Some of the actual as opposed to announced crowds at Langford in 2019 were dismal. Downtown Victoria is where they need to be to try to emulate the Wanderers.

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1 hour ago, Shway said:

I’m confused, this seems like a backwards move... why?

- smaller stadium from Starlight. Is Starlights capacity capped/limited  
- Grass vs Turf... okay but the turf can be replaced
- location? Which one is better?
- the hydropole cant be moved huh

 All in all I’m trying to understand the benefit of leaving the initial investment that Is Westhill Stadium to update another stadium under less conditions.

 Someone please educate me.

Royal Athletic Park is much more central. Maybe they are hoping they can draw much larger crowds there.

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1 hour ago, Shway said:

I’m confused, this seems like a backwards move... why?

- smaller stadium from Starlight. Is Starlights capacity capped/limited  
- Grass vs Turf... okay but the turf can be replaced
- location? Which one is better?
- the hydropole cant be moved huh

 All in all I’m trying to understand the benefit of leaving the initial investment that Is Westhill Stadium to update another stadium under less conditions.

 Someone please educate me.

I don’t think there’s been any suggestion that they would leave Starlight. RAP would be used for special one off events for Pacific and potentially the national team. At least to start. An opportunity to connect with the downtown core and hopefully attract new fans. Burying the power lines in Langford sounds expensive. I don’t think it happens without more pressure and more support 

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8 minutes ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Some of the actual as opposed to announced crowds at Langford in 2019 were dismal. Downtown Victoria is where they need to be to try to emulate the Wanderers.

As someone who attended every Pacific game, as well as countless games at Clarke in Edmonton and other smaller venues before then, I can assure you that Westhills numbers did not feel greatly inflated. No matter how many times you bring this up

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The problem with that RAP scheme is that it is makeshift, like too many of our stadium concepts for CPL. 

Even the way of setting up the stands is a bit improvised.

Even Saskatoon it looks like they are scratching away at ideas. 

Just one 8-10,000 capacity stadium with curved corners and a covered main stand--is that so hard?

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 I went over for a game and really enjoyed. Met up with family from up Island and Victoria. I see what they're doing here. Victoria downtown is growing with a typical "urban" crowd and lifestyle Langford is booming with a typical suburban crowd. To me it seems they're setting up a 2nd home field to capture both markets. The diehards will go to both and the RAP location get the car less downtown crowd in the door.

I think its smart if they can pull it off

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58 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

The problem with that RAP scheme is that it is makeshift, like too many of our stadium concepts for CPL. 

Even the way of setting up the stands is a bit improvised.

Even Saskatoon it looks like they are scratching away at ideas. 

Just one 8-10,000 capacity stadium with curved corners and a covered main stand--is that so hard?

It’s Canada they have to build stadiums to accommodate every sport imaginable and in the end you get BMO Field and Tim Hortons Fields.

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11 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

 ...To me it seems they're setting up a 2nd home field to capture both markets...

Can you think of an example of any club globally that does something like that? The much more straightforward explanation is that if a sub-5k total capacity is now OK for CanPL (York and FCE also appear to be scaling back a bit in terms of seating) they may no longer need to use Langford to meet league requirements and by moving to RAP could have a grass playing surface, a Halifax style downtown location close to those used in Victoria by baseball and hockey for large scale paid spectator events and no messed up camera angles due to the hydro pole. As far as I remember David Clanachan has highlighted in the past that the hydro pole issue could prompt a move away from Langford. This pdf shows they are serious about that.

Edited by Ozzie_the_parrot
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2 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Can you think of an example of any club globally that does something like that? The much more straightforward explanation is that if a sub-5k total capacity is now OK for CanPL (York and FCE also appear to be scaling back a bit in terms of seating) they may no longer need to use Langford to meet league requirements and by moving to RAP could have a grass playing surface, a Halifax style downtown location close to those used in Victoria by baseball and hockey for large scale paid spectator events and no messed up camera angles due to the hydro pole. As far as I remember David Clanachan has highlighted in the past that the hydro pole issue could prompt a move away from Langford. This pdf shows they are serious about that.

It could well be a pressure tactic, and a smart one too. 

When they were getting going on Pacific in 2018, there was no interest from Victoria City Hall. In contrast, Mayor Stu in Langford was very proactive.

It was a period of elections, in the fall of 2018, and the current Victoria mayor's candidacy was totally uninterested in the question, the only sports issue that came up was the redoing of nearby Crystal Pool (I know this up close as I worked for a friend who was a mayoralty candidate, and who happens to live 2 blocks from RAP). They were too busy taking down the JA MacDonald statue. Lisa Helps is still relatively unconcerned about sports and her constituency is another.

I would like to know if things have changed at City Hall, if the lobby of Vic West has been active, or if something else is going on--like maybe they are interested in revenue streams. Or if it is tied to a residential development scheme that will take place nearby, Helps being very pro-developer and keen about raising density, despite her alternative posturing. If apartment blocks begin to go up along Cook, which would be the place for it to happen, having nearby pro sports could be part of how you sell that new community.

BTW, also very close is Victoria Secondary, which has a track with a field in the middle, and frankly that site would be very good for a stadium as well.

Edited by Unnamed Trialist
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5 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Can you think of an example of any club globally that does something like that? The much more straightforward explanation is that if a sub-5k total capacity is now OK for CanPL (York and FCE also appear to be scaling back a bit in terms of seating) they may no longer need to use Langford to meet league requirements and by moving to RAP could have a grass playing surface, a Halifax style downtown location close to those used in Victoria by baseball and hockey for large scale paid spectator events and no messed up camera angles due to the hydro pole. As far as I remember David Clanachan has highlighted in the past that the hydro pole issue could prompt a move away from Langford. This pdf shows they are serious about that.

No surprise you've taken something that highlights the potential for increased capacity and spun it to suggest decreasing capacity as the objective. In Langford they have a permanent stadium with larger capacity, a brand new training facility, branding throughout the city, a youth team setup, much cheaper accommodation for players and staff, a favourable governing body that is all in on sports, and it's all in the fastest growing community in BC. I really don't see this as them abandoning Langford after all that investment. At least in the short-term. I think they recognize the importance of connecting with downtown Victoria, and the soccer community that's established there. The downtown shop was another attempt at this. I certainly don't see this as a sign that the league is changing their requirements.

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I think ultimately once Victoria sorts out its transportation issues and deals with its continued growth they would want a stadium dt. Pacific also needs to prove to the City that they're a product people are interested in and its worth the investment. This is an interesting way to establish a footprint in dt work with the city and build towards a proper stadium. I can see like 1/3 or less of the games being played at RAP

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8 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Can you think of an example of any club globally that does something like that? The much more straightforward explanation is that if a sub-5k total capacity is now OK for CanPL (York and FCE also appear to be scaling back a bit in terms of seating) they may no longer need to use Langford to meet league requirements and by moving to RAP could have a grass playing surface, a Halifax style downtown location close to those used in Victoria by baseball and hockey for large scale paid spectator events and no messed up camera angles due to the hydro pole. As far as I remember David Clanachan has highlighted in the past that the hydro pole issue could prompt a move away from Langford. This pdf shows they are serious about that.

Australia. A couple teams use different stadiums in different cities. Wellington plays in Auckland sometimes. Western United plays in three or four stadiums in each suburb they represent.

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