Jump to content

Victoria CPL


Recommended Posts

On 5/11/2017 at 7:49 PM, Alex D said:

I hope they are involved as well, it's the only town in Canada made entirely out of gingerbread. But the baseball team draws a couple thousand fans a game I believe and they invested some money into the stadium with a new outfield wall and scoreboard. The city runs the park, a CPL owner would have to do one hell of a sell job. 

I do wish someone from the area could tell us more about centennial stadium and what it would need to be CPL ready. 

 

opening up the V-cup to teams like this should go a long way in making markets like this more appealing to potential ownership.  As of right now, the whole situation in north american soccer is so confusing and basically all the non-soccer fan really knows about is MLS.  

If we can bootstrap some credibility onto PDL USL and CanPL teams(NASL as well, although they've already done this) it should slowly but surely increase awareness in those communities.  This stuff takes time though.  Even look at how far it's come in the last ten years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 662
  • Created
  • Last Reply
2 hours ago, GuillermoDelQuarto said:

opening up the V-cup to teams like this should go a long way in making markets like this more appealing to potential ownership.  As of right now, the whole situation in north american soccer is so confusing and basically all the non-soccer fan really knows about is MLS.  

If we can bootstrap some credibility onto PDL USL and CanPL teams(NASL as well, although they've already done this) it should slowly but surely increase awareness in those communities.  This stuff takes time though.  Even look at how far it's come in the last ten years.

I would argue it would get less confusing once we get out of PDL, USL (excepting reserve teams), and NASL. When the existing teams in those leagues move to CPL or tier 3 Canadian leagues I think things will be clearer, and I hope better. That's why I am fine with PDL teams being excluded from the Voyageurs Cup. That is the only real carrot we have to draw teams to tier 3 leagues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I wish!

Sadly the reporting in the press and talk around town is about using 'pre-existing" facilities and the only likely legacy is another increase in student housing @ UVic. Now, don't get me wrong, this city has rents and house prices comparable to Vancouver so ANY increase in housing inventory at an affordable level would be HUGE but I would like to see more.

We could get Royal Athletic Park upgraded and, if done right, temporary bleachers added to UVic's Centennial stadium (again) could this time be designed to be partially dismantled and added to increase capacities for sports venues on the island. If I had the $$ I would invest in CanPL, sign a long-term lease to manage and improve RAP and design renovations to incorporate the surplus seating from these games into an expansion of the capacity.

But sadly other people keep winning the lotto. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/23/2017 at 8:44 PM, Kent said:

I would argue it would get less confusing once we get out of PDL, USL (excepting reserve teams), and NASL. When the existing teams in those leagues move to CPL or tier 3 Canadian leagues I think things will be clearer, and I hope better. That's why I am fine with PDL teams being excluded from the Voyageurs Cup. That is the only real carrot we have to draw teams to tier 3 leagues.

hm, thats an interesting way of looking at it.  

I agree though, it's far too confusing and fragmented.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

From the CPL General Thread:

1 hour ago, Rheo said:

The guys on Footy Soldiers pod clarified their tweet on the Commonwealth stadium and CPL possibility in Victoria.

-games bid stadium proposal is in the West Hills/Langford area (this means nothing to me, never been there just transcribing lol)

-they said they know of another site that is being looked at for Victoria and that the city is "very open to idea the of a CPL team in a very, very prime location"

-they hypothesize that the games would need more than one venue so there could be some "synergy" there

-they then went on to discuss the market and the history of the game there.  Real interesting stuff as an outsider especially when deep diving into the community and what would be needed for a team to succeed.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So much to unpack from the above:

Are we (The Lake Side Buoys) being purposely kept out of the loop, and if so why? My guess is we don't register that much and if we do they are probably just keeping things close the chest for now.

"West Hills/Langford" that might explains why they won't talk to us. We started there and our name comes from "Langford Lake" but the stadium the Highlanders started at is not sufficient nor acceptable for professional football and we have be pretty vocal about that. Now maybe, they are talking about a new stadium in that area which would be better. Still not the best location IMO for a stadium in this town, but if it is the proposal I think it is, the transit options and parking are pretty good.

I hope the other "prime location" is the crazy idea I had to build a stadium in Rock Bay. Fill in the useless chunk of the upper harrbour and totally transform an industrial area on the waterfront that has been basically dead for decades.

 

Just now, Rheo said:

Thanks, forgot about this thread, used to the general one lol.

No worries, I had to look it up as I was about to start a new one. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, ted said:

So much to unpack from the above:

Are we (The Lake Side Buoys) being purposely kept out of the loop, and if so why? My guess is we don't register that much and if we do they are probably just keeping things close the chest for now.

Was there any indication that there was an actual team brewing? I haven't listened, but Rheo's breakdown seemed to indicate that there was interest on the city's side and a reason to build a stadium but not necessarily an ownership group at this point. There may not be anyone to reach out to you guys at this point 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spent two years in Victoria, what a beautiful city, Victoria vs Halifax for two beautiful harbour cities would be pretty fun to watch.

Too bad Stevie Nash is already in on the Caps, I couldn't imagine what it'd be like for the prodigal son to come back home with any stake in a Victoria CPL side at all, damn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

52 minutes ago, Complete Homer said:

... that there was interest on the city's side ...

Wow, that would be a first for Victoria, unless they are talking about the City of Langford. The metropolitan area of "Victoria" includes at least 13 local governments, maybe more, depending on how you count and what area you include.

Infrastructure spending is a hot topic with a crazy over-budget new bridge, an upcoming complete rebuild of a pool/community center and talk of bidding on the Commonwealth games. Very few local politicians are likely to offer much for a stadium project at the moment. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@ted If it makes you feel better, I haven't heard a peep from anyone on a potential Calgary bid outside of a few statements from Foothills that may or may not be grandstanding.

On ‎8‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 10:28 AM, ironcub14 said:

Spent two years in Victoria, what a beautiful city, Victoria vs Halifax for two beautiful harbour cities would be pretty fun to watch.

I would second this. My brother went to UVic, and I found Victoria a fantastic place. I also like Halifax, FWIW.

Edmonton on the other hand? Shit hole.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, masster said:

So the Commonwealth games bid may be over, thus a potential new stadium as well.
https://gamesbids.com/eng/other-games-bids/victorias-2022-commonwealth-games-bid-ended-by-province/

That sucks, but pretty understandable for the province and feds to back away from almost a billion in funding for the Commonwealth games. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, masster said:

So the Commonwealth games bid may be over, thus a potential new stadium as well.
https://gamesbids.com/eng/other-games-bids/victorias-2022-commonwealth-games-bid-ended-by-province/

No may be about it by the looks of things:

“The dream is over,” Black said. “We cannot continue without the province’s support. I think we are missing a huge opportunity.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would not think that the Games bid being abandoned will have much, if any, impact on any CanPL talk in town. It would have been nice but the bid was NEVER going to include a new stadium. Heck the last time they added some seats to Centennial Stadium at UVic, but most of them were temporary and removed after the games.

A serious CanPL bid would, IMHO, be best built around upgrading Royal Athletic Park.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, ted said:

I would not think that the Games bid being abandoned will have much, if any, impact on any CanPL talk in town. It would have been nice but the bid was NEVER going to include a new stadium. Heck the last time they added some seats to Centennial Stadium at UVic, but most of them were temporary and removed after the games.

A serious CanPL bid would, IMHO, be best built around upgrading Royal Athletic Park.

I really like RAP, nice venue, also happens to be walking distance from where I stay when in Victoria.

I was just counting, the baseball HarbourCats have 36 home days booked from the last day of May to late August. A lot are midweek, there are a few consecutive weekends over the period. The question is how hard it is to remove and replace the mound, how many times it would happen over a season. Maybe 8-9 times. 

You'd need to make decisions on where to add seats to break the baseball set-up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love RAP and live close as well, and I think that its location would be better than Centennial or Langford for a game-day experience, but the configuration of the seats is definitely awkward, assuming everything else falls into place with ownership, city, HarbourCats, etc.  

You can set up the pitch with one goal close to the 3rd base bleachers as they did in the U20 WC, but then the main stands are way off-center; or, you can set up the pitch aligned with the main stands, which avoids the issue of the mound but would require some kind of temporary seating behind the west goal, or none at all.  Either configuration would require removing then replacing the outfield chain-link fence for all CanPL games, which seems an equally challenging undertaking in addition to the mound and infield.

Anyone have knowledge of what it costs NYCFC to sod part of the infield for their home games?  Any examples of lower-level (USL/NASL/PDL/other) teams that share grounds with a baseball team that we know of?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, shorty said:

Anyone have knowledge of what it costs NYCFC to sod part of the infield for their home games?  Any examples of lower-level (USL/NASL/PDL/other) teams that share grounds with a baseball team that we know of?

The Yankees have a private contract with a company that oversees the upkeep and placement of the sod. It doesn't sound cheap. The only other team I know of that plays in a true baseball stadium and not a multipurpose field is the NY Cosmos, who play at MCU Park which has artificial turf. I can't find a picture of it, but they apparently nail down turf over the infield when baseball isn't in season. Otherwise it looks like this: 

 c700x420-620x400.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, harrycoyster said:

The Yankees have a private contract with a company that oversees the upkeep and placement of the sod. It doesn't sound cheap. The only other team I know of that plays in a true baseball stadium and not a multipurpose field is the NY Cosmos, who play at MCU Park which has artificial turf. I can't find a picture of it, but they apparently nail down turf over the infield when baseball isn't in season. Otherwise it looks like this: 

 c700x420-620x400.jpg

Imagine that but with more ads on the pitch and you have yourself a CPL field

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, C2SKI said:

I'd imagine, from an economic stand point, that CPL would hopefully trump amateur baseball. Maybe we should be thinking of ways to reconfigure RAP to accommodate a ball park as the secondary sport.

Don't read too much into the amateur status.  WHL is amateur as well, and the HarbourCats are a similar niche.  It isn't as much of a sure bet that you will be watching a future pro as it is when you go to a Royals game, but it's the same idea, and it's (almost) equally popular around here.  They pulled in over 60,000 last summer over 27 dates.  http://harbourcats.com/harbourcats-attendance-ninth-collegiate-summer-baseball/   That's averaging over 2200 a game, which is less than the Royals, but more than the Highlanders.  They also invest a lot in things like fireworks and skydivers, etc. to make their games "events".

Now, I'm not mentioning this to say this is a model for the CPL to go all gimmicky and 1970s NASL. I'm just pointing out the reality of the context at RAP and in Victoria. College amateur or not, I don't imagine that a team bringing in those numbers is going away soon.  Any solution that places a CanPL franchise at RAP will probably have to involve sharing the facility, at least at the outset, and then after that they would have to put up big enough numbers to warrant looking at making them the primary tenant.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From: Red Nation Interview Series: Adam Straith (Aug 29/17)

<quote> RNO: You’re 26, have played 177 league games and 43 times for Canada. Most people see you as a key player in the first Canadian Premier League season. Do you ever think about that or are you more of a “right here, right now” kind of guy? 

Adam Straith: I do follow the latest news on the CPL, and am very excited to see what happens when it eventually starts. Right now at this time, I am not thinking too deeply into it as I don’t really know what “it” is yet, but I don’t shut it down as an opportunity in the future. I, as well as I know like many of the other guys, hope that the league is a success as it can only be good for the future of Canadian Soccer if done correctly. </quote>
 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...