CPL new teams speculation

[Ftduck]

If the CPL could get to 10 teams ALL drawing 7 to 10 thousand in support, with a good amount of television coverage showing how great a time we are all having, the GTA could have a handful of teams. Not until then though. Not sure why I so enjoy coming here and stating the obvious, but I do. 

[Aird25]

3 minutes ago, Ansem said:

right project, right location, right identify, right owners - no sport competition is definitely a plus

They just need the right project ON the pitch

But what makes it the right project, the right identity, and the right owners?

[Kingston]

10 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

But what makes it the right project, the right identity, and the right owners?

My opinon:

Project:  A pro sports team for a city of half a million that didn't previously have one.

Identity:  It's Halifax all the way.  Not Sailboat FC or Lobster Soccer Club.  Having just visited Halifax again, its a city that's proud of its identity and history and has a great sense of itself.  It feels a lot bigger than it is because it is the only decent size city in the entire region.  And the marketing appears to be all pro, all the way - no "please, soccer moms, bring your kids to play in the bouncy castle fun zone".  The team presents professionally for soccer fans and the soccer fans return the favour by taking it seriously.

Owners:  I have no idea, but they've clearly backed the team.  They're the only CPL side to just go ahead and build a stadium, for example.

[Ansem]

1 hour ago, Aird25 said:

But what makes it the right project, the right identity, and the right owners?

 

35 minutes ago, Kingston said:

My opinon:

Project:  A pro sports team for a city of half a million that didn't previously have one.

Identity:  It's Halifax all the way.  Not Sailboat FC or Lobster Soccer Club.  Having just visited Halifax again, its a city that's proud of its identity and history and has a great sense of itself.  It feels a lot bigger than it is because it is the only decent size city in the entire region.  And the marketing appears to be all pro, all the way - no "please, soccer moms, bring your kids to play in the bouncy castle fun zone".  The team presents professionally for soccer fans and the soccer fans return the favour by taking it seriously.

Owners:  I have no idea, but they've clearly backed the team.  They're the only CPL side to just go ahead and build a stadium, for example.

The client is always right...

[Haligonian#1]

That's why I think of all the potential expansion markets, Quebec City might be the best bet. It has a strong identity and history. It has 800,000+ in population. Finally, it has no competition with other pro sports. The only missing might be a good site for a stadium and an ownership group.

[Kingston]

2 minutes ago, Haligonian#1 said:

That's why I think of all the potential expansion markets, Quebec City might be the best bet. It has a strong identity and history. It has 800,000+ in population. Finally, it has no competition with other pro sports. The only missing might be a good site for a stadium and an ownership group.

The University of Laval's stadium would be okay.  Not ideal, but it's in a good location and they get great crowds for U Sports Canadian football.

[Ansem]

2 hours ago, Kingston said:

The University of Laval's stadium would be okay.  Not ideal, but it's in a good location and they get great crowds for U Sports Canadian football.

The league is said to have rejected this option. They want a soccer specific stadium.

That's a good decision 

[Kingston]

12 hours ago, Ansem said:

The league is said to have rejected this option. They want a soccer specific stadium.

That's a good decision 

It's not a bad decision.  Unless it means we end up with a perfect, but imaginary, team instead of an imperfect team that actually exists.  But hopefully a Halifax-like ownership group will step up in Quebec City to install a team in a stadium the league does like.

[JamboAl]

2 hours ago, Kingston said:

It's not a bad decision.  Unless it means we end up with a perfect, but imaginary, team instead of an imperfect team that actually exists.  But hopefully a Halifax-like ownership group will step up in Quebec City to install a team in a stadium the league does like.

Or a 5 team CPL.

[K Edgar]

16 hours ago, Ansem said:

The league is said to have rejected this option. They want a soccer specific stadium.

That's a good decision 

Winnipeg, Hamilton, Ottawa are play in football stadiums!?!

Stadiums are expensive(!), perhaps this requirement is unrealistic.  Building a stadium for 14 home games/year is not a great use of money, imho!

[narduch]

Maybe the turf is the issue. Not the stadium per se

[Bison44]

"Stadiums are expensive(!), perhaps this requirement is unrealistic.  Building a stadium for 14 home games/year is not a great use of money, imho!"

Unless you throw up a pop up and then if it works u run into a bottle neck like Halifax.  Maxxed out at 6000+.  Same with Cavalry, if they could get that many they would max out at 5k...6K???  There are 100 ways to skin a cat and who's to say exactly which will work where and whether anyone else can replicate in another city.  

[Aird25]

4 hours ago, Kingston said:

But hopefully a Halifax-like ownership group will step up in Quebec City

Bob Young?

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

Posted on the previous page. Worth a read for the Quebec situation on expansion:

 

[Ansem]

53 minutes ago, K Edgar said:

Winnipeg, Hamilton, Ottawa are play in football stadiums!?!

Stadiums are expensive(!), perhaps this requirement is unrealistic.  Building a stadium for 14 home games/year is not a great use of money, imho!

They meet the minimum standards from the league and all those stadiums have hosted national team games before. Being oversized is an entire different issue.

PEPS in Quebec doesn't meet the requirements and the league wanting new clubs to be soccer specific was absolutely the right thing to do. Start small but with a good stadium and then grow.

This need to half ass expansion makes no sense to me, it doesn't serve the league to have clubs just for the sake of it.

Also, who are we to tell multi-millionaire/billionaires what to do with their money? The league has standards (good for them) - if an investor wants in, they have to meet them, not a difficult context to grasp. Up to the owner to meet them or not

[Kingston]

1 hour ago, Ansem said:

PEPS in Quebec doesn't meet the requirements

Honest question because I don't know:  How does PEPS fall short?

[Ansem]

31 minutes ago, Kingston said:

Honest question because I don't know:  How does PEPS fall short?

Permanent football lines

[JamboAl]

33 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Permanent football lines

Wonder if potential owners could negotiate w/l'Université de Laval to lay down new turf with non permanent lines and pay staff to put down and remove football line.  It would be cheaper that building a new facility.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

1 hour ago, Kingston said:

Honest question because I don't know:  How does PEPS fall short?

They don't want to share with U-Sports teams has been mentioned on twitter by a Montreal based podcaster who seemed to be well-connected so think it goes deeper than the permanent football lines angle. York Lions was initially only meant to be a stop gap until the 12,000 seat SSS was built for York 9 in York Region was what was mentioned when I queried that angle. 

[CDNFootballer]

4 hours ago, Ansem said:

Permanent football lines

Fixable though with the installation of new turf.

I think Peps is the most realistic stadium for a Quebec team with a turf change and hope it and a team there comes about soon, they will get solid support imo.

[Ansem]

6 hours ago, CDNFootballer said:

Fixable though with the installation of new turf.

I think Peps is the most realistic stadium for a Quebec team with a turf change and hope it and a team there comes about soon, they will get solid support imo.

Doubtful Laval University are interested nor willing to make a CPL club 1st tenant, another prerequisite for the league...nor forgo parking & concessions revenues. It's "Rouge & Or" first-second-third priority.

We have to let go of the PEPS, it's just not happening

[An Observer]

14 hours ago, Ansem said:

Permanent football lines

I think it has a track around it as well

[Kingston]

3 hours ago, An Observer said:

I think it has a track around it as well

Yes, there is a track.

[gigi riva]

Gosh I would love to see Quebec City in CPL , but from the sounds of it might be very hard 

[Kent]

On 7/25/2022 at 9:05 AM, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

...While Electric City FC seems to have kept Rob Jenkins’ aspiration to become a fully professional club in the Canadian Premier League someday, it looks Couch aims to take things at a slower pace than jumping upwards in the next few years. Jenkins had once claimed this move could happen as soon as 2024, but evidently the club has a slower timeline in mind...Electric City FC has certainly made waves at the League1 Ontario level, where it smashed an attendance record for its home opener at Fleming College. The Peterborough Examiner reports that it has averaged about 500 fans of fewer in its regular season matches since, which is admittingly a much smaller number than the Peterborough Petes and Peterborough Lakers drew pre-pandemic...

This is what people (in the L1O thread I believe) that thought it was foolish of L1O to mandate new teams enter at the bottom, when there are ambitious teams like Electric City trying to get into the league, need to pay attention to. Just because a team comes in and talks about turning pro, doesn't mean the team will be successful, especially right off the bat. Apparently they are already on their 3rd head coach despite it being their first season. They have already lost a guy who "was a catalyst in the team's creation" as well as the team president, and the timeline for turning pro is being pushed back. Meanwhile the team is hardley too good for the league, sitting middle of the table. I think it will be great once L1O has promotion and relegation in motion. You will have to earn your place at the top. Hopefully it catapults the league into a new era in terms of developing players.

And hopefully for Electric City this is just a bit of a bumpy start but they can ultimately realize their ambitions. The attendance sounds fantastic for a L1O team, even with the big drop since the opening game. If they are getting 500 a night, I suspect that is at or near the top of the league. LIkely well above the 2nd most attended team.