Quebec City CPL

[Ansem]

Lots of backstage talks / buzz around a 2020 Quebec team.

 

[baulderdash77]

I’d love to go to a Quebec City away game. It’s always been a place I’ve wanted to visit for the weekend.  Maybe a Via trip from Hamilton to Quebec for a weekend.  I think it would be a top destination.

Actually no matter how you slice it Quebec is the best next addition to the league.  It gets us another major market, creates rivalries for Halifax and the Impact (in V Cup play) as well as exposure to an important province.  They are undoubtedly the best next choice for a franchise.

[baulderdash77]

Quebec, Ottawa and one of the Saskatchewan cities are the best expansion opportunities to 10 teams.  We would have a great 10 team league with those 3 teams added.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Ottawa goes without saying, but the main stumbling block beyond the Fury is a suitable stadium and in its absence the land and finances to build one. If other cities are serious for 2020 stadium moves should start to surface in the not too distant future like they did previously in Surrey and Saskatoon. Has there been any word where a Quebec City team would play their games?

Edited September 29, 2018 by BringBackTheBlizzard

[baulderdash77]

Peps stadium is only ever mentioned I’ve heard.  12,000 seat stadium.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

...but permanently marked fieldturf and heavy U-sports and other university related use late in the season. I hope and strongly suspect based on where they are playing at launch that they will never compromise on the question of having Canadian football lines visible during games. If Peps stadium is going to be used in 2020 the thing to watch for is a new unmarked playing surface being installed next summer

[baulderdash77]

It seems that for a team launch, if there’s a suitable sized statium you take what’s there and if there isn’t you build a pop up.

[tyler453]

9 hours ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

...but permanently marked fieldturf and heavy U-sports and other university related use late in the season. I hope and strongly suspect based on where they are playing at launch that they will never compromise on the question of having Canadian football lines visible during games. If Peps stadium is going to be used in 2020 the thing to watch for is a new unmarked playing surface being installed next summer

Agreed. That would make CPL look very bush league and would turn a lot of fans away. I highly doubt they've even considered playing with Football lines on the field.

[Alex D]

Replacing field turf would be much cheaper than building a pop up. 

[ted]

20 hours ago, Alex D said:

Replacing field turf would be much cheaper than building a pop up. 

Interesting note: rather than swap out the turf field for grass for 2019 for PFC, the turf lines will be removed and replaced with green turf. 

[Complete Homer]

20 minutes ago, ted said:

Interesting note: rather than swap out the turf field for grass for 2019 for PFC, the turf lines will be removed and replaced with green turf. 

Is the long term plan grass? I could have sworn the Pacific FC plans included a grass pitch

[ted]

1 hour ago, Complete Homer said:

Is the long term plan grass? I could have sworn the Pacific FC plans included a grass pitch

Yes. As I understand it, they want to do the grass when they do the removal of the Hydro pole and add the fourth stand for 2020.

[Ansem]

TONS of information to share about this article from this magazine. Since everything is in French, I'll gladly summarize the the main points.

 

Source 

• Jean Gandubert, Former President and Director-President of Quebec Soccer Federation and former Adviser to the Federal Sport Ministry. He is now the Strategic Advisor to the investors being the liaison between them and the Regional Association, CSA and CONCACAF
• Pierre Marchand, Soccer Quebec President

 

Who are the Investors

Confidential but they have VERY deep pockets and capable of covering the losses of others due to the pandemic (not sure what he means by that, but take away is RICH!)

• The ownership seems to be a mix of individuals and companies
• They have been talking with the league since summer 2019 but talks have slowed down due to the pandemic
• Talks have already happened between the investors and Quebec City mayor

 

Stadium:

• The goal is the construction of a new soccer specific stadium smaller than Laval University stadium which has been deemed too big and would look empty with a bad atmosphere which is vital for Quebec City to work
• There's been no information given to city departments for building a stadium yet.

 

CPL Women's League

• CPL are interested in a Women's League but the focus is to develop/grow the current league at the moment.
• Eva Havaris, Vice-President of the league operations and strategic VP at CSB (according to LinkedIn) is said to be aiming for that league to become a reality

 

Future of the PLSQ?

• CPL wants to acquire PLSQ like it did League 1 Ontario

 

Provincial Leagues or Regional Leagues?

• Provincial leagues had seemed to be the destination for CPL reserve teams but the NEW goal is to have 3 minor leagues in Canada (East, West & Central) just like the CHL and like the CSA wanted in their previous strategic plan
• PLSQ's structure will be completely revamped to integrate this model
• Plans are already underway to lead towards a merge PLSQ-L10 league for as soon as 2021 (COVID slowed down the talks)
• The format and league structure to be determined. There should be a "co-commissioner" for Quebec to reflect the French contribution
• Soccer Quebec President would not be involved in the league but would like to make sure that teams have Quebec players and teams are mostly under 23. Discussions have already taken place and it seems everyone agrees with these conditions.
• Moving towards the model of a developmental league is vital to attract young promising players pointing out that Montreal Impact never loaned anyone to PLSQ due to the league being too low in quality and structure
• The goal would be to add Atlantic Canada teams to this "Eastern League" but Quebec-Ontario is the priority
• Clubs will have to fit this structure financially and have the proper infrastructure using the word "professional" (This might mean that not all L10 or PLSQ teams might make this league at launch)
• Confirmation that BC are working towards a league

 

Foreign investors?

• Other Quebec markets including Montreal are being explored, no investors have been revealed
• Altetico Madrid's arrival has changed the landscape. There will be attempts to try and leverage interest from French clubs in investing in CPL via the FFF
• CPL is currently trying to get European investments into the league, not necessarily for Quebec but he mentioned Toronto as a possibility

 

You guys are welcome! 🙂

 

Tips accepted 🤑

Edited August 12, 2020 by Ansem

[dyslexic nam]

[Ansem]

According to him, Quebec is a done deal for 2022

(see earlier post regarding the ownership)

 

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Ansem

[narduch]

Just now, Ansem said:

According to him, Quebec is a done deal for 2022

 

 

Didn't this same guy say Laval in 2022 and Quebec City in 2023 a few days ago?

[Ansem]

3 minutes ago, narduch said:

Didn't this same guy say Laval in 2022 and Quebec City in 2023 a few days ago?

oh right, Still - I'm reviving this since Quebec City seems to be 2023 according to him. I'm still hoping for both Quebec teams for next year as I doubt the league wouldn't want 2 expansions at a time.

Let's not forget that the league did put pressure on Madrid to enter the league as of 2020 while they were aiming for 2021. Wouldn't surprise me if the league tries to push Quebec City for 2022

[youllneverwalkalone]

[brianjc]

to paraphrase I'll know it when I see it.

[Ansem]

 

 

[Cblake]

11 minutes ago, Ansem said:

 

 

Would the league let a team play in a Halifax style pop up or are they at this point pushing for something more permanent moving forward? The thing with these polls is the views change if it's something that is going to hit them in the wallet, they can be quite vague at times. The CPL really needs to get into Quebec and hopefully end up with two teams there. 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Cblake

[Ansem]

1 minute ago, Cblake said:

Would the league let a team play in a Halifax style pop up or are they at this point pushing for something more permanent moving forward? The thing with these polls is the views change if it's something that is going to hit them in the wallet, they can be quite vague at times. The CPL really needs to get into Quebec and hopefully end up with two teams there. 

I think the league has changed its approach towards expansion and they seem to no longer be willing to compromise on the minimum standards they set for themselves. One of the biggest roadblock is the stadium as the league refuses PEPS from University Laval to be a CPL venue nor will they compromise on fees.

 

 

[MauditYvon]

On 10/18/2022 at 1:12 PM, Ansem said:

 

 

https://www.journaldequebec.com/2022/10/19/une-etude-confirme-linteret-pour-un-club-professionnel-de-soccer

[CDNFootballer]

For the Non French speaking, briefly :

Study Confirms Interest in a Professional Soccer Club

"On the strength of the results from the market study published yesterday, Soccer Québec and the Association régionale de soccer de Québec (ARSQ) are pumped up in their objective to provide the Old Capital with a team in the Canadian Premier League (CPL ).

Commissioned by the two organizations, Leger's market study revealed its findings yesterday. The results sound like music to the ears of ARSQ Director General Philippe Bernard.

“Among our 25,000 members, 96 percent want a CPL team to come to Quebec,” he said. Very strong support was expected, but 96 per cent is a very heavy number. Nearly half (45 per cent) of the population aged 18-34 say they are soccer fans and 64 per cent of respondents say they are in favor of Quebec hosting a professional CPL team. The numbers give us the weight to pursue the next steps. It gives us ammunition. »

Founded in 2019, the CPL has eight teams and a ninth which will be added in Vancouver next year.

"A professional team in Quebec is what we need to complete the sports culture in soccer and to continue growth," said Bernard. We want to create opportunities for our young people. There are 30 players from Quebec playing in the PLC who offer an excellent level of play.”

Specific mandate

The working committee set up will have the mandate to find the investors necessary for the take-off of the team."

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by CDNFootballer

[MM3/MM2/MM]

I live in the Ottawa area, but I'm in the Quebec City area often, would definitely attend games there.  A necessary addition for the the CPL.