CPL Season Schedule

[ReedOnTheGrand]

17 hours ago, Macksam said:

I've seen this come up recently on here. Could someone give me one good reason why this is a good idea besides utilizing it for World Cup and Gold Cup breaks?

That's the main reason, players being gone, tv soccer viewers (in the future) eyes elsewhere. Also gives teams time to sign players and integrate them mid season, maybe have a friendly or 2 with bigger teams to generate income. 

Also gives teams time to maintain their stadia which is hard during the winter. 

It's going to be a short season compared to most in both Calendar length and games. I think 28 is a good amount and it's realistic from April-October even with a 3-4 week break. I'm not sure there should be one, but they should at least have light schedules during that time.

[BenFisk'sBiggestFan]

9 minutes ago, ReedOnTheGrand said:

That's the main reason, players being gone, tv soccer viewers (in the future) eyes elsewhere. Also gives teams time to sign players and integrate them mid season, maybe have a friendly or 2 with bigger teams to generate income. 

Also gives teams time to maintain their stadia which is hard during the winter. 

It's going to be a short season compared to most in both Calendar length and games. I think 28 is a good amount and it's realistic from April-October even with a 3-4 week break. I'm not sure there should be one, but they should at least have light schedules during that time.

Sorry, i don't mean to be negative, but what you just said reminds me of the NASL and the Cosmos... Taking a break mid-season to play friendlies just doesn't seem very Tier 1 to me. 

If they do take a couple weeks off i hope they fill that with Voyager Cup games. Summer is to short to be wasting time mid season. Not to mention the chaos that is early season with 5 games in 15 days for league and cup. If they have a break, they still need to be playing. But hopefully meaningful games not friendlies.  

[ReedOnTheGrand]

2 minutes ago, BenFisk'sBiggestFan said:

Sorry, i don't mean to be negative, but what you just said reminds me of the NASL and the Cosmos... Taking a break mid-season to play friendlies just doesn't seem very Tier 1 to me. 

If they do take a couple weeks off i hope they fill that with Voyager Cup games. Summer is to short to be wasting time mid season. Not to mention the chaos that is early season with 5 games in 15 days for league and cup. If they have a break, they still need to be playing. But hopefully meaningful games not friendlies.  

Bundesliga takes a mid season break and plays friendlies, same with the Russian Premier league, it's not a minor league thing. i do think playing Voyageurs cup games during a light schedule/break in June/july would be a good idea. 

[ironcub14]

On 2017-07-20 at 0:23 AM, Macksam said:

I've seen this come up recently on here. Could someone give me one good reason why this is a good idea besides utilizing it for World Cup and Gold Cup breaks?

Without pro/rel and the possible absence of playoffs, you'd need two half-seasons to avoid boring away half the potential audience mid and late-season.

[Macksam]

1 hour ago, ironcub14 said:

Without pro/rel and the possible absence of playoffs, you'd need two half-seasons to avoid boring away half the potential audience mid and late-season.

Fair enough. However, when pro relegation does come, I guess we scrap it unless an international tournament is at play.

[Alex D]

19 minutes ago, Macksam said:

Fair enough. However, when pro relegation does come, I guess we scrap it unless an international tournament is at play.

I would like to see pro/rel every split season. That would be intense. 

[Initial B]

1 hour ago, Alex D said:

I would like to see pro/rel every split season. That would be intense. 

I've given that some thought, but it would involve conferences and some complications.

Structure: CPL Div1 - two 4-team conferences east and west. CPL Div 2 - Two leagues divided east and west. 

Format: Spring Season: Div 1 - 10 Games, Home and Away in-conference, Home or Away out of conference. Div 2, Each league plays 10 games. Winners of the Div 2 East and West Leagues get promoted to their respective Div 1 Conference, the bottom team in each Div 1 Conference gets relegated to their respective Div 2 League.

Fall Season: Div 1 - 14 Games, Home and Away against every other team. Div 2 - Each league plays 14 games. Pro-Rel happens again at the end of the Fall season as per the Spring format.

Playoffs: The winning Div 1 team from each conference from each season play a 2-leg semi-final. The winners of that play a two-leg inter-conference final to determine the year's champion.

Such a format would allow even a team that starts the year in Div 2 to possibly be playing for the championship at the end of the year.

Problem is, you would need at least 18 teams to make such a format work.

[mpg_29]

Mid-April to mid-October would probably be most optimal.  Maybe start 2nd weekend in April and stop 3rd weekend in October. That should let you have 24 game season (12 home, 12 away).

There is still a risk of alienating spectators in early spring as the weather is still not great. Why nice stadiums are important imo.

[Guest]

On 22/03/2018 at 4:35 PM, mpg_29 said:

Mid-April to mid-October would probably be most optimal.  Maybe start 2nd weekend in April and stop 3rd weekend in October. That should let you have 24 game season (12 home, 12 away).

There is still a risk of alienating spectators in early spring as the weather is still not great. Why nice stadiums are important imo.

So a 6 month season. That is what I think too. And is why it cannot afford a mid-season break.

I was thinking 16 team division(s) = 30 matches per season. So some mid-week matches will be needed.

[mpg_29]

37 minutes ago, dsqpr said:

So a 6 month season. That is what I think too. And is why it cannot afford a mid-season break.

I was thinking 16 team division(s) = 30 matches per season. So some mid-week matches will be needed.

I think mid-week matches could be an attendance killer...

If you are going to have them limit them to July and August when school is out/people are on holidays and the weather is nice.

[toontownman]

45 minutes ago, mpg_29 said:

I think mid-week matches could be an attendance killer...

If you are going to have them limit them to July and August when school is out/people are on holidays and the weather is nice.

I agree, certainly in the short term while they build the league up. Midweek games are an obstacle for people that work, people that already have midweek activities etc. The league will have to be careful to avoid CFL fixtures but having that two month window before CFL starts might be a blessing or a curse. If the product is good you might carry some fans over but on the flipside could see the crowds diminish once CFL hits, especially if the CPL doesn't hook them.

[BuzzAndSting]

Assuming a 10 team league starting in April 2019 I don't see how they get past mid September.

18 games, one home and away with each team,

2 bye weeks per team,

2 FIFA dates, one in June and one in September.

That puts week 18 at September 14.

Unless the first round of CPL games in the V Cup are played on a weekends but I don't know how they incorporate the League1/QSL winner.

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, BuzzAndSting said:

Assuming a 10 team league starting in April 2019 I don't see how they get past mid September.

18 games, one home and away with each team,

2 bye weeks per team,

2 FIFA dates, one in June and one in September.

That puts week 18 at September 14.

Unless the first round of CPL games in the V Cup are played on a weekends but I don't know how they incorporate the League1/QSL winner.

I do not think 18 games (so 9 home matches) would provide enough revenue. I think 26 league matches minimum. 

2 hours ago, toontownman said:

Midweek games are an obstacle for people that work, people that already have midweek activities etc.

Some revenue will be better than none. And season ticket holders will have their ticket anyway. I was thinking that road trips could maybe have a Friday evening / Sunday afternoon format to get in two matches (e.g. Friday in Winnipeg / Sunday in Regina/Saskatoon).

[BuzzAndSting]

8 minutes ago, dsqpr said:

I do not think 18 games (so 9 home matches) would provide enough revenue. I think 26 league matches minimum. 

Some revenue will be better than none. And season ticket holders will have their ticket anyway. I was thinking that road trips could maybe have a Friday evening / Sunday afternoon format to get in two matches (e.g. Friday in Winnipeg / Sunday in Regina/Saskatoon).

26? So assuming some sort of regional division with 5 teams each,

10 games, home and away with opposite "division,"

16 games, 4 games against 4 in "division" teams, 2 each home and away?

 

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, BuzzAndSting said:

26? So assuming some sort of regional division with 5 teams each,

10 games, home and away with opposite "division,"

16 games, 4 games against 4 in "division" teams, 2 each home and away?

Exactly!

[BuzzAndSting]

Just now, dsqpr said:

Exactly!

Starting April 13, 2019 would put that ending at November 2 including the three FIFA windows. 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, BuzzAndSting said:

Starting April 13, 2019 would put that ending at November 2 including the three FIFA windows. 

We would need some weeks with two matches. I think that would be a good thing regardless.

[mpg_29]

30 minutes ago, BuzzAndSting said:

Assuming a 10 team league starting in April 2019 I don't see how they get past mid September.

18 games, one home and away with each team,

2 bye weeks per team,

2 FIFA dates, one in June and one in September.

That puts week 18 at September 14.

Unless the first round of CPL games in the V Cup are played on a weekends but I don't know how they incorporate the League1/QSL winner.

I assume this league will have to utilize all the months available weatherwise to maximize revenue. We only really have a 6 month window which is a less than most others.

My guess is either a 24 or 26 game season. Which means the ideal number of teams to be either 13 or 14 if you assume play each team twice.

 

 

[BuzzAndSting]

10 minutes ago, dsqpr said:

We would need some weeks with two matches. I think that would be a good thing regardless.

Starting April 20 and ending October 26 would require 2 midweek regular season games.

Now how do we incorporate V Cup games?

10 CPL teams, 2 MLS teams, League1 and QSL teams play down in 7 round 1 games,

Reigning champion enters in round 2 with 7 round 1 winners,

4 round 2 winners,

2 round 3 winners in the final.

So that would be 4 midweek V Cup games plus 2 midweek regular season games. 27-30 total games plus friendlies. 13-16 home/road games. 24 weekend games, 3-6 midweek games. 

 

[toontownman]

17 minutes ago, dsqpr said:

Some revenue will be better than none. And season ticket holders will have their ticket anyway. I was thinking that road trips could maybe have a Friday evening / Sunday afternoon format to get in two matches (e.g. Friday in Winnipeg / Sunday in Regina/Saskatoon).

I think it might be a lot easier if we are starting with less teams and less games to plan round. I would have thought the league and clubs will surely want to optimize on revenue, accessibility and consistency. If games are generally always Saturday afternoons or Friday nights it's easier from a marketing perspective.  Good point about season tickets though revenue wise they will always have the hardcore like our mad selves.

I wonder if there is enough recovery time for Friday and Sunday games for players, or did I completely misunderstand lol. It would be closer to NHL that way though right? I kinda like the concept although if Saskatoon beats Winnipeg on the Friday and then you stuff us on the Sunday I don't get much time to gloat  Still might be better that way than a low attendance midweeker. 

I think I mentioned before in the depths of one thread, I would quite like teams to play each other 3 times while we have a smaller amount of teams. They can randomly draw the rubber stamp home ground the first year but could alternate after. I hate NHL teams play each other so much and sometimes in such close proximity as it really kills rivalry 3 games gives a chance at a rubber stamp and bragging rights if they win one each. Plus spreads the season a little longer with fewer teams. 

 

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, BuzzAndSting said:

Starting April 20 and ending October 26 would require 2 midweek regular season games.

Now how do we incorporate V Cup games?

10 CPL teams, 2 MLS teams, League1 and QSL teams play down in 7 round 1 games,

Reigning champion enters in round 2 with 7 round 1 winners,

4 round 2 winners,

2 round 3 winners in the final.

So that would be 4 midweek V Cup games plus 2 midweek regular season games. 27-30 total games plus friendlies. 13-16 home/road games. 24 weekend games, 3-6 midweek games. 

Yes. I'm fine with weeks where you play 2 matches (Fri/Sun, or a midweek match). In fact, I like them. Two matches every week would be too much but don't forget that without any midweek matches you are only playing one home match every 2 weeks. So even with them you are still only playing a home match every 11-12 days or so. Does not seem like a big burden to the fans.

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, toontownman said:

I wonder if there is enough recovery time for Friday and Sunday games for players, or did I completely misunderstand lol.

No, you got it. I agree that is a short turn around but I think it would be fine. There are a couple of times in the English season where teams can play a two matches with only one rest day in between (Easter, ironically given the date, and Christmas).

21 minutes ago, toontownman said:

I kinda like the concept although if Saskatoon beats Winnipeg on the Friday and then you stuff us on the Sunday I don't get much time to gloat

I was thinking more like Hamilton in Winnipeg on Friday and in Saskatoon on Sunday, thus getting in two away matches for one long journey.

I'm not a fan of playing the same team back to back like they do in the CFL. Dumb idea IMHO and the reason you mentioned is part of the reason why.

[Prune_55]

21 hours ago, BuzzAndSting said:

26? So assuming some sort of regional division with 5 teams each,

10 games, home and away with opposite "division,"

16 games, 4 games against 4 in "division" teams, 2 each home and away?

 

I thought PB said the CPL was not going to have playoffs and the team that topped the table was the winner .... so doesn't that mean a balanced schedule where every team plays each other twice or 4 times?

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, Prune_55 said:

I thought PB said the CPL was not going to have playoffs and the team that topped the table was the winner .... so doesn't that mean a balanced schedule where every team plays each other twice or 4 times?

Yes. But in the scenario mentioned you would need to have a Championship final between the two division winners.

In the absence of any formal announcements we are just spitballing. What would your suggestion be for a ten team league, if we assume that a minimum of 26 league matches are needed to generate sufficient revenue? (An arbitrary assumption I know, but those are the rules for this particular game. ) A full double interlocking schedule would give 36 league matches which, given the need for Cup match dates too, is almost certainly too many.

[BuzzAndSting]

20 minutes ago, dsqpr said:

Yes. But in the scenario mentioned you would need to have a Championship final between the two division winners.

In the absence of any formal announcements we are just spitballing. What would your suggestion be for a ten team league, if we assume that a minimum of 26 league matches are needed to generate sufficient revenue? (An arbitrary assumption I know, but those are the rules for this particular game. ) A full double interlocking schedule would give 36 league matches which, given the need for Cup match dates too, is almost certainly too many.

It’s possible they could have an unbalanced schedule and one table with 1st place being crowned champions.