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Ottawa CPL Club


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2 hours ago, The Real Marc said:

Bad business decision? The opposite.

OSEG only ran the Fury to get the original contract without a competition.

These guys are about property development. The CFL is a toy. The other sports are an obligation.

of course they knew this could happen ... they were probably banking on it! (And it sounds like they bailed before it was fully settled or all options exhausted?)

If anything, OSEG made a great business decision staying in USL as the sanctioning issue gave them cover for getting out of a money losing venture - one that was never really part of their core plans anyway. This was their ticket out and they took it.

How bad would it look for Their contract with the city if they just shut up shop for no reason other than for losing money? 

How bad would it have looked if they joined CanPL and bailed for year two?

 

I agree to a certain extent but OSEG has been clear, and when residents were polled a few months ago they were clear, the site needs more programming. OSEG is now trying to gain control of the 3 remaining City controlled spaces so that they can increase the frequency and diversity of programming. So to think they would cut 20 dates that draw 2-5K that quickly doesn’t exactly make sense. I think this has more to do with incompetence than will.

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2 hours ago, The Real Marc said:

How bad would it have looked if they joined CanPL and bailed for year two?

From my understand, You can't bail from CPL after 2 years. Seems like they lock in owners for a long period...might be one of the reasons why OSEG didn't want to join...they'd be stuck in the soccer business for a long time.

You know...they just have to have it on their own terms all the time 

Edited by Ansem
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https://canpl.ca/article/canadian-premier-league-statement-on-ottawa-fury-suspending-operations

With the success of our inaugural season behind us, we are excited about future Canadian Premier League expansion opportunities and remain committed to bringing a CPL Club to Ottawa. Canada’s Capital City deserves a CPL team.  We believe Ottawa is a great soccer market that would only be enhanced by the opportunity to support a truly Canadian Tier One Men’s Professional Soccer Club.

As it relates specifically to the Ottawa Fury (OSEG), we have always and continue to applaud their investment in professional soccer in Ottawa. We have had multiple discussions with Ottawa Fury ownership (OSEG) in the past and we remain open to further discussions. We look forward to bringing Canadian Premier League soccer to Ottawa with the right partners and structure that ensures the long-term success of professional soccer in Ottawa.

This could be the announcement about expansion in the next 30 days or maybe I am being too cynical. 

Edited by Ozzie_the_parrot
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3 hours ago, Ansem said:

They wanted out of soccer and blaming the universe for forcing them out was the best way to save face.

Good riddance.

Ottawa deserves an ownership who truly wants soccer to succeed in that city.

We all seem to be in agreement that OSEG was losing a good amount of money on the USL.  If costs are comparable to the CPL, you're right that they probably wanted out of soccer, but it's also not a great sign for what the finances of the CPL were in year 1.  Especially if avoiding an expansion fee still wasn't worth it to them.

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And to think any group that is interested in bringing a CPL team to Ottawa will have to deal with OSEG when it comes to a stadium lease that will likely include no concessions and parking and any perspective partnerships will have to respect those that are already in place for TD Place. This is the one area where OSEG will have the upper hand on the CPL. The question will be how badly they want a team there, likely with unfavourable terms. This is why control of the stadium and all of its revenue streams is huge like most of the CPL teams have.  

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51 minutes ago, Cblake said:

And to think any group that is interested in bringing a CPL team to Ottawa will have to deal with OSEG when it comes to a stadium lease that will likely include no concessions and parking and any perspective partnerships will have to respect those that are already in place for TD Place. This is the one area where OSEG will have the upper hand on the CPL. The question will be how badly they want a team there, likely with unfavourable terms. This is why control of the stadium and all of its revenue streams is huge like most of the CPL teams have.  

Unless they decide to go for an alternate stadium or popup, which is more desirable imo.

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58 minutes ago, Cblake said:

And to think any group that is interested in bringing a CPL team to Ottawa will have to deal with OSEG when it comes to a stadium lease that will likely include no concessions and parking and any perspective partnerships will have to respect those that are already in place for TD Place. This is the one area where OSEG will have the upper hand on the CPL. The question will be how badly they want a team there, likely with unfavourable terms. This is why control of the stadium and all of its revenue streams is huge like most of the CPL teams have.  

Maybe replicating something intimate like Halifax. Do we really need another oversized CFL stadium?

On grass preferably 

Edited by Ansem
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I hate to engage in post-mortem equine flagellation, but I really don't see an option other than Lansdowne for a team. It's by far the best stadium in the city - best facilities, best location, best accessibility, best commercial area, etc. The baseball stadium is next to box stores and a highway, and no other plot of land anywhere near downtown is going to be developed and available for at least a decade (thanks a lot, Rendez-Vous Lebreton). We're not in a Halifax scenario here. Even the university stadia aren't exactly well-located - no real entertainment/dining/shopping district close enough to support either and encourage casual walk-ups. I know on paper the idea is simple enough, but it just doesn't seem to jive with reality here. 

People are used to Lansdowne now being the sports hub for the city, and that includes soccer. If a team plays anywhere but Lansdowne, it'll come off as second-rate and undermine the whole venture. 

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So one thing thing that hasn't been mentioned much which for me is beyond dirty pool. OSEG signed a letter of intent to join the CPL. That's what they've said. It's also been said that they were involved in discussions about the league for several years leading up to it. One of their owners sits on the BOD for the CSA. After all that at the last minute they run back to the USL and by extension the MLS. And presumably sang like birds about all the sensitive information they had learned about the CPL. The MLS who clearly from their own words and the treatment of the CPL by their partner TSN believe the Canadian soccer market solely theirs. To me this is unforgivable and after that I'm sure the CPLs main intention was to sink the Fury. For me the CPL would have to better than me to let OSEG back in fold after that

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8 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

 The MLS who clearly from their own words and the treatment of the CPL by their partner TSN believe the Canadian soccer market solely theirs. 

I'm not sure why you would single out TSN for bad treatment of the league? CPL is not covered on any national sportscast. The only national organization that I would say does a decent job covering them is CBC. 

The broadcasters have actually mentioned the CPL several time on TFC broadcasts. I dont think there is a co-ordinated effort by TSN and MLS to 'blackout; CPL. The reality is at this juncture the league is just not really on the national sports map yet.

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52 minutes ago, grasshopper1917 said:

The broadcasters have actually mentioned the CPL several time on TFC broadcasts. I dont think there is a co-ordinated effort by TSN and MLS to 'blackout; CPL. The reality is at this juncture the league is just not really on the national sports map yet.

The fact that they didn’t even put a web article up after the first CPL Championship was awarded makes me suspicious of this claim.  You can claim the league is under  the radar all you want, but even Sportsnet throws them the occasional bone. 

I can’t interpret the complete lack of any mention, including the inaugural championship, as anything but an intentional blackout.  

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1 hour ago, dyslexic nam said:

The fact that they didn’t even put a web article up after the first CPL Championship was awarded makes me suspicious of this claim.  You can claim the league is under  the radar all you want, but even Sportsnet throws them the occasional bone. 

I can’t interpret the complete lack of any mention, including the inaugural championship, as anything but an intentional blackout.  

TSN throws them the odd bone as well. They covered Forge's run through the CONCACAF league and mention them on live TV on some TFC broadcasts.

 I admit I feel they should have at least did the same thing as Sportsnet and posted the standard issue CP story on their website after the championship was decided. However I dont feel they are working to silence CPL news. Of course this is all just speculation I have no inside knowledge of what goes on at any of the broadcasters. To me the only national media who was done a good job covering the league is CBC all the rest are shiiiiiite

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21 minutes ago, grasshopper1917 said:

TSN throws them the odd bone as well. They covered Forge's run through the CONCACAF league and mention them on live TV on some TFC broadcasts.

 I admit I feel they should have at least did the same thing as Sportsnet and posted the standard issue CP story on their website after the championship was decided. However I dont feel they are working to silence CPL news. Of course this is all just speculation I have no inside knowledge of what goes on at any of the broadcasters. To me the only national media who was done a good job covering the league is CBC all the rest are shiiiiiite

I would suggest that mentioning them on TFC broadcasts is probably the decision of the individual play-by-play / colour commentator, not TSN, unless they were specifically saying things like "and you can watch Forge vs Cavalry on OneSoccer.ca tomorrow at 7pm" or whatnot. I guess TSN could have asked the commentators not mention CPL at all, but I think it's more likely that they just don't care about the CPL either way.

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