Ottawa CPL Club

[CDNFootballer]

Seems like Fury are fluffing their numbers.

Another shot of the Ottawa Fury home opener during the game :

 

[ChrisinOrleans]

21 minutes ago, CDNFootballer said:

Seems like Fury are fluffing their numbers.

Another shot of the Ottawa Fury home opener during the game :

 

 

I was there, it felt like 6,500. Problem is we were allowed to sit where we wanted in a general admission scheme because the snow on the south stands hasn't melted yet.  

It was also a great game day experience with a few work colleagues. Good thing I didn't watch much of the game as it was a terrible result. 

[dyslexic nam]

As a complete aside, that screenshot totally makes it look like the game was played on  FIFA 2019 or something.  Just something about the way the background looks "rendered".

[BuzzAndSting]

9 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

As a complete aside, that screenshot totally makes it look like the game was played on  FIFA 2019 or something.  Just something about the way the background looks "rendered".

It does! I think the sheen on JGL’s big bald head makes it look a little inauthentic as well. 

[Tigers]

I thought the same thing!

[Shway]

.... Screenshot was from the 8th minute. Barely credible. 

[CDNFootballer]

Last pic from the Fury home opener, beginning of 2nd half, judge for yourselves and post your own pics if you have better ones :

I'll give the pre-emptive excuse..... "but but but there were 3000 at the concessions!!!

 

[Cheeta]

Pitch looks all right.

(If you can't say something nice...)

[Cheeta]

And to be fair, there are always going to be image issues in these oversized venues.  Maybe not as bad as that particular snap, but they're be unflattering pics from every ground that is shared with a bigger partner.  

[JamboAl]

4 hours ago, CDNFootballer said:

Last pic from the Fury home opener, beginning of 2nd half, judge for yourselves and post your own pics if you have better ones :

I'll give the pre-emptive excuse..... "but but but there were 3000 at the concessions!!!

 

Ok, I’ll bite on this one.  What are you trying to prove here?  

Does that mean when the Forge (for example) plays a home game and the attendance is announced as 9,000 that I can question its legitimacy by posting a photo with tons of empty seats at the kickoff of the second half?  

Edited April 10, 2019 by JamboAl

[-Hammer-]

So couple comments on the more recent posts.

As far as which side, there was still snow on the other side, and while I feel soccer should start up in May and end in October in Canada, you play the hand you are dealt. At least they have a stadium that can accommodate both sides, and has turf immune to the weather.

Second, lets be honest here guys. Between Investors group field and Tim Hortons Field, it's wishful thinking that there aren't going to be games where the stands don't look good. Heck, there are "sellouts" of Ti-Cat games and TFC games where the stands don't good with attendances apparently in the 20,000+ range.

[Guest]

On 4/8/2019 at 6:47 PM, ChrisinOrleans said:

 

I was there, it felt like 6,500. Problem is we were allowed to sit where we wanted in a general admission scheme because the snow on the south stands hasn't melted yet.  

It was also a great game day experience with a few work colleagues. Good thing I didn't watch much of the game as it was a terrible result. 

Game day notes from a real fan.

[SuperCanuck]

On 4/8/2019 at 6:24 PM, dyslexic nam said:

As a complete aside, that screenshot totally makes it look like the game was played on  FIFA 2019 or something.  Just something about the way the background looks "rendered".

I think FIFA19 is flattering.  I haven't bought a video game since the year Playstation 2 came out, and I swear I've seen this screen shot before.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

3 hours ago, -Hammer- said:

...Second, lets be honest here guys. Between Investors group field and Tim Hortons Field, it's wishful thinking that there aren't going to be games where the stands don't look good...

Especially if you check out seat availability for Valour games on Ticketmaster. The more emotionally mature way to look at this is that we should want all stadia to be as full as possible for pro soccer games in Canada because all the boats in the water will rise when the tide is flowing in the direction we want it to.

[Viruk42]

So I'm about as pro-CPL / anti-Fury as they come right now (heck, I turned down free tickets to the game), but I will say that I believe the ~6500 number, mostly because that's about the same as every other year. 2018 was ~6100, 2017 was ~6500, 2016 was ~7000, and 2015 was ~5000 (2014 obviously was an exception, as it was their first pro season and the first half was at Carleton). 

Home openers are rarely representative of how a team's attendance will be. They could maintain the ~6500 average for the year, drop back to their ~4600 average of last year, or maybe even rise. We'll see how many people show up to see their opponents on the weekend from... Loudoun? Where the heck is Loudoun?

It's a good thing the Fury stayed in USL so we could see them play such legendary teams as Loudoun... ?

[CDNFootballer]

Ottawa Fury vs Loudoun today, picture at 52 minute in second half after Fury's second goal, annouced attendance of 3232.

Hard to make that number look good in a large stadium, something CPL's Forge FC and Valour FC will have to deal with as well if they have those kind of numbers in some of their matches.

 

Edited April 13, 2019 by CDNFootballer

[Cheeta]

It isn't just the television optics, it's as much the in-house fan experience as well.  It's just too hard to create any sort of fan experinece when you're scattering those in attendance over too large of a footprint.

Maybe I'm being optimistic but I'm not troubled too much by what I think we're going to experience in Winnipeg.  IGF is a decent park for footie and has been compartmentized quite well for Valour's use.  Given the way CPL has been marketed (or rather not) an average draw of 5K-6K is going to play out just fine.  And those numbers aren't being stacked with youth club purchases.  By that I'm meaning a more mature fan base which is more financially invested, which is of course important. 

One nice thing about having "elbow room" is that as things get on people will know where they want to, and be able to, gravitate towards.  Doesn't matter where your alloted seats are supporters will gather around whatever section the supports lay claim to while youth fans will gather around whatever sections the youth fans claim.  I'm sure that's something that happens at every venue which offers that opportunity and that is, perhaps, one of the advantages of having an oversized venue.   

[Gopherbashi]

7 hours ago, CDNFootballer said:

Ottawa Fury vs Loudoun today, picture at 52 minute in second half after Fury's second goal, annouced attendance of 3232.

Hard to make that number look good in a large stadium, something CPL's Forge FC and Valour FC will have to deal with as well if they have those kind of numbers in some of their matches.

Granted, it's mid-April in Ottawa and not great weather, but OFFC's lowest attendance in all of 2017 was 3,024, and their lowest all of last year was 2,781.  Not a great look for home game #2.

[Unnamed Trialist]

3 hours ago, Cheeta said:

It isn't just the television optics, it's as much the in-house fan experience as well.  It's just too hard to create any sort of fan experinece when you're scattering those in attendance over too large of a footprint.

Maybe I'm being optimistic but I'm not troubled too much by what I think we're going to experience in Winnipeg.  IGF is a decent park for footie and has been compartmentized quite well for Valour's use.  Given the way CPL has been marketed (or rather not) an average draw of 5K-6K is going to play out just fine.  And those numbers aren't being stacked with youth club purchases.  By that I'm meaning a more mature fan base which is more financially invested, which is of course important. 

One nice thing about having "elbow room" is that as things get on people will know where they want to, and be able to, gravitate towards.  Doesn't matter where your alloted seats are supporters will gather around whatever section the supports lay claim to while youth fans will gather around whatever sections the youth fans claim.  I'm sure that's something that happens at every venue which offers that opportunity and that is, perhaps, one of the advantages of having an oversized venue.   

I think you simply have to make the standard decision to not sell certain sections, leave them empty, or cover over unsold areas with advertising, like the upper part of the lower bowl at BC Place. Not seeing empty seats actually does put them out of mind.

By overarticulating pricing by section, which I think is an error, you expose yourself to these sorts of gaps, as I see it. My opinion is that in larger stadiums, you have to reduce the variations, while in smaller stadiums, close to being sold out (at Wanderers, at Cavalry, hopefully Pacific), you can do more detailed variations on price by section.

[JamboAl]

4 hours ago, Gopherbashi said:

Granted, it's mid-April in Ottawa and not great weather, but OFFC's lowest attendance in all of 2017 was 3,024, and their lowest all of last year was 2,781.  Not a great look for home game #2.

Actually the weather was gorgeous yesterday - first really sunny and mild day of the spring (14 C).  I noticed the roads and sidewalks were especially busy so I think people had other things in mind than soccer.  Shame really.

[Ottawafan74]

14 but the wind was cold yesterday. For the casual fan sitting in a stadium to watch soccer probably wasn’t top of mind. Should be higher after a few games especially if they can win a few in a row. 

[Kent]

17 hours ago, Cheeta said:

It isn't just the television optics, it's as much the in-house fan experience as well.  It's just too hard to create any sort of fan experinece when you're scattering those in attendance over too large of a footprint.

Maybe I'm being optimistic but I'm not troubled too much by what I think we're going to experience in Winnipeg.  IGF is a decent park for footie and has been compartmentized quite well for Valour's use.  Given the way CPL has been marketed (or rather not) an average draw of 5K-6K is going to play out just fine.  And those numbers aren't being stacked with youth club purchases.  By that I'm meaning a more mature fan base which is more financially invested, which is of course important. 

One nice thing about having "elbow room" is that as things get on people will know where they want to, and be able to, gravitate towards.  Doesn't matter where your alloted seats are supporters will gather around whatever section the supports lay claim to while youth fans will gather around whatever sections the youth fans claim.  I'm sure that's something that happens at every venue which offers that opportunity and that is, perhaps, one of the advantages of having an oversized venue.   

I would think the main perk to having a sparsely populated stadium is the ability to go to the washroom and get a beer at halftime. At TFC games it's often hard to pull that off. Really you have to be close to the aisle to have a chance, or to start your walk down the stairs before the half has actually finished.

[ChrisinOrleans]

17 hours ago, Gopherbashi said:

Granted, it's mid-April in Ottawa and not great weather, but OFFC's lowest attendance in all of 2017 was 3,024, and their lowest all of last year was 2,781.  Not a great look for home game #2.

I regularly attend Fury games, and even I didn't bother to show. Yesterday was beautiful, and I took the family to the park and an art gallery instead. 

Honestly, it was the first weekend in 6 months that Ottawa hasn't been a grey overcast frozen wasteland. We weren't spending it in a stadium sitting in one spot.  

[Viruk42]

16 hours ago, ChrisinOrleans said:

I regularly attend Fury games, and even I didn't bother to show. Yesterday was beautiful, and I took the family to the park and an art gallery instead. 

Honestly, it was the first weekend in 6 months that Ottawa hasn't been a grey overcast frozen wasteland. We weren't spending it in a stadium sitting in one spot.  

Sorry, are you claiming that the Fury would have more fans if the weather had been bad? 

[Initial B]

I was at the game in the supporters section and that picture is kind of disingenuous - it doesn't show the larger group of people sitting in the black pricing Sections N, M, W and X. At the Cheapest price point, they've moved those seats to a General Admission format and W and M had some of the larger groupings of fans. But the reported number felt accurate. This spring has been pretty bad so I can understand people wanting to be out with their families that day. Now if these numbers are still like this come June, I'd start to worry. that said, the play looked a little better than last year so I have hope that the product will be entertaining this season.