Ottawa CPL Club

[Unnamed Trialist]

On 4/15/2019 at 12:08 AM, Kent said:

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.

I was going to chide this post, but then the other night the queues for pissing were so long I missed the first 7 minutes of the 2nd half. I honestly can say this is the most I have ever missed in a soccer match for a queue midmatch in my life.

Of course this is the fault of a near full house, and how Camp Nou is designed, including the urinals being individual instead of the long troughs we all love which allows you to cram in and enjoy the misty effect. 

[Kent]

7 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I was going to chide this post, but then the other night the queues for pissing were so long I missed the first 7 minutes of the 2nd half. I honestly can say this is the most I have ever missed in a soccer match for a queue midmatch in my life.

Of course this is the fault of a near full house, and how Camp Nou is designed, including the urinals being individual instead of the long troughs we all love which allows you to cram in and enjoy the misty effect. 

I know you aren't based in Toronto, so I don't know if you have gone to any games at BMO, in particular any near capacity games at BMO, but it is not uncommon at TFC games depending on where your seat is. Sometimes it takes minutes to even get into the line for the washroom or concessions because it's too crowded to really get anywhere. Then the lines move so slow. Back when I had season tickets I made a habit of going to the washroom and/or drink line at about the 40th minute because I would miss less of the game than if I went at the start of half time.

[Unnamed Trialist]

12 hours ago, Kent said:

I know you aren't based in Toronto, so I don't know if you have gone to any games at BMO, in particular any near capacity games at BMO, but it is not uncommon at TFC games depending on where your seat is. Sometimes it takes minutes to even get into the line for the washroom or concessions because it's too crowded to really get anywhere. Then the lines move so slow. Back when I had season tickets I made a habit of going to the washroom and/or drink line at about the 40th minute because I would miss less of the game than if I went at the start of half time.

If that is the case, they need to redesign the facilities. It happens at Camp Nou in the higher tiers, where I was vs Man United (I get moved around every match, for reasons not in my control) because of course they are pushed back to the limit of the stadium's bowl and there is less concourse. Here you have to walk down a few flights and get better access to facilities. In a lower tier there should be no excuse as there should be more space to be generous with all facilities.

Thing is, I absolutely hate missing even a second of a match, I think: if you go, you might as well watch the whole thing. What if the most incredible play happens, like a goal from midfield, and you were at the stadium and didn't see it? That would be the most foolish thing imaginable. Which is why even leading 5-1 I stay until the end however long the trip back home. 

IMO, having a beer is secondary, as is eating, neither are important during a match.

[Tigers]

We get it dude, you're hardcore.

[Gopherbashi]

3,691 for Ottawa's game today against Atlanta 2.  Better than last match fortunately, but still well off their average of 4,752 last season.  Hopefully they can pick it up as the weather warms.

[Ams1984]

24 minutes ago, Gopherbashi said:

3,691 for Ottawa's game today against Atlanta 2.  Better than last match fortunately, but still well off their average of 4,752 last season.  Hopefully they can pick it up as the weather warms.

It’ll be hard playing against clubs like Atlanta 2. Wouldn’t it be more fun to watch them against any of the CPL clubs?!

[Gopherbashi]

1 minute ago, Ams1984 said:

It’ll be hard playing against clubs like Atlanta 2. Wouldn’t it be more fun to watch them against any of the CPL clubs?!

No argument from my part, trust me.  I've got a Fury jersey in my dresser but just can't seem to care about the team as much this year.

I looked back through the Fury matches for last year and they only had 4 matches under 4,000 fans (of which 3 were in April or May).  So having 2 matches under 4,000 at this point in the year may not indicate a huge change.  If anything, the fact that they haven't had a match under 3,000 in attendance (as they saw by this point last year) may be a good sign.

[JamboAl]

I know the majority of potential Fury "customers" wouldn't be affected but there is severe flooding in the area.  I volunteered to fill and move sandbags this weekend and only made it to the last 15 mins of the game . Two random guys I met on the front lines were also Fury fans but we decided that helping out was more important than going to a game - and that would have been no different if the Fury were in the CPL, USL or MLS.     

[dyslexic nam]

Footy aside, you folks stay safe up there.

[matty]

6 hours ago, Gopherbashi said:

3,691 for Ottawa's game today against Atlanta 2.  Better than last match fortunately, but still well off their average of 4,752 last season.  Hopefully they can pick it up as the weather warms.

it's up almost 1000 from this time last year. their early attendance has always been kind of weird. some games 5000 some 2300

[BuzzAndSting]

https://apt613.ca/from-england-to-ottawa-pro-rugby-on-its-way-to-lansdowne/

Interesting article about the new rugby league club that's all but finalized to begin play in 2020 at TD Place. OSEG is not a partner in the team but will work with them as a venue obviously,  but also with ticketing, marketing and partnerships. At one point I thought there was no way OSEG would allow another pro team to operate at their facility without part owenership but this changes things. If Rollins is to be believed that OSEG would rather fold the Fury instead of joining the CPL it now seems remotely possible that another group could operate a CPL club in Ottawa and use TD Place as it's home.

Edited May 1, 2019 by BuzzAndSting

[Big_M]

Hmm any of those 15 can bankroll the club on their own..does any of them have interest in soccer?

[gator]

The Ottawa supporters I spoke with at The Forge match are so disappointed their team isn't part of this, it doesn't look like it will end well with the Fury and CPL, I hope things work out best for soccer fans in Ottawa, whatever that may be!

[dyslexic nam]

2 hours ago, BuzzAndSting said:

https://apt613.ca/from-england-to-ottawa-pro-rugby-on-its-way-to-lansdowne/

Interesting article about the new rugby league club that's all but finalized to begin play in 2020 at TD Place. OSEG is not a partner in the team but will work with them as a venue obviously,  but also with ticketing, marketing and partnerships. At one point I thought there was no way OSEG would allow another pro team to operate at their facility without part owenership but this changes things. If Rollins is to be believed that OSEG would rather fold the Fury instead of joining the CPL it now seems remotely possible that another group could operate a CPL club in Ottawa and use TD Place as it's home.

At the end of the day, I assume these are still mostly business decisions.

OSEG will decide whether or not it makes good business ro join CPL. 

CPL will decide if OSEG makes a good CPL ownership group in the Ottawa market.

And if OSEG fold rather than join CPL, I assume they would welcome the revenue another CPL owner (assuming one steps forward)  would bring in by playing out of TD Place.  I can't see them shooting themselves in the foot in an effort to torpedo the league if they have already folded their soccer operation. 

[Tigers]

2 hours ago, BuzzAndSting said:

https://apt613.ca/from-england-to-ottawa-pro-rugby-on-its-way-to-lansdowne/

Interesting article about the new rugby league club that's all but finalized to begin play in 2020 at TD Place. OSEG is not a partner in the team but will work with them as a venue obviously,  but also with ticketing, marketing and partnerships. At one point I thought there was no way OSEG would allow another pro team to operate at their facility without part owenership but this changes things. If Rollins is to be believed that OSEG would rather fold the Fury instead of joining the CPL it now seems remotely possible that another group could operate a CPL club in Ottawa and use TD Place as it's home.

I have my doubts about how well this will go, if it does happen.  Now that there is the Toronto Arrows playing rugby union (what everybody in Canada plays) I'm not sure there's the room or need for the rugby league experiment to continue. They also keep claiming TWP is the first transatlantic team, but that's just blatantly incorrect, with the Juaguares from Argentina flying across the Atlantic to play in South Africa in Super Rugby. 

From a soccer/CPL perspective, this is just OSEG covering their bases with a new tenant to pay rent in TD place. Since it sounds like they aren't the ownership at all (maybe individuals are involved in both?).

[BuzzAndSting]

9 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

At the end of the day, I assume these are still mostly business decisions.

OSEG will decide whether or not it makes good business ro join CPL. 

CPL will decide if OSEG makes a good CPL ownership group in the Ottawa market.

And if OSEG fold rather than join CPL, I assume they would welcome the revenue another CPL owner (assuming one steps forward)  would bring in by playing out of TD Place.  I can't see them shooting themselves in the foot in an effort to torpedo the league if they have already folded their soccer operation. 

My fear of OSEG not allowing another sports team to operate at their facility is based on the apparent divide between themselves and the CPL. Again, if Rollins is correct, there's been no discussion between the two parties since last summer and there's apparently growing animosity. That doesn't sound like a rational, business decision making process to me. 

[BuzzAndSting]

1 minute ago, Tigers said:

I have my doubts about how well this will go, if it does happen.  Now that there is the Toronto Arrows playing rugby union (what everybody in Canada plays) I'm not sure there's the room or need for the rugby league experiment to continue. They also keep claiming TWP is the first transatlantic team, but that's just blatantly incorrect, with the Juaguares from Argentina flying across the Atlantic to play in South Africa in Super Rugby. 

From a soccer/CPL perspective, this is just OSEG covering their bases with a new tenant to pay rent in TD place. Since it sounds like they aren't the ownership at all (maybe individuals are involved in both?).

The Arrows beginning play in York has no bearing on a League team in Ottawa. 

My point is that OSEG could have easily leveraged themselves into some share of ownership of the rugby club but they didn't. And no, I don't believe any of the OSEG partners are owners of the Stags.

[SoccMan]

40 minutes ago, Tigers said:

I have my doubts about how well this will go, if it does happen.  Now that there is the Toronto Arrows playing rugby union (what everybody in Canada plays) I'm not sure there's the room or need for the rugby league experiment to continue. They also keep claiming TWP is the first transatlantic team, but that's just blatantly incorrect, with the Juaguares from Argentina flying across the Atlantic to play in South Africa in Super Rugby. 

From a soccer/CPL perspective, this is just OSEG covering their bases with a new tenant to pay rent in TD place. Since it sounds like they aren't the ownership at all (maybe individuals are involved in both?).

Actually looking at how well the Wolfpack are doing at Lamport Stadium in Toronto averaging about over 6000 since they started a few years ago and just about selling out Lamport that fits close to 10000 in their home opener a few days ago I’m thinking the Ottawa team will do well . If Toronto got a CPL team playing out of Lamport would it get the same attendance that the Wolfpack have been getting I don’t know tough to say. I think that Rugby with its big hits and no diving and faking angle can play right into the hands of hockey and the pointy ball loving public in Canada . So they can sell that angle to the general Canadian sports fans. I think Rugby will probably be in direct competition for the CPL and even the Canadian MLS team cutting into their fan bases of both soccer leagues. They can also sell the fact they have a chance of playing in the best league in the world while both the MLS and CPL are not .

[Aird25]

1 hour ago, dyslexic nam said:

At the end of the day, I assume these are still mostly business decisions.

OSEG will decide whether or not it makes good business ro join CPL. 

CPL will decide if OSEG makes a good CPL ownership group in the Ottawa market.

And if OSEG fold rather than join CPL, I assume they would welcome the revenue another CPL owner (assuming one steps forward)  would bring in by playing out of TD Place.  I can't see them shooting themselves in the foot in an effort to torpedo the league if they have already folded their soccer operation. 

What’s the business rationale behind all the cheap shots they’ve taken at the league. I think there’s more at play here

[Greatest Cockney Rip Off]

24 minutes ago, SoccMan said:

Actually looking at how well the Wolfpack are doing at Lamport Stadium in Toronto averaging about over 6000 since they started a few years ago and just about selling out Lamport that fits close to 10000 in their home opener a few days ago I’m thinking the Ottawa team will do well . If Toronto got a CPL team playing out of Lamport would it get the same attendance that the Wolfpack have been getting I don’t know tough to say. I think that Rugby with its big hits and no diving and faking angle can play right into the hands of hockey and the pointy ball loving public in Canada . So they can sell that angle to the general Canadian sports fans. I think Rugby will probably be in direct competition for the CPL and even the Canadian MLS team cutting into their fan bases of both soccer leagues. They can also sell the fact they have a chance of playing in the best league in the world while both the MLS and CPL are not .

On Sunday, TWP had 9500 at Lamport while at the same time the Arrows had under 3000 at York. So all this union will do better than league is total BS. Not really surprised either. As someone who had no interest in rugby until discovering rugby league, I feel rugby league is a more exciting sport to watch. 

[Ansem]

4 hours ago, BuzzAndSting said:

https://apt613.ca/from-england-to-ottawa-pro-rugby-on-its-way-to-lansdowne/

Interesting article about the new rugby league club that's all but finalized to begin play in 2020 at TD Place. OSEG is not a partner in the team but will work with them as a venue obviously,  but also with ticketing, marketing and partnerships. At one point I thought there was no way OSEG would allow another pro team to operate at their facility without part owenership but this changes things. If Rollins is to be believed that OSEG would rather fold the Fury instead of joining the CPL it now seems remotely possible that another group could operate a CPL club in Ottawa and use TD Place as it's home.

From my understanding of the deal with the city, they have exclusive rights on soccer operations of the stadium and "managerial" rights to the stadium.

If they fold, that exclusivity clause is void and can't block an extra tenant (willing to pay rent) from using the city owned stadium.

Latest reports is that they were losing money and weren't able to meet financial expected payments towards the city. They aren't in a position to say no to extra money. CPL and a new group would work around the Rugby and CFL for schedule but I don't see Ottawa until 2021 at the earliest 

[BuzzAndSting]

7 minutes ago, Ansem said:

From my understanding of the deal with the city, they have exclusive rights on soccer operations of the stadium and "managerial" rights to the stadium.

If they fold, that exclusivity clause is void and can't block an extra tenant (willing to pay rent) from using the city owned stadium.

Latest reports is that they were losing money and weren't able to meet financial expected payments towards the city. They aren't in a position to say no to extra money. CPL and a new group would work around the Rugby and CFL for schedule but I don't see Ottawa until 2021 at the earliest 

They have operational control. There's nothing in their agreement with the city that would force them to offer the facility, at a fair market agreement or otherwise, to anyone.

[Ansem]

13 minutes ago, BuzzAndSting said:

They have operational control. There's nothing in their agreement with the city that would force them to offer the facility, at a fair market agreement or otherwise, to anyone.

Not sure how the city would feel, especially as they came up short recently on the expected returns the city thought they'd get. Fairly confident that if they fold, they'll accept more tenants to make more money. Besides, it wouldn't be CPL's fault...blame CONCACAF

Edited May 1, 2019 by Ansem

[BuzzAndSting]

43 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Not sure how the city would feel, especially as they came up short recently on the expected returns the city thought they'd get. Fairly confident that if they fold, they'll accept more tenants to make more money. Besides, it wouldn't be CPL's fault...blame CONCACAF

It doesn’t matter how the city feels, it’s not a partnership. There’s legal agreements in place that define OSEG’s operational control and allows them operate as they wish. 

[Ansem]

19 minutes ago, BuzzAndSting said:

It doesn’t matter how the city feels, it’s not a partnership. There’s legal agreements in place that define OSEG’s operational control and allows them operate as they wish. 

You're speculating that they would turn extra cash down out of spite for CPL? The change in status quo is CONCACAF doing, not CPL. As a business who's losing money in the deal, makes no sense to say no to another group