CPL inaugural match - #1 attended match for 2019?

[Robert]

With Voyageurs flying in from all parts of the country, will the CPL's inaugural match at Tim Hortons Field, in Hamilton, between Forge FC and York9 FC end up being the highest attended CPL match of the 2019 season?

[Senorpopps]

I would say YES given the size of the stadium. Only one other team has the stadium capacity to fit a bigger crowd and that's Valour FC. Without the honor of hosting the first game along with the fact they don't have any regional rivals to draw not only your own fans but your away team fans, this will likely be the most attended game. One must only wonder how different my post would be if Thunder Bay were in the league ?.

[Tigers]

I think if Forge does well, there may be opportunity for higher crowds later on in the season, once they can cross-promote during Tiger Cats games. 

Any chance we see a "Labour Day Classic" equivalent in CPL?

[baulderdash77]

I suspect that the opening match will “sell out” with 10,000 tickets.  I expect a large media build up to it and in the end a lot of casuals will come out.  I only say sold out in “” is the upper deck won’t open.

It’s going to be a big event though.  

[Ams1984]

I’m pretty sure it’ll sell out, and unless there’s a championship game or something, this will be the biggest attendance of the year. 

[Rocket Robin]

Possibly a Voyageurs Cup game against an MLS team may draw more except that it will be on a Wednesday night so that could hurt folks coming in from out of town.  

 

[Grandbloke]

22 minutes ago, Rocket Robin said:

Possibly a Voyageurs Cup game against an MLS team may draw more except that it will be on a Wednesday night so that could hurt folks coming in from out of town.  

 

I would think that a Voyageurs Cup game, in Hamilton or in Winnipeg, against an MLS team would draw a huge crowd, even on a Wednesday night, as long as the weather is good.

[matty]

40 minutes ago, Grandbloke said:

I would think that a Voyageurs Cup game, in Hamilton or in Winnipeg, against an MLS team would draw a huge crowd, even on a Wednesday night, as long as the weather is good.

I don't think the Winnipeg draw would be noticeably high unless it was a final.

Hamilton or York against Toronto or Montreal would be big.

[MrsC]

7 hours ago, matty said:

I don't think the Winnipeg draw would be noticeably high unless it was a final.

Hamilton or York against Toronto or Montreal would be big.

I think Winnipeg would draw a big crowd if we played an MLS team. We are far enough away from the MLS cities that it would be a big deal for people to watch one of those teams live. And it would draw out a lot of casual sports fans.

[matty]

1 hour ago, MrsC said:

I think Winnipeg would draw a big crowd if we played an MLS team. We are far enough away from the MLS cities that it would be a big deal for people to watch one of those teams live. And it would draw out a lot of casual sports fans.

just curious what your defining as big draw. like if they on average do 7k, what would tfc add? for me, a big draw it at least a 25% increase.

[MrsC]

1 hour ago, matty said:

just curious what your defining as big draw. like if they on average do 7k, what would tfc add? for me, a big draw it at least a 25% increase.

Well we'd have to know where season ticket sales are at to have any idea of what me might see as regular attendance, and we are completely in the dark.  So a percentage increase?  I don't know.  But I would see a potential 10,000 sell out here if an MLS team comes, especially if the team is in good form.

[T_Bison]

I think for a potential MLS/CanPL match they would open up additional seating - why wouldn't you? You have the biggest stadium in the league (and would be the seventh largest in MLS) and if the tickets are that much in demand then you would definitely open it up and make more money.

[Robert]

6 hours ago, MrsC said:

I think Winnipeg would draw a big crowd if we played an MLS team. We are far enough away from the MLS cities that it would be a big deal for people to watch one of those teams live. And it would draw out a lot of casual sports fans.

Wouldn't a potential CPL - USL match-up, with a Voyageurs Cup semi-final berth a stake, stand a good chance of outdrawing the attendance of the CPL's inaugural match? Depending on that CPL club's standing in the league come July 10th?

Just picture being at Investors Group Field. It's 42 degrees in the shade. With the world's largest mosquitoes joining the capacity crowd as Valor FC convincingly defeats Ottawa Fury FC?

Afterwards, we could all celebrate the first CPL club to reach the semi-finals of the Canadian championships at the Occidental. Is that still around? Gosh, it's been at least 30 years since I was last in the Peg.

[matty]

2 hours ago, T_Bison said:

I think for a potential MLS/CanPL match they would open up additional seating - why wouldn't you? You have the biggest stadium in the league (and would be the seventh largest in MLS) and if the tickets are that much in demand then you would definitely open it up and make more money.

Well, TFC vs. Whitecaps in the final drew 17k in Vancouver and 15k in Toronto. The Canadian Championship really isn't much of a draw. You might see a big turn in a CPL city but in a MLS one? I doubt it and even in a CPL city you might have a situation where casuals don't care cause it's just TFC, Impact, or the Caps so it's "nothing special".

You could make the case Ottawa drew better when they played MLS teams but FC Edmonton was sort of fickle at drawing when playing MLS teams and never had much more than 200-300 people show above the average.

[MrsC]

1 hour ago, matty said:

Well, TFC vs. Whitecaps in the final drew 17k in Vancouver and 15k in Toronto. The Canadian Championship really isn't much of a draw. You might see a big turn in a CPL city but in a MLS one? I doubt it and even in a CPL city you might have a situation where casuals don't care cause it's just TFC, Impact, or the Caps so it's "nothing special".

You could make the case Ottawa drew better when they played MLS teams but FC Edmonton was sort of fickle at drawing when playing MLS teams and never had much more than 200-300 people show above the average.

The Canadian championship probably won't be a  big draw here, but having an MLS club come to Winnipeg is.  You have to remember it is a 24 hour drive from Winnipeg to either Toronto or Vancouver.  There are MLS fans here in Winnipeg that can't easily drive to see their team play.  And there are many casual fans in Winnipeg that would jump at the chance to see a big team play here.  You can't compare it to any city in southern Ontario because it is a lot easier for fans in Ontario to see an MLS team play.

[matty]

8 minutes ago, MrsC said:

The Canadian championship probably won't be a  big draw here, but having an MLS club come to Winnipeg is.  You have to remember it is a 24 hour drive from Winnipeg to either Toronto or Vancouver.  There are MLS fans here in Winnipeg that can't easily drive to see their team play.  And there are many casual fans in Winnipeg that would jump at the chance to see a big team play here.  You can't compare it to any city in southern Ontario because it is a lot easier for fans in Ontario to see an MLS team play.

Oh I get that again I'm very on the fence about if we'll see a massive 25%+ increase (my number is likely different from your's) as it wasn't the case for FCE when they played MLS teams.

[Initial B]

I can tell you that when the MLS clubs come to town, they're usually some of the best attended games of the season. I'm sure there would be an uptick of at least 20-25% in attendance form those MLS-CPL club matches.

[matty]

1 hour ago, Initial B said:

I can tell you that when the CPL cubs come to town, they're usually some of the best attended games of the season. I'm sure there would be an uptick of at least 20-25% in attendance form those MLS-CPL club matches.

huh?

[Robert]

I guess unless an unlikely combination of outcomes involving Vaughan Azzurri, AS Blainville, and Ottawa Fury FC prevent any possible CPL vs. MLS match-ups from happening in this year's Voyageurs Cup, the we will find out this summer if a CPL vs. MLS match-up outdraws a MLS vs. CPL match-up.

Since this discussion has turned in the direction of Voyageurs Cup matches, has anyone noticed that the CSA does not refer to this competition as the "Voyageurs Cup," but instead chooses to exclusively bill this competition as the "Canadian Championship?" In hockey, the NHL always makes reference to the "Stanley Cup," and not the "NHL Championship." Same thing with the NFL, where it is the "Super Bowl," as opposed to the "NFL Championship." Is it just me, or doesn't it feel right to others as well?

 https://www.canadasoccer.com/canada-soccer-outline-2019-canadian-championship-draw-format-p162036

Canada Soccer outline 2019 Canadian Championship Draw Format

Posted on 6 February 2019 in Canadian Championship

Match-ups for the 2019 Canadian Championship will be announced 12 February following a Draw to determine the competition schedule. The competition will feature 24 games over five rounds including three Qualifying Rounds, the Semi-Final and Final.
 
The Draw will determine the Qualifying Round 1 match-ups for teams entering that round on 15 and 22 May, as well as the subsequent round match-ups to produce the pathway to the Canadian Championship Final Round scheduled for 18 and 25 September.
 
“The continued expansion of the Canadian Championship is a testament to the growth and professionalization of the sport of soccer in our country,” said Canada Soccer General Secretary Peter Montopoli. “We look forward to welcoming the debutant Canadian Premier League clubs and Vaughan Azzurri to the competition and to the returning clubs as they strive to gain access to the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup.”
 
The Draw will be conducted to place each round’s entrants into a home and away series denoted by a match number. Qualifying Round 1 (QR1) will feature match numbers one through three, Qualifying Round 2 (QR2) will feature match numbers four through six, Qualifying Round 3 (QR3) will feature match numbers seven through nine, the Semi-Final Round features match numbers ten and eleven with match number twelve being the Final.
 
In QR1, champions from League1 Ontario and Première Ligue de soccer du Québec will not be drawn into the same match number.
 
After QR1 matchups are set, and subject to facility availability, the seeded teams from Qualifying Round 2 onwards will host the second leg.
 

Qualifying Round 1 (QR1) - 15 & 22 May

• Qualifying Round 1 will feature six clubs drawn to determine match-ups. 
• Teams entering: Vaughan Azzurri, AS Blainville, Cavalry FC, HFX Wanderers FC, Pacific FC York9 FC,
• Match numbers in QR1: 1, 2, and 3

Qualifying Round 2 (QR2) - 5 & 12 June

• Qualifying Round 2 will feature FC Edmonton, Forge FC, and Valour FC drawn against QR1 winners of Matches 1 through 3.
• Match numbers in QR2: 4, 5, and 6

 
Qualifying Round 3 (QR3) - 10 & 24 July

• Qualifying Round 3 will feature Ottawa Fury FC, Montreal Impact FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC drawn against the winners of QR2 Matches 4, 5 and 6.
• Match numbers in QR3: 7, 8, and 9

 
Semi-Final Round - 7 & 14 August

• In the Semi-Final Round, Toronto FC will be drawn into either match 10 or match 11 and will face one of the QR3 winners with the other two QR3 winners completing the Semi-Final match-up.
• Match numbers in the Semi-Final: 10, and 11

 
Final Round - 18 & 25 September

• For the Final Round, as in previous years, the highest seeded team has the opportunity to select which leg it wishes to play at home.
• Match number for the Final: 12

[matty]

13 minutes ago, Robert said:

I guess unless an unlikely combination of outcomes involving Vaughan Azzurri, AS Blainville, and Ottawa Fury FC prevent any possible CPL vs. MLS match-ups from happening in this year's Voyageurs Cup, the we will find out this summer if a CPL vs. MLS match-up outdraws a MLS vs. CPL match-up.

Since this discussion has turned in the direction of Voyageurs Cup matches, has anyone noticed that the CSA does not refer to this competition as the "Voyageurs Cup," but instead chooses to exclusively bill this competition as the "Canadian Championship?" In hockey, the NHL always makes reference to the "Stanley Cup," and not the "NHL Championship." Same thing with the NFL, where it is the "Super Bowl," as opposed to the "NFL Championship." Is it just me, or doesn't it feel right to others as well?

 https://www.canadasoccer.com/canada-soccer-outline-2019-canadian-championship-draw-format-p162036

Canada Soccer outline 2019 Canadian Championship Draw Format

I have and don't find it too weird. The competition itself is the Canadian Championship and the winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup. The NHL is the only major league I can think of that bills its playoffs after the trophy, the NFL's, CFL's and MLB's are just the playoffs until the final and NBA just calls it the playoffs until the final at which point it becomes the championship. It's a little weird for soccer but it's not overly odd.

[Robert]

8 minutes ago, matty said:

I have and don't find it too weird. The competition itself is the Canadian Championship and the winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup. The NHL is the only major league I can think of that bills its playoffs after the trophy, the NFL's, CFL's and MLB's are just the playoffs until the final and NBA just calls it the playoffs until the final at which point it becomes the championship. It's a little weird for soccer but it's not overly odd.

Are you saying that you have never heard it referred to as "the Stanley Cup play-offs????"

Okay, that was a whoops. Read it too fast. But how about the "WORLD CUP?" Does that count? Or the FA Cup? The KNVB Cup?

[matty]

6 minutes ago, Robert said:

Are you saying that you have never heard it referred to as "the Stanley Cup play-offs????"

Okay, that was a whoops. Read it too fast. But how about the "WORLD CUP?" Does that count?

As I said it's weird for soccer but not too weird. Anyways peace

[Kent]

For reference, in MLS's inaugural season the first game was between DC United and San Jose. I'm not sure what the attendance was for that game, but the following week there were several games on April 13th, 1996. LA Galaxy's home opener on that day drew a record number of fans and it remained the record (as a stand alone game, so not counting double headers) until 2017 when it was passed by Atlanta vs Orlando.

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/09/14/atlanta-united-chasing-all-time-mls-attendance-records

I kind of hope the inaugural game is the highest attended, because if it isn't I think that would mean it didn't draw all that much and was able to be outsold by someone else's home opener. For example, Wanderers just might be leading the charge in season tickets sold (very few reported numbers league wide, so we can't know for sure). A scenario where the inaugural game isn't the most attended could be where it only draws like 6k fans, but Halifax is able to sell out it's venue (I want to say it's 8k?).

So yeah, I hope it's the biggest draw of the year, because I hope it's a big enough occasion to open up the upper tier. But hey, if Winnipeg has 20k attend their home opener and Hamilton has 18k in theirs, I'd be perfectly happy with that.

[Robert]

I hope that the CPL intends to publish "Match Reports" for all of the league games. If they do, I am willing to post attendance figures for the inaugural  season, 1987.   

The 's opening game was played June 7, 1987 in Aylmer, Quebec and saw the hometown Ottawa Pioneers and Hamilton Steelers play to a 1–1 draw in steady drizzle in front of 2,500 spectators.

An "attendance comparison" between the inaugural   and CPL seasons would be useful to determine whether or not the Canadian interest in attending a domestic league has grown sufficiently enough to make such a league a viable business.

[Kent]

1 hour ago, Robert said:

I hope that the CPL intends to publish "Match Reports" for all of the league games. If they do, I am willing to post attendance figures for the inaugural  season, 1987.   

The 's opening game was played May 26, 1987 in Aylmer, Quebec and saw the hometown Ottawa Pioneers and Hamilton Steelers play to a 0–0 draw in steady drizzle in front of 2,500 spectators.

An "attendance comparison" between the inaugural   and CPL seasons would be useful to determine whether or not the Canadian interest in attending a domestic league has grown sufficiently enough to make such a league a viable business.

Thanks for the tidbit. Do you know what the most attended game was in the first CSL season? I'm curious about learning more about CSL attendance.