2021 Canadian Premier League Attendance

[Ingham]

4 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

We already know that the 2019 Y9 announced numbers were being inflated in a big way. Angus McNab went out of his way to highlight that the initial 1700 or so this year was a record paid attendance despite being below the 2019 announced average issued by the previous front office staff and the record high league game announced number of 4100.

Unlike this year's home opener against the Forge I seriously doubt it was > 1000 actually there this time but would that be surprising given the opponent was from L1O? There's always likely to be a floor to what they will actually announce for PR reasons which is part of what made the 804 number from Edmonton surprising and may have been what got some people worried about the future of FCE.

There were plenty of field level shots that clearly showed large portions of the seating up to concourse level during the stream because there was a manned field level camera at one end of the pitch and a shoulder held camera doing closeups at field level during hydration breaks etc.

That had to be the case.

There's no way a nearly full stadium is only 1100 people, where as almost completely empty seats where you have a whole stand to yourself equals to 2400.

The only good thing though is that since the original numbers were inflated, I can at least breathe easy and say the attendances definitely have improved since year 1, even if they aren't outstanding.

[Macksam]

10 hours ago, SpecialK said:

It seems Canada is driven by star names and winning, not grass roots. Ottawa pro sports teams are a prime example of that. Also look at TFC as well. 

I don't think any market's situation is that simple. 

[SpecialK]

2 hours ago, Macksam said:

I don't think any market's situation is that simple. 

Your right, but it’s a start. Something needs to be done. 

[grasshopper1917]

Looks like virtually no one in the stands in Hamilton today  

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

That will make you popular. There will be some more people you can't easily see in the near side mezzanine level and luxury boxes but definitely looking a bit sparse in the far side lower bowl barring the supporters group section unfortunately.

Edited August 22, 2021 by Ozzie_the_parrot

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

...announced as 3566:

https://canpl.ca/matchcentre/bi9uq5b5qnq2t6pf928nogs2c/highlights

[SoccMan]

So do the stadium lights work at York United’s stadium ? Why is this Wednesday’s York United home game starting at 6PM on a weekday ? How do they expect people to come to a game that starts at 6PM on a weeknight ? I was planning on going but not anymore I don’t get off work until 5 and it would be nice to go home first and then go to the game but not when it’s a 6PM weeknight start . Who is the idiot that picked that start time on a weeknight in Toronto ?

[Metro]

31 minutes ago, SoccMan said:

So do the stadium lights work at York United’s stadium ? Why is this Wednesday’s York United home game starting at 6PM on a weekday ? How do they expect people to come to a game that starts at 6PM on a weeknight ? I was planning on going but not anymore I don’t get off work until 5 and it would be nice to go home first and then go to the game but not when it’s a 6PM weeknight start . Who is the idiot that picked that start time on a weeknight in Toronto ?

I'm guessing it has something to do with meeting the University's requirements.  It was also ridiculous to have yesterday's Cup match at 3 pm during hot temperatures.

[narduch]

29 minutes ago, Metro said:

I'm guessing it has something to do with meeting the University's requirements.  It was also ridiculous to have yesterday's Cup match at 3 pm during hot temperatures.

Probably had to do with another CPL game at 8pm (Forge v Atletico)

[Ansem]

2 minutes ago, narduch said:

Probably had to do with another CPL game at 8pm (Forge v Atletico)

Should be a eastern game at 8pm and western game at 10pm.

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that covid forced them to into coming up with this schedule. They had vowed to significantly cut weekday games.

I'm hoping for huge schedule improvements for 2022

-Beginning of April to November (off season can't be this long ever again or you lose momentum as we witnessed)

-Stretching the season means there shouldn't be midweek games except for exceptions and holidays

-They need to get back on CBC on weekends. The ratings proved that exposure works.

-playing once a week allow guys to recover from long travels, put in more training, proper rest - which increases the quality on the pitch,  which attracts more fans

-They have to embrace playing evenings. Going to the stadium when it's 35 outside isn't a great selling point in the summer. It's still bright later on

-BUT, do play in the afternoon during Sring and Fall so it's warmer 

Hopefully, that's where they are going for 2022 + the raise of the cap will be most welcome.

[ted]

On 8/21/2021 at 11:54 PM, SpecialK said:

I have been to 2 Ottawa games now and the one thing I didn’t see was a lot kids. Yes there was some but not as much as I thought. Mostly young adults. 

Excellent! That is the demographic that fill sports stadium and pays the bills: young adults. Kids and seniors are good to have but they are not the bulk of the market for live sports. 

[RickC]

Re Forge attendance yesterday, we're in the Club seats this year (upper west side) and it certainly was sparse on the lower east stand. 3500 or so seems about right and not to make excuses, but most in attendance would have been baking in full sun and 30+ degrees for two hours. Also, I'm sure some would not come out due to Covid related fears, but next game everyone will have to prove they're vaccinated or have a negative test.

[gator]

3 hours ago, RickC said:

Re Forge attendance yesterday, we're in the Club seats this year (upper west side) and it certainly was sparse on the lower east stand. 3500 or so seems about right and not to make excuses, but most in attendance would have been baking in full sun and 30+ degrees for two hours. Also, I'm sure some would not come out due to Covid related fears, but next game everyone will have to prove they're vaccinated or have a negative test.

It was very hot and I love the heat, I noticed many watched from the shade of the concourse, our $5 beers helped but you had to drink them fast! 😀

[Ansem]

 

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

Valour vs FCE announced as 2480...

https://canpl.ca/matchcentre/bicsr95n777pupvryfl4hrbx0/highlights

 

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

No crowd stats yet on the official website for Forge vs Atletico and York vs Halifax.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

Looked like a full house for Pacific vs Whitecaps so no COVID hesitancy in that context. Hopefully the result will give Pacific's attendance in league games a significant boost.

[Kent]

6 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Looked like a full house for Pacific vs Whitecaps so no COVID hesitancy in that context. Hopefully the result will give Pacific's attendance in league games a significant boost.

It really was great to see. Huge majority of the crowd were cheering for Pacific too.

[SoccMan]

That should be the goal to fill up that stadium as much as possible, because these small stadiums when full like that makes for great atmosphere. I know people don’t like to hear it but CPL should be in these type of Pacific like stadiums or what Cavalry has and Halifax . Playing in these big stadiums with only even 5000 in attendance like in Hamilton, Ottawa and Winnipeg is just not the same I’m sorry. Yes I know those stadiums are great for all the amenities they have but when 80 percent of the big stadium is empty you just can’t compare the look and atmosphere you get in Pacific, Calgary and Halifax. MLS turned the corner when they started building the smaller 20000 seat stadiums , watching a game with even 20000 in an 60000 stadium was just not exciting at all.  

[Aird25]

10 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Looked like a full house for Pacific vs Whitecaps so no COVID hesitancy in that context. Hopefully the result will give Pacific's attendance in league games a significant boost.

The way you talk about Covid hesitancy, we’d either get 0 fans or full stadiums. I really don’t know what your talking about. I personally know several people that would have been there last night if not for hesitancy around Covid 

Edited August 27, 2021 by Aird25

[Ingham]

Not sure if I said this already, but I genuinely think in a country like this, 8 teams doesn't appeal a lot. Once we have at least 12 teams, we will see more people in the grounds.

I don't think we'll ever reach MLS standard but if we keep them between 8000-20k average that might be good enough.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

38 minutes ago, SoccMan said:

That should be the goal to fill up that stadium as much as possible, because these small stadiums when full like that makes for great atmosphere...

Lee Kormish formerly of SkSSS mentioned in a recent podcast about the Saskatoon expansion efforts that Mosaic Stadium in Regina is being avoided because the would be owners think 5-6,000 in a 30,000 CFL stadium would immediately kill the vibe and eventually the team. Halifax style popups would have been the better way to go in Winnipeg, Hamilton and Ottawa but if you went back six years or so CanPL was reported to have started off life as very much a CFL oriented enterprise tied into a solo World Cup bid possibly aligned with Traffic Sports and the NASL. Hopefully the Halifax popup and Starlight in Langford are to CanPL what the Columbus Crew's SSS was to MLS.

6 minutes ago, Ingham said:

Not sure if I said this already, but I genuinely think in a country like this, 8 teams doesn't appeal a lot....

Anyone who followed the CSL in the late 1980s and early 1990s is likely to tell you that eight teams gets very stale very quickly. What makes expansion of a league like CanPL tricky is setting the bar on capacity at 6000 seats with no U-sports related gridiron markings. There need to be enough Halifax style success stories out there to convince municipalities from coast to coast to consider that a basic piece of 21st century municipal infrastructure along with the CHL hockey arena and the minor league baseball diamond.

Edited August 27, 2021 by Ozzie_the_parrot

[Kent]

3 hours ago, Ingham said:

Not sure if I said this already, but I genuinely think in a country like this, 8 teams doesn't appeal a lot. Once we have at least 12 teams, we will see more people in the grounds.

I don't think we'll ever reach MLS standard but if we keep them between 8000-20k average that might be good enough.

The more teams the better, but I'm not sure I agree with your 8 teams assessment. The CFL has had 8 or 9 teams virtually it's entire existence (just a couple years in the 90's with some American teams when there was more). The NHL did OK for itself with only 6 teams (2 in Canada) for a very long time as well. That's combined about 110 seasons with 9 or fewer teams in those leagues (50 for the NHL, about 60 for CFL).

I think the CPL becomes more popular with more time to establish more history, perhaps better stadium situations for some teams, more strong results in cross team competitions like the Canadian Championship and CONCACAF competitions, maybe CPL grads moving on to bigger and better things like successful national team or club careers in Europe, and yes, expansion as well.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

11 hours ago, Kent said:

...The CFL has had 8 or 9 teams virtually it's entire existence ...

The shorter season means it is still not much more than home and away against all the other teams. CanPL needs 4 games against the other 7 teams for a balanced 28 game schedule and that starts to feel like Groundhog Day after a while.

[RS]

22 hours ago, SoccMan said:

That should be the goal to fill up that stadium as much as possible, because these small stadiums when full like that makes for great atmosphere. I know people don’t like to hear it but CPL should be in these type of Pacific like stadiums or what Cavalry has and Halifax . Playing in these big stadiums with only even 5000 in attendance like in Hamilton, Ottawa and Winnipeg is just not the same I’m sorry. Yes I know those stadiums are great for all the amenities they have but when 80 percent of the big stadium is empty you just can’t compare the look and atmosphere you get in Pacific, Calgary and Halifax. MLS turned the corner when they started building the smaller 20000 seat stadiums , watching a game with even 20000 in an 60000 stadium was just not exciting at all.  

I generally agree with this, but Valour and Forge were created in (large) part to fill dates at new(ish) CFL stadiums, so they're the least likely candidates to get smaller, purpose-built venues. 

It's up to the teams whether they can be like the New England Revolution or Seattle Sounders/Atlanta United in the long term. (Yes I know it's not completely apples to apples comparison but there are a lot of similarities)

Ottawa's a different case. Atletico needed a ready-made solution and TD Place was the best option. Maybe long term they could consider building a smaller SSS somewhere, but for location within the city their current situation cannot be beat.