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CPL 2022 Season Attendance


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Appologies if it has already been brought up but looking at the stats online it does seem like Halifax is leading in attendance despite being either the smallest or second smallest market (depending on whether York is counted alone or as part of the GTA), this despite not being that successfull on the pitch. Part of it is probably that there isn't all that much competitions in the sports scene but I was wondering if anyone else had any ideas what factors could explain that success and how they could be replicated elsewhere?

Edited by phil03
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14 hours ago, jonovision said:

This being the attendance thread, I'll point out that there is nothing wrong with being the former, and the teams will need plenty of each in order to thrive.

I'd go further - and this may be odd coming from me - I think teams need casuals far more than us. You don't grow attendance by attracting supporters. Supporters are just casuals who came to a game, saw and heard what is happening in the supporter section, came to more games, and eventually joined in. :)

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On 5/18/2022 at 9:09 AM, narduch said:

Some good attendance news.

 

How much would this be then? The attendance vs Cruz Azul was very disappointing. I hope they took the wake up call and improve their own marketing, and the results will show vs TFC.

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On 5/24/2022 at 12:00 AM, phil03 said:

Appologies if it has already been brought up but looking at the stats online it does seem like Halifax is leading in attendance despite being either the smallest or second smallest market (depending on whether York is counted alone or as part of the GTA), this despite not being that successfull on the pitch. Part of it is probably that there isn't all that much competitions in the sports scene but I was wondering if anyone else had any ideas what factors could explain that success and how they could be replicated elsewhere?

It has a great location.

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19 minutes ago, Colonel Green said:

It has a great location.

That's fair, altough I'd argue its probably not only that as the CPL team I support, Athletico Ottawa, also have a pretty solid one (Landsdowne is just outside of downtown) and it doesn't attract the same numbers (in fact it limit itself at 4,500 despite having the habillity to open way more seats in theory). IMO Halifax has probably at least a few combined factors going for it, with location and comparatively little sports competitions being only two, but I am wondering what might be the others...

Edited by phil03
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7 minutes ago, phil03 said:

That's fair, altough I'd argue its probably not only that as the CPL team I support, Athletico Ottawa, also have a pretty solid one (Landsdowne is just outside of downtown) and it doesn't attract the same numbers (in fact it limit itself at 4,500 despite having the habillity to open way more seats in theory). IMO Halifax has probably at least a few combined factors going for it, with location and comparatively little sports competitions being only two, but I am wondering what might be the others...

Look at Google Map. The location of the Wanderers Ground is exceptional. It is pretty much smack in the middle of the Halifax Peninsula, one block from Spring Garden Road, 4-5 easy from Downtown Halifax, easy walking distance from Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, and a substantial residential base. It is located in a good park like setting, next to Citadel Hill, the Halifax Common, and the Public Gardens. The site is well served by transit and has a lot of nearby public parking (on street and in parking structures). Being so close to Downtown Halifax and Spring Garden Road also means lots of variety in terms of restaurants, pubs, and bars. There is also strong support from the local community. Regarding your comment about less sports competition, I have to agree...we do not have a CFL Team, for which I am grateful.

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1 minute ago, Haligonian#1 said:

Look at Google Map. The location of the Wanderers Ground is exceptional. It is pretty much smack in the middle of the Halifax Peninsula, one block from Spring Garden Road, 4-5 easy from Downtown Halifax, easy walking distance from Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, and a substantial residential base. It is located in a good park like setting, next to Citadel Hill, the Halifax Common, and the Public Gardens. The site is well served by transit and has a lot of nearby public parking (on street and in parking structures). Being so close to Downtown Halifax and Spring Garden Road also means lots of variety in terms of restaurants, pubs, and bars. There is also strong support from the local community. Regarding your comment about less sports competition, I have to agree...we do not have a CFL Team, for which I am grateful.

Plus the stadium is the right size.

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13 hours ago, Haligonian#1 said:

Plus the stadium is the right size.

I think this is a little bit underrated when discussing it. If the stadium is too big, people don't worry about getting tickets because they know they always can. Where as with a slightly smaller stadium, people will sometimes go because they don't know when the next opportunity will be.

Edited by Watchmen
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For anyone wanting to compare 2022 attendance figures to 2019, here they are:

  • Atletico Ottawa: N/A
  • Cavalry: + 9%
  • Edmonton: -70%
  • Forge: -45%
  • HFX Wanderers: -5%
  • Pacific: -1%
  • Valour: -47%
  • York: -53%

So you have 3 of the original 7 clubs who are keeping their original interest around, while 4 of the original 7 clubs have lost a big chunk of their original interest. I think everyone is aware of the struggles with Edmonton and York, but to see Valour and Forge lose significant chunks of their support from the first year is a bit concerning. Nothing alarming especially with York and Edmonton out there but hoping they move further towards 2019 numbers by the end of the year. 

Forge was boosted in 2019 by the free game, and seems to draw well for bigger games. I'm not really sure what's going on with Valour. Feels like they are not able to sustain the initial interest. Perhaps poor results on the pitch and the lack of an intimate stadium takes away atmosphere as a reason to go to games? 

Edited by shermanator
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On 5/25/2022 at 6:11 PM, Haligonian#1 said:

Look at Google Map. The location of the Wanderers Ground is exceptional. It is pretty much smack in the middle of the Halifax Peninsula, one block from Spring Garden Road, 4-5 easy from Downtown Halifax, easy walking distance from Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, and a substantial residential base. It is located in a good park like setting, next to Citadel Hill, the Halifax Common, and the Public Gardens. The site is well served by transit and has a lot of nearby public parking (on street and in parking structures). Being so close to Downtown Halifax and Spring Garden Road also means lots of variety in terms of restaurants, pubs, and bars. There is also strong support from the local community. Regarding your comment about less sports competition, I have to agree...we do not have a CFL Team, for which I am grateful.

Having spent a memorable summer there way back between 3rd and 4th year uni, walking to work from Fenwick Towers (does that still exist?) to NRC office on Oxford Street on the Dalhousie campus, I would agree one hundred percent.

 

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2 hours ago, shermanator said:

Forge was boosted in 2019 by the free game, and seems to draw well for bigger games. I'm not really sure what's going on with Valour. Feels like they are not able to sustain the initial interest. Perhaps poor results on the pitch and the lack of an intimate stadium takes away atmosphere as a reason to go to games? 

Valour had some big crowds in early 2019. Many attended for the novelty factor. The results on the pitch for that entire season were abysmal. Any non-hardcore potential fan would have been turned off. 

Valour has had two home matches so far in 2022. One with terrible weather. There are concerns to be sure but I don't think it's step-in-front-of-a-bus time quite yet.

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57 minutes ago, jonovision said:

Valour had some big crowds in early 2019. Many attended for the novelty factor. The results on the pitch for that entire season were abysmal. Any non-hardcore potential fan would have been turned off. 

Valour has had two home matches so far in 2022. One with terrible weather. There are concerns to be sure but I don't think it's step-in-front-of-a-bus time quite yet.

That first Valour game was huge! Opened the entire lower bowl and there was a great atmosphere. The numbers from that day definitely skewed the average from 2019. Having said that there is still a noticeable drop this year, but no where near the 47%

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3 hours ago, Ed_S said:

Having spent a memorable summer there way back between 3rd and 4th year uni, walking to work from Fenwick Towers (does that still exist?) to NRC office on Oxford Street on the Dalhousie campus, I would agree one hundred percent.

 

Yes, Fenwick Tower still exists. It was sold by Dalhousie to a private company a number of years ago and they have renovated the building. It is now known as the Vuze.

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On 6/1/2022 at 4:46 AM, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Might as well post this in the appropriate thread rather than casting "dispersions" with it:

 

Or attendance is  at 2800 in contrast USL (including it 3 MLS 2 clubs drawing well under 1000) are averaging 4680. One would have to think if we cant get the average up to at least 4000 at some point maybe it doesn't make sense to have a professional league. Im not saying it has to be today or tomorrow but as some point I think we need to be in the 4000 ball park to even justify it.

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1 hour ago, shermanator said:

Ya, we should just kill any progress made on a domestic league if attendance doesn't reach some arbitrary number by some arbitrary date. 

Ridiculous...

Well I mean if you have rich people willing to pump in millions to funs the losses of a domestic league every year then sure. The reality is though if you want to have a league where players actually get paid a somewhat decent wage you need to have people interested in paying to see it. 

Im sorry no television exposure and under 3000 fans a night is not going to fund a fully professional coast to coast league. Thats just a reality. 

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