CPL 2022 Season Attendance

[m-g-williams]

16 minutes ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Losing the TSN sports radio station can't have helped either in a Hamilton context. 

Hamilton doesn't have it's own TSN Sports Station? Yikes. TSN 1200 has been the radio partner for the Fury/Atletico since day one and they actually do a decent job of providing coverage, both over the air and on their website (especially interviews). Do Winnipeg, Calgary and other spots get decent local sports radio coverage? 

[narduch]

14 minutes ago, m-g-williams said:

Hamilton doesn't have it's own TSN Sports Station? Yikes. TSN 1200 has been the radio partner for the Fury/Atletico since day one and they actually do a decent job of providing coverage, both over the air and on their website (especially interviews). Do Winnipeg, Calgary and other spots get decent local sports radio coverage? 

Sauga 960 AM does York home games.

But that station is not very well known.

Edited April 19, 2022 by narduch

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

Winnipeg lost its TSN radio station at the same time as Hamilton. Calgary appear to have a sports radio station aligned with Sportsnet but no idea how good they have been with coverage of the Cavalry.

[Trois Reds]

46 minutes ago, m-g-williams said:

Hamilton doesn't have it's own TSN Sports Station? Yikes. TSN 1200 has been the radio partner for the Fury/Atletico since day one and they actually do a decent job of providing coverage, both over the air and on their website (especially interviews). Do Winnipeg, Calgary and other spots get decent local sports radio coverage? 

Cavalry gets mentioned here in the Calgary Sun quite a bit and I have seen them mentioned on local news on TV, including CTV.  I've also seen FC Edmonton news here, so I believe they get some local coverage as well.

[gator]

2 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Losing the TSN sports radio station can't have helped either in a Hamilton context. 

I have to agree on this, our TSN affiliate had good Forge coverage and in fact a friend of mine had a weekly show devoted to soccer which had lots of Forge stuff, they broadcasted some matches from the Island Games! I wonder if other stations get lazy when the competetion dies because from what I  hear radio coverage is poor!  

 

[CDNFootballer]

12 hours ago, grasshopper1917 said:

It seems like there is always a list of excuses when a game is poorly attended. Bad start time, TFC was playing, bad weather, traffic jam, weeknight..... at the end of the day at some point the league is going to have to start drawing some decent crowds. 

 

Not necessarily excuses but more trying to put things into perspective. Things like scheduling for instance are an important factor.

Wasn't a great crowd, Pacific FC averaged about 2600 last year and 3100 in 2019. With their success last year they should be able to capitalize on that and hopefully draw at least 3000 per game imo, especially on a weekend.

Edited April 19, 2022 by CDNFootballer

[Watchmen]

2 hours ago, gator said:

I have to agree on this, our TSN affiliate had good Forge coverage and in fact a friend of mine had a weekly show devoted to soccer which had lots of Forge stuff, they broadcasted some matches from the Island Games! I wonder if other stations get lazy when the competetion dies because from what I  hear radio coverage is poor!  

 

When TSN 1040 in Vancouver folded (same time as in Hamilton and Winnipeg), the Whitecaps were forced on to 730 AM, an All Traffic radio station, where I suspect they buy the airtime.

[ted]

11 hours ago, Haligonian#1 said:

I guess we in Halifax are able to consistently pull in attendances in the 6,000 range at every match because all of our game days have plenty of sunshine, 21-26 degree heat, no traffic, nothing else going on (of course, that's a given since we are unsophisticated when compared to Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, and BC 🙄), the best of dates and times, etc.

My first post on this topic was in 2018 when I said that the planned stadium in Halifax would be a fantastic venue and be a good draw. I have also been saying all along that if we were playing at a Royal Athletic Park in Downtown Victoria instead of what until recently was known as Dogpatch (aka Langford) we would be doing better. There are better transit links and pubs, restaurants, clubs etc that make for a total night out. In Langford you come for the game and there is basically nothing else. We try to do tailgates before most games but that is not a big part of sporting culture here.

Oh, and just to clear up confusion, beautiful weather for an early-afternoon game means that a large segment of our natural target for casuals is out in the woods or on the water. In general I believe that 7:00 pm kickoffs are best for our local market but I think that gets shot down due to TV wanting games back East earlier than 10:00 or 11:00 pm.

Looking forward to the day I can come see a game in Halifax BTW.

 

[Macksam]

On 4/19/2022 at 7:19 AM, grasshopper1917 said:

It seems like there is always a list of excuses when a game is poorly attended. Bad start time, TFC was playing, bad weather, traffic jam, weeknight..... at the end of the day at some point the league is going to have to start drawing some decent crowds. 

 

Halifax has shown it can work when done right. The blue print itself does not seem overly difficult either, stadium within walking distance of pubs, community outreach, grass roots level marketing. It seems the only other club this approach is being utilized is for Electric City FC, which ironically could draw more than a lot of CPL clubs when it starts playing in L10 this year. 

This could be the model going forward, do well in League 1 BC, Ontario, whatever the Quebec equivalent is called and then put the plan in place to move up. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by Macksam

[wwahl11]

I just noticed that  the canpl.ca has posted the attendance for all 2022 CPL matches! This is a fantastic development.

I really want to see these figures because it tells me something about the game that was played, the atmosphere. I firmly believe that professional soccer will become a major sporting activity in Canada, and I was there right at the start. I attended the inaugural game in Hamilton, games in Hamilton & York, as well as a game in Halifax. I am a 'founding' member of my local team and have attended every local match -OR- given away my tickets (when on vacation) to ensure there are 'bums in the seats'. What the attendance figures do right now is spur me to action, to increase the attendance. When out in public (restaurant, barber, check-out counter, etc.), I mention the local team, the last game, and how enjoyable it was. I invite people to join me at a game. And as the league attendance grows, we'll be able to see it in concrete terms.

[shermanator]

Official numbers for the first 2 weeks of the season:

Atletico Ottawa: 4172, 3122
FC Edmonton: 670, 600
Forge: 3688
Pacific: 4038, 2420
York United: 1802

Given FC Edmonton's turbulent offseason, and the weather for the first two games, that's actually better than I thought they'd do.

As for Sportsnet 960's coverage of Cavalry, Tommy Wheeldon has had a weekly segment on that station going back to 2014. Ryan Pinder is a massive fan, often seen at club events and promoting the atmosphere at games on social media. The Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun have a beat reporter covering the club. Global and CTV have reporters covering the club; one of the sports anchors is actually in the Foot Soldiers and I've met two others in the stands as well. CBC radio has covered the games as well, not as frequently though.

Cavalry actually get very good coverage through traditional media for a club their size...

[Kingston]

2 hours ago, shermanator said:

Official numbers for the first 2 weeks of the season:

Atletico Ottawa: 4172, 3122
FC Edmonton: 670, 600
Forge: 3688
Pacific: 4038, 2420
York United: 1802

I'm very happy to see that the league is reporting attendance after all.  It means we can have a much more useful conversation with reliable numbers.

I'm looking forward to seeing the home opener numbers from the remaining teams.  Halifax and Valour are two of the best attended teams.  Calgary will be interesting to see as they are a bit of a question mark.

It is good to see that both Ottawa and Pacific had bigger opening day crowds.  That shows there was a buzz and some eagerness to see soccer back.  Hopefully higher numbers will come as the season moves along.

Edmonton's numbers show that this team is done.  The locals aren't buying a league-run zombie squad made up of other team's loanees.  I'd hoped otherwise but I'm not surprised.  Now the questions are whether a new owner can be found and whether an immediate restart would work or if the market would best be left fallow for a bit.

I was surprised that Forge's number was so low for the home opener; usually they are much better.  I was not terribly surprised with York.

[SoccMan]

Someone in Hamilton please respond but how come the new Lacrosse team that isn’t even called Hamilton  , the Toronton Rock easily outdrawing Forge ? I’ve seen crowds of over 8000 at some games this season and also a 5000 crowd at a Lacrosse game in Hamilton this season , but I don’t think I’ve ever seen any crowd of over 8000 for a Forge game apart from that very first game in that first season . Moreover, it looks like all of the Canadian teams in that indoor Lacrosse league get attendances that that any CPL team not named Halifax would love to have . The success this Forge team has had in the CPL and in CONCACAF has been great but still can’t get the attendance that a team not even called Hamilton in Lacrosse gets . Like seriously this Forge team is the real deal but I still think the attendance should be better , this is a damn good team with a really good coach and I think deserve better attendance.

Edited April 20, 2022 by SoccMan

[narduch]

6 minutes ago, SoccMan said:

Someone in Hamilton please respond but how come the new Lacrosse team that isn’t even called Hamilton  , the Toronton Rock easily outdrawing Forge ? I’ve seen crowds of over 8000 at some games this season and also a 5000 crowd at a Lacrosse game in Hamilton this season , but I don’t think I’ve ever seen any crowd of over 8000 for a Forge game apart from that very first game in that first season . Moreover, it looks like all of the Canadian teams in that indoor Lacrosse league get attendances that that any CPL team not named Halifax would love to have . The success this Forge team has had in the CPL and in CONCACAF has been great but still can’t get the attendance that a team not even called Hamilton in Lacrosse gets . Like seriously this Forge team is the real deal but I still think the attendance should be better , this is a damn good team with a really good coach and I think deserve better attendance.

Isn't that league well established?

They used to get over 15,000 at Maple Leaf Gardens and the ACC.

Plus the league is regularly on the main sports networks.

This is comparing apples and oranges.

If anything this is a sign of the decline of Lacrosse 

The Forge v TFC game will be interesting 

Edited April 20, 2022 by narduch

[SoccMan]

19 minutes ago, narduch said:

Isn't that league well established?

They used to get over 15,000 at Maple Leaf Gardens and the ACC.

Plus the league is regularly on the main sports networks.

This is comparing apples and oranges.

If anything this is a sign of the decline of Lacrosse 

The Forge v TFC game will be interesting 

I don’t think it’s comparing apples and oranges , the team is called the Toronto Rock not Hamilton and is easily outdrawing Forge . In my opinion a lot has to do with venues . I get why certain teams play in  big stadiums like Tim Hortons Field and in Ottawa and Winnipeg. However , 3000 people in 20000 type stadiums is never going to get a casual to want to come out again once they attend. Moreover, sitting in a stadium getting rained on and experiencing sometimes 50 K winds is not going to want people to go sit outside and brave the elements unfortunately. The solution is building smaller stadiums with proper roofs over the stands. I know this is easier said than done , but I don’t think that small attendances in this league have to do with the league’s popularity or the product on the field but the venues too unfortunately. I truly believe if we could build proper stadiums that take in too account the type of weather we have in this country  that attendances would increase substantially . 

[narduch]

5 minutes ago, SoccMan said:

I don’t think it’s comparing apples and oranges , the team is called the Toronto Rock not Hamilton and is easily outdrawing Forge . In my opinion a lot has to do with venues . I get why certain teams play in  big stadiums like Tim Hortons Field and in Ottawa and Winnipeg. However , 3000 people in 20000 type stadiums is never going to get a casual to want to come out again once they attend. Moreover, sitting in a stadium getting rained on and experiencing sometimes 50 K winds is not going to want people to go sit outside and brave the elements unfortunately. The solution is building smaller stadiums with proper roofs over the stands. I know this is easier said than done , but I don’t think that small attendances in this league have to do with the league’s popularity or the product on the field but the venues too unfortunately. I truly believe if we could build proper stadiums that take in too account the type of weather we have in this country  that attendances would increase substantially . 

You sound like you have no idea what you are talking about.

The Toronto Rock were basically the buzz of the city in Toronto pre-TFC starting.

Whatever you are trying to read from a team playing a totally different sport in an indoor stadium is nearly irrelevant.

Really, I don`t think there is anything you can glean from the state of CPL attendances based on the popularity of the Toronto Rock.

 

[Ansem]

12 minutes ago, SoccMan said:

I don’t think it’s comparing apples and oranges , the team is called the Toronto Rock not Hamilton and is easily outdrawing Forge . In my opinion a lot has to do with venues . I get why certain teams play in  big stadiums like Tim Hortons Field and in Ottawa and Winnipeg. However , 3000 people in 20000 type stadiums is never going to get a casual to want to come out again once they attend. Moreover, sitting in a stadium getting rained on and experiencing sometimes 50 K winds is not going to want people to go sit outside and brave the elements unfortunately. The solution is building smaller stadiums with proper roofs over the stands. I know this is easier said than done , but I don’t think that small attendances in this league have to do with the league’s popularity or the product on the field but the venues too unfortunately. I truly believe if we could build proper stadiums that take in too account the type of weather we have in this country  that attendances would increase substantially . 

TSN had to be shamed online to show CONCACAF league they had the right too when they were actively trying to bury their continental success.

Had they talked about the game and showed it on TV, that would have attracted more people 

That's why I was 100% in agreement with Montagliani when he said they weren't doing enough. Our media are a small petty click who don't take kindly that foreigners share their space and that's fine. Hurting CPL in the process as collateral made me lose so much respect for our medias...begging for public funds nonetheless 

[Bison44]

Didnt the rock start off in Hamilton and later move and rebrand as the ROCK??  They've been around forever, at least 15-20 years and the sports channels used to cover it pretty heavily. Shit, I've been tricked into posting in the attendance thread again.  

[narduch]

1 minute ago, Bison44 said:

Didnt the rock start off in Hamilton and later move and rebrand as the ROCK??  They've been around forever, at least 15-20 years and the sports channels used to cover it pretty heavily. Shit, I've been tricked into posting in the attendance thread again.  

Yes they did.

Around 2005 they were probably the hottest ticket in Toronto. There was so much buzz around that team.

[grasshopper1917]

On 4/19/2022 at 3:22 PM, gator said:

This past weekend our local news radio station totally ignored Forge in their sports segment after the hourly news, they talked about the Jays, Leafs and Raptors of course and locally promoted upcoming matches and past scores from the Bulldogs and the Toronto Rock, yes the Toronto Rock are a team that plays lacrosse in  Hamilton no mention of Forge! I don't know who to blame here, I have personally contacted the sports director twice who assured me this would never happen again, maybe the media people from the team should take a bigger responsibility for this? Attendance is not going to improve if the team is not promoted, I find this disappointing!

Yea I always wondered why they are not getting more media coverage. Even the lacrosse league has games broadcast on TSN and highlights. There is no national coverage of the CPL at all and it seems pretty limited even locally in most markets. In Halifax Wanderers get a fair bit of coverage in the local newspaper - however how many people still read newspapers??  lol 

[RS]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

The Forge v TFC game will be interesting 

Will it? It's a glorified friendly during the international break.

Fans aren't dumb.

[narduch]

Just now, RS said:

Will it? It's a glorified friendly during the international break.

Fans aren't dumb.

I mean the attendance numbers will be interesting.

[RS]

Just now, narduch said:

I mean the attendance numbers will be interesting.

We're talking about the same thing. I don't think there'll be a big crowd for that game.

[Tigers]

Losing TSN Hamilton was a huge blow for sports in this city. I used to hear about all kinds of things I didn't know was going on - I could generally tell you how the season was going for McMaster football, soccer, OHL Bulldogs, Honeybadgers basketball were all doing, without ever going to games or intentionally trying to find out. But now I don't jack shit about any of them because I only follow Ticats and Arrows closely and Forge casually. 

Don't get me started on "Toronto" Rock... I've never gone to a game before so take this for what it's worth, but I wouldn't ever choose to go while they have that name. I like not being Toronto. Until the Arrows came along I never cheered for a single Toronto team because I don't watch basketball or hockey. I was thrilled when they started as the Ontario Arrows. Now I pretend they went CPL style and only call them Arrows RFC. Take note, "Vancouver" CPL.

...Which thread is this again?

[narduch]

16 minutes ago, Tigers said:

Losing TSN Hamilton was a huge blow for sports in this city. I used to hear about all kinds of things I didn't know was going on - I could generally tell you how the season was going for McMaster football, soccer, OHL Bulldogs, Honeybadgers basketball were all doing, without ever going to games or intentionally trying to find out. But now I don't jack shit about any of them because I only follow Ticats and Arrows closely and Forge casually. 

Don't get me started on "Toronto" Rock... I've never gone to a game before so take this for what it's worth, but I wouldn't ever choose to go while they have that name. I like not being Toronto. Until the Arrows came along I never cheered for a single Toronto team because I don't watch basketball or hockey. I was thrilled when they started as the Ontario Arrows. Now I pretend they went CPL style and only call them Arrows RFC. Take note, "Vancouver" CPL.

...Which thread is this again?

Its never a true Voyageurs thread until it goes on a severe tangent.

Edited April 21, 2022 by narduch