CPL General

[IceCreamMan]

This could be good

https://twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN/status/973299768750374912

Edited March 12, 2018 by IceCreamMan

[Gopherbashi]

4 minutes ago, IceCreamMan said:

This could be good

https://twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN/status/973299768750374912

I predict based on absolutely zero insight that we will be underwhelmed.

I doubt it's CPL related, off-chance that it has something to do with women's soccer - for it to warrant a government announcement, they're probably giving away some money... so I'm guessing there's going to be federal support for the World Cup bid?

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Federal money for a BMO Field expansion for WC2026 is the obvious one.

[IceCreamMan]

Hmm on second thought you are probably right. If it was CPL related the CPL twitter feeds would be all over it. 

[ChrisinOrleans]

1 hour ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Federal money for a BMO Field expansion for WC2026 is the obvious one.

That's a decent guess. I'd throw in an expansion or refurbishment of Stade Olympique as well. The province, the municipality and a private consortium are all bidding together on re-building the roof. The feds might be chipping in with money from their infrastructure fund. 

Edit: This is assuming the funding is for multiple venues; the announcement is in Toronto after all, so BMO will obviously be the biggest beneficiary. 

Edited March 12, 2018 by ChrisinOrleans

[Gopherbashi]

2 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:

Hmm on second thought you are probably right. If it was CPL related the CPL twitter feeds would be all over it. 

Also the announcement would probably be in Hamilton or somewhere with a rumoured team.

[mpg_29]

Well we haven't won the bid yet...so if it is an announcement for this it must be an attempt to reassure/please FIFA.

I'm skeptical that's what this announcement is though. Olympic stadium would require 100's of millions probably. Are the feds really putting up that kind of cash?

[SpursFlu]

WC final or more games will be played in Canada. Need to pepper in some more Canada because nobody likes the US

[Rheo]

Another article on the Waterloo situation.  Nothing new really but just putting it out there

http://www.570news.com/2018/03/13/dont-proper-stadium-hopes-new-regional-soccer-club-still-high-cpl/

[Rheo]

Article notes that Calgary Foothills has moved to Okotoks with the prospect of the CPL getting a Calgary team

http://www.westernwheel.com/article/Foothills-FC-taking-up-roots-in-Okotoks-20180313

• The migration south was also motivated by the announcement of the Canadian Premier League, a professional loop which will begin in 2019 with Calgary expected to be getting a franchise.  “With the Canadian Premier League around the corner and rumoured to be coming to Calgary in 2019 we need to put this in a place where it’s going to be sustainable, going to be high level soccer and also capture the hearts and minds of the community,” Wheeldon Jr. added.

[Gopherbashi]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/canadian-government-supports-fifa-2026-world-cup-bid-1.4573730

The feds announce their support for the 2026 WC bid, including security and border control costs as well as $5m in transitional support for the CSA until FIFA takes over WC operations.

Honestly, the best news here is that the limited media attention given to soccer because of this probably provides the best springboard the CPL could hope for before making team announcements.

[Complete Homer]

17 hours ago, mpg_29 said:

Well we haven't won the bid yet...so if it is an announcement for this it must be an attempt to reassure/please FIFA.

I'm skeptical that's what this announcement is though. Olympic stadium would require 100's of millions probably. Are the feds really putting up that kind of cash?

Didn't the Quebec provincial government already commit to funding a refurb? 

[dbailey62]

1 hour ago, Complete Homer said:

Didn't the Quebec provincial government already commit to funding a refurb? 

A new AND retractable roof! The old one tears multiple times per year. 

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

57 minutes ago, Gopherbashi said:

...Honestly, the best news here is that the limited media attention given to soccer because of this probably provides the best springboard the CPL could hope for before making team announcements.

Think the link is a bit tenuous now given the 10 games would almost certainly be in stadia used by MLS teams if the vote goes the right way in June, and the CSA would be partnering up with the USSF through SUM for the tournament. Beyond that domestic pro soccer doesn't need an announcement like this to get media coverage when things like the Tigres vs TFC second leg are happening. If CanPL really are requiring 8000 to 10000 capacity with space for expansion as the entry point on a stadium, they'll almost certainly need more time to put all the pieces together.

[m-g-williams]

2 hours ago, Rheo said:

Article notes that Calgary Foothills has moved to Okotoks with the prospect of the CPL getting a Calgary team

http://www.westernwheel.com/article/Foothills-FC-taking-up-roots-in-Okotoks-20180313

• The migration south was also motivated by the announcement of the Canadian Premier League, a professional loop which will begin in 2019 with Calgary expected to be getting a franchise.  “With the Canadian Premier League around the corner and rumoured to be coming to Calgary in 2019 we need to put this in a place where it’s going to be sustainable, going to be high level soccer and also capture the hearts and minds of the community,” Wheeldon Jr. added.

"The club's home and season opener is slated for May 11 though there will be a home exhibition game held the week prior versus FC Edmonton."

Did the Foothills come across a flux capacitor and 1.21 gigawatts, or did I miss something?

 

[Zem]

2 minutes ago, m-g-williams said:

"The club's home and season opener is slated for May 11 though there will be a home exhibition game held the week prior versus FC Edmonton."

Did the Foothills come across a flux capacitor and 1.21 gigawatts, or did I miss something?

 

FCE's academy I would imagine.

[Rheo]

5 minutes ago, m-g-williams said:

"The club's home and season opener is slated for May 11 though there will be a home exhibition game held the week prior versus FC Edmonton."

Did the Foothills come across a flux capacitor and 1.21 gigawatts, or did I miss something?

 

Looks like poor wording in differentiating the regular season and pre-season or as Zem pointed out the academy.

Edited March 13, 2018 by Rheo

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

1 hour ago, m-g-williams said:

"The club's home and season opener is slated for May 11 though there will be a home exhibition game held the week prior versus FC Edmonton."

Did the Foothills come across a flux capacitor and 1.21 gigawatts, or did I miss something?

Here's where they plan to play and it doesn't look viable for a league that wants 8000 to 10000 seats with space to expand:

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.7143832,-113.9740204,164m/data=!3m1!1e3

...The migration south was also motivated by the announcement of the Canadian Premier League, a professional loop which will begin in 2019 with Calgary expected to be getting a franchise.

“With the Canadian Premier League around the corner and rumoured to be coming to Calgary in 2019 we need to put this in a place where it’s going to be sustainable, going to be high level soccer and also capture the hearts and minds of the community,” Wheeldon Jr. added...

Is this all part of an elaborate ploy to get soccer fans used to driving south to prepare them for Spruce Meadows or is word of a possible future CanPL franchise just being used as a way to boost interest in a relatively low level team that some people otherwise might just ignore?

[Edit: I guess another way of reading that is that if a CanPL team is going to be in Calgary. PDL needs to be somewhere else to still be viewed as high level soccer]

Edited March 13, 2018 by BringBackTheBlizzard

[dbailey62]

1 hour ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Here's where they plan to play and it doesn't look viable for a league that wants 8000 to 10000 seats with space to expand:

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.7143832,-113.9740204,164m/data=!3m1!1e3

...The migration south was also motivated by the announcement of the Canadian Premier League, a professional loop which will begin in 2019 with Calgary expected to be getting a franchise.

“With the Canadian Premier League around the corner and rumoured to be coming to Calgary in 2019 we need to put this in a place where it’s going to be sustainable, going to be high level soccer and also capture the hearts and minds of the community,” Wheeldon Jr. added...

Is this all part of an elaborate ploy to get soccer fans used to driving south to prepare them for Spruce Meadows or is word of a possible future CanPL franchise just being used as a way to boost interest in a relatively low level team that some people otherwise might just ignore?

[Edit: I guess another way of reading that is that if a CanPL team is going to be in Calgary. PDL needs to be somewhere else to still be viewed as high level soccer]

I think your Edit may be closer to reality. That said, the field to the north of the soccer field in the jpeg looks like it might have room for a larger facility.  

[CrossCheck]

^yes, the Edit is close to how it is being described to us locals. The field is grass, fenced in, permanent bleachers, lighting, and plenty of parking. It's used mostly for High School Football (pointy kind) and rugby, so the surface may need some work. There is a good pub within a block of the field

 

[Macksam]

To BBTB

North America needs more rival sports leagues so this is what’s exactly needed right now.

I believe Canada along with the United States is ripe for another World Hockey Association as well.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

17 hours ago, CrossCheck said:

^yes, the Edit is close to how it is being described to us locals. The field is grass, fenced in, permanent bleachers, lighting, and plenty of parking. It's used mostly for High School Football (pointy kind) and rugby, so the surface may need some work. There is a good pub within a block of the field

Something doesn't quite add up here given Roy Nasrala made a point of highlighting that he was with the Foothills when he was in Calgary (a poster called Shermanator even seemed to think he was proving something significant on here by posting a picture taken with him at a Foothills related event) which pointed towards an Ottawa Fury type scenario of the existing PDL team stepping up to pro level after finding investors, while this latest info suggests otherwise. Guess it's possible that the Spruce Meadows people would reach the conclusion that they are better being aligned with all of the leading Calgary youth clubs rather than just one in branding terms and it's easy enough to hire a qualified GM coach and marketing staff, if they can place a soccer pitch onto their showjumping stadium for a 2019 launch. Given they would be well into preseason training by now in a year's time, hires like that and stadium/franchise announcements should be happening very soon now in a lot of cities, if it really is a go for 2019.

[Complete Homer]

Roy was visiting supporters groups in potential CPL markets. Foothills has a supporters group. That's the long and short of it.

With Foothills explicitly saying that they were moving out of the way of a CPL team there's no grounds for trying to contort this news into signs of a failed franchise/publicity stunt

http://www.westernwheel.com/article/Foothills-FC-taking-up-roots-in-Okotoks-20180313

In general, if you find yourself needing to use the phrase "elaborate ploy" to describe a theory, it is probably time to take a step back

Edited March 14, 2018 by Complete Homer

[dbailey62]

2 hours ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Something doesn't quite add up here given Roy Nasrala made a point of highlighting that he was with the Foothills when he was in Calgary (a poster called Shermanator even seemed to think he was proving something significant on here by posting a picture taken with him at a Foothills related event) which pointed towards an Ottawa Fury type scenario of the existing PDL team stepping up to pro level after finding investors, while this latest info suggests otherwise. Guess it's possible that the Spruce Meadows people would reach the conclusion that they are better being aligned with all of the leading Calgary youth clubs rather than just one in branding terms and it's easy enough to hire a qualified GM coach and marketing staff, if they can place a soccer pitch onto their showjumping stadium for a 2019 launch. Given they would be well into preseason training by now in a year's time, hires like that and stadium/franchise announcements should be happening very soon now in a lot of cities, if it really is a go for 2019.

I consider your statement re Shermanator to be rude and disrespectful. I don't know Shermanator but I know I would not make that kind of statement even if I did. 

[Pat Carrasco]

Has anyone here caught this recent tweet.