CPL 2023 Season Attendance

[SpursFlu]

7 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

If we are talking Messi here, it's worth bearing in mind that the Wanderers are not allowed to use the Wanderers Grounds until May. Calgary is unlikely to be doable outdoors on grass at the time of year involved as well.

Forge and Atletico maybe could play on turf at a push but it could turn into a fiasco in weather terms. Vancouver & Valour = get real, while York may not even exist by that point so the ideal scenario would probably be Pacific in terms of actually hosting a home game and not having to move the game to somewhere like BC Place, Rogers Centre or the Big Owe.

If Messi & Co can dismantle the Philadelphia Union like they just did, a game at one of those three neutral venues could be very lucrative but highly embarrassing for an out of season CanPL team with an incomplete roster.

Your right. Messi playing against a CPL team sounds like hell

[Ansem]

46 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

Your right. Messi playing against a CPL team sounds like hell

A necessary hell - that's how you grow. Let's not forget that it took years of embarrassment at the hands of Liga MX teams in CCL for MLS to make adjustments and get a better understanding of where they stood and what was needed to improve.

It's baffling to me that some wants to deny that to CPL. I still remember all those posts saying we had no business being in CONCACAF League and yet, it proved to be a valuable tool to help the league grow and acquire experience on the road in brutal conditions.

If a CPL team does gets Inter Miami - we should just enjoy the ride. Let's not forget that Forge was outmatch at Azteca but not utterly humiliated as many thought they would be.

*Now a fun topic of discussion is : how would CPL clubs go about hosting Inter Miami & Messi knowing that the revenue opportunity would be off the chart but Messi would probably not play on turf:

• Pacific : Temporary grass and extra seats at Starlight Stadium as I expect lots of people from the mainland wanting to be there
• Cavalry : Extra spending to maintain the pitch during winter and have it ready for the game OR rent  McMahon Stadium and put temporary grass... Great way to expose the club to the city and grow the base?
• Forge : Temporary grass and full capacity
• Atletico : Temporary grass and Full capacity
• Halifax :  Permission granted by the city to host that game, extra spending to maintain the pitch during winter and extra capacity
• York United : Rent BMO Field if MLSE will play ball, otherwise hosting the game in Hamilton would make more sense

Not sure Valour and Vancouver FC will make the playoffs

*This is just for fun fyi!

Edited August 16, 2023 by Ansem

[narduch]

Miami seems destined to skip the preliminary round.

So a CPL team would more than likely have to win a round to even have a shot at Messi.

But with a favorable draw you never know

[jonovision]

Chances that Messi would dress in an early round vs CPL: 0.5%?

[Ansem]

3 minutes ago, jonovision said:

Chances that Messi would dress in an early round vs CPL: 0.5%?

Unless he's changed, he shows up even against much weaker opposition.

[RS]

4 minutes ago, jonovision said:

Chances that Messi would dress in an early round vs CPL: 0.5%?

I'll take the under.

[JamboAl]

A home game against anyone in the Champions Cup would be super exciting, even Inter Miami without Messi.  We’re too young a league to be choosy, even if we get thrashed.  It’s all about the experience.  I just hope the scheduling is reasonable and the first round isn’t until at least the beginning of April.

[JamboAl]

32 minutes ago, Ansem said:

A necessary hell - that's how you grow. Let's not forget that it took years of embarrassment at the hands of Liga MX teams in CCL for MLS to make adjustments and get a better understanding of where they stood and what was needed to improve.

It's baffling to me that some wants to deny that to CPL. I still remember all those posts saying we had no business being in CONCACAF League and yet, it proved to be a valuable tool to help the league grow and acquire experience on the road in brutal conditions.

If a CPL team does gets Inter Miami - we should just enjoy the ride. Let's not forget that Forge was outmatch at Azteca but not utterly humiliated as many thought they would be.

*Now a fun topic of discussion is : how would CPL clubs go about hosting Inter Miami & Messi knowing that the revenue opportunity would be off the chart but Messi would probably not play on turf:

• Pacific : Temporary grass and extra seats at Starlight Stadium as I expect lots of people from the mainland wanting to be there
• Cavalry : Extra spending to maintain the pitch during winter and have it ready for the game OR rent  McMahon Stadium and put temporary grass... Great way to expose the club to the city and grow the base?
• Forge : Temporary grass and full capacity
• Atletico : Temporary grass and Full capacity
• Halifax :  Permission granted by the city to host that game, extra spending to maintain the pitch during winter and extra capacity
• York United : Rent BMO Field if MLSE will play ball, otherwise hosting the game in Hamilton would make more sense

Not sure Valour and Vancouver FC will make the playoffs

*This is just for fun fyi!

I don’t think putting grass in is viable for any stadium that doesn’t already have it, even for Messi.  It’ll be super cold in the winter and you’d need a place to grow it and do it months ahead of time.  Even if you could, the cost would be crazy.  I was told (by a reliable source) that having our January WC qualifier (2022) at BMO against the US would cost over $1 M to just keep the under soil heating on and the grass somewhat alive for two months.

[Ansem]

5 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

I don’t think putting grass in is viable for any stadium that doesn’t already have it, even for Messi.  It’ll be super cold in the winter and you’d need a place to grow it and do it months ahead of time.  Even if you could, the cost would be crazy.  I was told (by a reliable source) that having our January WC qualifier (2022) at BMO against the US would cost over $1 M to just keep the under soil heating on and the grass somewhat alive for two months.

You're right and like you said earlier, hosting an MLS or Liga MX is already amazing on its own

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

20 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

...and the first round isn’t until at least the beginning of April.

It has been as early as mid-Feb in the recent past:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_CONCACAF_Champions_League#Schedule

and they have an extra round to fit in now so this year's last 16 being held later in March doesn't necessarily help to avoid that. Worked out OK that time for the Forge but that wouldn't always be the case in terms of the weather conditions at that time of year in southern Ontario.

Edited August 16, 2023 by Ozzie_the_parrot

[SpursFlu]

For anyone wondering, I was being sarcastic. Messi playing a CPL team is the best problem imaginable. I've been watching some of the Central American Cup and I think CPL is very close to being the 3rd best league in Concacaf and ultimately its likely inevitable. So I'm not sure how the pots would work for the first round but I'm confident a CPL team could beat any of the 9 or so Central American teams in the competition and advance to the 2nd round

Edited August 16, 2023 by SpursFlu

[Aird25]

1 hour ago, SpursFlu said:

For anyone wondering, I was being sarcastic. Messi playing a CPL team is the best problem imaginable. I've been watching some of the Central American Cup and I think CPL is very close to being the 3rd best league in Concacaf and ultimately its likely inevitable. So I'm not sure how the pots would work for the first round but I'm confident a CPL team could beat any of the 9 or so Central American teams in the competition and advance to the 2nd round

It would be a treat for everyone and great for the organization, regardless of the score.

[narduch]

1 hour ago, SpursFlu said:

For anyone wondering, I was being sarcastic. Messi playing a CPL team is the best problem imaginable. I've been watching some of the Central American Cup and I think CPL is very close to being the 3rd best league in Concacaf and ultimately its likely inevitable. So I'm not sure how the pots would work for the first round but I'm confident a CPL team could beat any of the 9 or so Central American teams in the competition and advance to the 2nd round

Based on Concacaf League I think you can argue CPL is already 5th. Still behind Costa Rica and Honduras.

[Kingston]

6 minutes ago, narduch said:

Based on Concacaf League I think you can argue CPL is already 5th. Still behind Costa Rica and Honduras.

It's too bad the CL got cancelled - it was just the right level for the CPL to be challenged yet meet with some success.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

23 minutes ago, Kingston said:

It's too bad the CL got cancelled - it was just the right level for the CPL to be challenged yet meet with some success...

...at a time of year when the weather and length of daylight hours is reasonable for comfortably watching games played on a weeknight and CanPL clubs have all their players signed.

[Ansem]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

Based on Concacaf League I think you can argue CPL is already 5th. Still behind Costa Rica and Honduras.

To be fair, that was 2 years ago - it's safe to say that CPL is stronger now with a bit more depth.

 

1 hour ago, Kingston said:

It's too bad the CL got cancelled - it was just the right level for the CPL to be challenged yet meet with some success.

I really do hope that CONCACAF bring it back but runs it like UEFA and CONMEBAL does - berths for every D1 leagues for both competitions based on their regular seasons and domestic cup results.

Edited August 16, 2023 by Ansem

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, Ansem said:

To be fair, that was 2 years ago - it's safe to say that CPL is stronger now with a bit more depth.

It was last year. Pacific beat a Jamaican team and lost to a Costa Rican one in the round of 16. Which isn't a complaint, it just seems like the Costa Rica/Honduras level is a fraction higher still but that the CPL is highly competitive with those leagues.

[SpursFlu]

Guatemalan teams seem to be doing the business 

[Aird25]

1 hour ago, Watchmen said:

It was last year. Pacific beat a Jamaican team and lost to a Costa Rican one in the round of 16. Which isn't a complaint, it just seems like the Costa Rica/Honduras level is a fraction higher still but that the CPL is highly competitive with those leagues.

Oh man that loss to Herediano stung. We totally outplayed them at home in front of an excellent crowd, but we couldn't score. Then in leg 2 Dixon's stupid red card after getting smacked repeatedly in the back of the head, two missed handballs in the box, and then Didic missed his penalty to cap it all off

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, Aird25 said:

Oh man that loss to Herediano stung. We totally outplayed them at home in front of an excellent crowd, but we couldn't score. Then in leg 2 Dixon's stupid red card after getting smacked repeatedly in the back of the head, two missed handballs in the box, and then Didic missed his penalty to cap it all off

I didn't mean to dredge up bad memories. 😉

But yeah, that competition seemed perfect for the CPL as a testing ground and comparison to other regional leagues. Quite enjoyed it, and a shame they discontinued it. The two direct spots to the CL is probably better for the CPL financially, but participation in the Central American Cup would have been interesting.

[Aird25]

Yeah those games were lots of fun, even the ones against Waterhouse. I hope we get more of them

[Ansem]

On 8/16/2023 at 11:25 AM, JamboAl said:

I don’t think putting grass in is viable for any stadium that doesn’t already have it, even for Messi.  It’ll be super cold in the winter and you’d need a place to grow it and do it months ahead of time.  Even if you could, the cost would be crazy.  I was told (by a reliable source) that having our January WC qualifier (2022) at BMO against the US would cost over $1 M to just keep the under soil heating on and the grass somewhat alive for two months.

If it ever happens,

 

 

[SpursFlu]

I find people from Latin America tend to not get their panties in a knot over turf like euros do

Edited August 17, 2023 by SpursFlu

[BearcatSA]

Unless he has a contract obligation of sorts, i can see away to Vancouver next year still being a "load management" absence, particularly depending on the context of his team's schedule around that match.  Can you imagine the rubes' reactions after forking out for overpriced resale tickets and he doesn't play?

If they play in Seattle next year for the regular season, he'll be there, however.

(As for a CPL CCL opponent away, I still think he and his camp makes that a miss).

Edited August 18, 2023 by BearcatSA

[narduch]

Inter Miami only have 3 Western road games in MLS.

For next season I predict they will be against both LA teams and Seattle