League1 Ontario schedule released. article: http://www.ontariosoccer.ca/OSABlog/index.php/archives/9895 schedule: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7XYjso1ssUaQzM5VGRSR0hKTkk/edit?usp=sharing you then have to select File + Download (under the 2014league1mastersch.pdf name, not the browser's File function) to save it.
Had wanted to respond to this one earlier: London: in USL-PDL and CSL (both -1 and -2) Kitchener: USL-PDL, and Waterloo is in both CSL's Ottawa: NASL Sudbury: North Bay in USL-PDL (but still two hours away; Sud-NB could be a good rivalry?) (could be more but I'm not sure of the locale of every team in the CSL's; and don't yet know if Toronto FC would have to have a pro affiliate at some point, or would just them have the L1O team as their affiliate.) Maybe the teams (below NASL) would coagulate into one league over the next decade. But remember that teams have paid their franchise fees, so it could take some time. (And switching to L1O would mean a new franchise fee.)
London to me is a very intersting area. Since the new arena went up both the OHL and NBL of Canada teams are doing great both on and off the rink and court. Bothe clubs draw top crowds for there respective leagues and both are top teams in their respective leagues. The attendance for there games rival NASL teams. They would likley however need a proper SSS stadiummost likely. TD Waterhouse could be of a good size capacity wise but NASL clubs are moving past pitches with football lines for games. If people in London support nbl OF Canada A NASL would certainly have potential to draw 7K. As mentioned in the thread London could be one of those cities that could really grow to a much higher level of play. Ottawa, Hamilton, and London. I am sure that a London team beating clubs from those cities would make them very popular. Add that the small London Playing a NYC, INDY, and MINN club
I don't really think that London could support NASL, and even USL-Pro would be a stretch. I can think of quite a few Canadian cities that would be able to support a pro-soccer club before London could. If there were to be a pro club in 519 I would venture that KWC is a more likely candidate.
I am even more cautious. Right now we have two NASL teams, both in cities with decent histories of supporting soccer and both with metro populations in the 1.3 million range. Edmonton is averaging 3545 for league games so far this year and Ottawa 2553. (Both of these numbers are being positively affected by large home opener crowds. Edmonton looks to be stabilizing on 3000 and Ottawa around 2200 but we'll see how the season pans out.) I applaud both these teams for their efforts. I also think they both need to continue improving their attendances to get to the 4000 or 5000 range to be long term viable. For London, with a metro population of 500k, to be expected to draw the 4000 to 5000 they need to survive long term in the NASL is highly questionable. Their PDL club has a franchise average attendance of 1074. That is great for PDL but I can't see the crowd suddenly increasing by a factor of four or five because of the "glamour" of moving up to the NASL.
Agreed. From what I see, to be sustainable for USL-Pro, attendances need to be 2000-3000. This could be a possibility for London. There's no real glamour in moving to that league, but it would be a professional club rather than a development club and that aspect may be enough to attract the additional fans required. I still think though that London still has much to prove as a soccer city before such a move could be attempted. Still, I'd like to think that there are a number of PDL clubs in Canada capable of moving to USL-Pro, though as someone once pointed out to me is that before any owner would make such a move they would have to be very certain that the extra revenue required to pay the players and travel farther would be there (either by increased attendance or tickets prices, doubtful that any meaningful TV or merchandise revenue could be gained).
I do understand the concerns over an NASL club in London. Yes there are other cities that on paper have a better population to support a club. However, even with a smaller population, the support that both OHL and NBA of Canada receives if those same attendance numbers can translate to solid NASL attendance expectations. Both OHL and NBA of Canada season's run at the same time, the winter season, and both amazingly do excellent in attendance. Soccer is in the opposite season of spring/summer and their PDL club also does great for that level of soccer so there is a base of soccer. The ownership like their OHL and NBL of Canada franchises also appear to be doing great both on and off the field. among the top PDL clubs on the field winning the PDL playoffs in 2012.
How do you figure? That's like saying Atlanta draws well for football and basketball so they would therefore draw well for hockey, too. The proven level of soccer support in London is around 1000. I don't think there's a realistic chance that moving to a higher league changes that very much. Thus, I believe PDL to be the highest level of soccer London can support. I'm happy to discuss possibilities for London or any other city but it's best to base those discussions on the available facts.
TFC was actively looking for a USL Pro affiliate in Southern Ontario this year but partnering with the Lynx fell through. London could work for them. TFC and MLSE I believe were going to be funding the USL Pro side of the Lynx organization. With the Kia Training facility they may just have a TFCII and play out of the Kia venue expanding seating into one of the pitches.
There may be more similarity than you think.......like the Thrashers were, the Hawks are always one of the most poorly attended NBA teams and the Falcons are a middle of the pack team in attendance....unlike hockey, though, those leagues are not as gate driven. Good thing you were not the one deciding if Toronto should get a MLS team....cause based on that lower league the proven level of soccer support in Toronto was no where near what TFC get nor even close to what they thought they needed to get......seems that moving up a higher league changed that very much: Lynx USL average attendances. 1997: 1,538 1998: 1,800 1999: 2,744 2000: 2,620 2001: 2,795 2002: 1,730 2003: 2,652 2004: 2,444 2005: 2,462 Facts are tough when discussing these things...very hard to predict how a market will react to a sports product. 15 years after the OHL moved back into the GTA do you think they had any idea that 2 of the 3 teams would be gone and the 3rd looking for a new home? I don't mean to suggest that London is a NASL city....I really don't know.....what I do know is that it is a city that (as the other poster noted) supports other sports well ...and by well I mean disproportionately well compared to other cities based on population and league averages. They kinda blow the doors out every time a well presented/managed product is put forward......whether it is OHL hockey, NBLoC basketball or college football (yes, a foreign concept to most communities but local people actually go to college sports even if they don't have a kid on the team). If I was a guy with lots of money and was thinking "I think I'll buy an NASL team and see if I can give it a go somewhere in Canada"....I certainly would not dismiss the possibility that London would a good place to try.
It would have to make sense financially for Forest City to make a move like that. The OHL club does not have much travel staying in Ontario. NBL of Canada club plays within its division with all the teams in Ontario but does travel to the Atlantic region where the other division is. London NASL club would have Ottawa and possible Hamilton soon. other closest clubs are the NY Cosmos and Indy eleven for now. Also have another Canadian City rival in FCE. TV- A natural for RogersTV London for an NASL club. Sportsnet360 has dropped plans for now for FCE and Ottawa but I can see TSN which is adding more stations to the TSN and TSN2. TSN has MSL NationalTV rights in Canada and regional for Vancouver could very well add NASL coverage with the new Networks. FCE and Ottawa both have local Broadcasting deals in which could be simulcast. NASL will likely have two regional divisions in the future as they add clubs. USL Pro are going to have regional divisions once all MLS clubs have an affiliate for 2015 FC London currently travels within the central divison as part of the great lakes conference which includes travel similar to Hamilton Ottawa, Indy, NYC, MiNN.
that is well said. Basketball, Junior Hockey and CIS football all do very well. Does not mean a pro soccer team would do the same but 6 to 7K a game that these clubs draw are on par with the NASL so worth looking into is all I was saying. As said above they support their teams very well for the population. Nasl or USL Pro would offer some familar city rivals from the current three sports but would also add some bigger US cities that could draw interest in beating a NYC, INDY, MINN club. Like the arena a proper soccer pitch would either have to be built or reno'd for a larger capacity or TD Waterhouse would have to have a flexible turf that can go from a soccer pitch without the football lines and back. FCE will be the last of the NASL clubs to finally have that in place for the falll season.
Watching the memorial Cup the question did come up as to why not just the OHL team but CIS football and NBLC teams as well. Location Location was the one thing that came up being about dead center from Detroit/Windsor to GTHA, As well as having the right owners and/or people running each franchise. Also the RogersTV coverage and partnership with all of the teams being that these are the highest level of sport in London the coverage and teams are run lime NHL, NBA, And NCAA programs.
There's a big difference there though. Toronto is a city of 3 million people with an additional 3 million within an hour's drive. London has a population of 400k with very little in the environs. The biggest nearby towns where fans could come from are St. Thomas and Woodstock. As well, MLS is a far bigger step up than is NASL. I'm willing to wager that the attendance at TFC would have been much lower had it been a NASL club instead of MLS. Now of course, this is the sort of thing where I'd love to be proven wrong. If someone comes out tomorrow to announce that they're investing a wad of money to brign professional football to London, or any Canadian city, I will be happy to encourage them.
yes but none of them 6 mil were attending division 2 matches (the USL the Lynx played in was the second level of the pro game in North America) the question being asked was would a step up of one division increase attendance....clearly it did in Toronto. No doubt....but the step up was the same (or less) being a Div 2 to Div 1. I think we all would....and none of us know how it would do......but my sizeable gut would have me betting on London giving it a better go at it than a lot of cities of similar or larger size....and that is all I was really saying.
I picked Atlanta more or less at random. Looks like I could have picked a better city. My point was that popularity of one sport does not imply popularity of another. That is a totally different proposition. It's like saying Hamilton struggles a bit in hockey because they have lost a series of minor league teams over the years. That doesn't say much about their ability to support an NHL team if one came. What we're talking about here is replacing one minor league team with a slightly less minor league team. I would argue that their PDL is a well managed, successful outfit and that its attendance therefore represents the appetite for professional soccer in London fairly accurately. No, I would not dismiss the possibility but I would be very wary of trying NASL there and would put it behind several other cities.
Well if the PPL club is really not run very well and the attendance comes from a basic appetite for the sport even more reason to take a look at London even though on paper it would not seem like a good destination. The well run clubs in the other leagues mentioned are over the top in comparison. Although yes looking at Hamilton, Calgary,Quebec City, are allcities that on paper would seem to be the right places to support D2 NASL soccer.
I did use the word "IF" when making my statement so it could very well not work at all. The disussion is about possible locatons for cities to advance to a higher level of soccer. Certainly like any other city in which soccer could be raised to a higher level it would take an ownership group to research the possibilities. So dont have a Cow as there will always be pros and cons
I hope this happens: "CSN has confirmed that the CSA is involved in negotiations with the CFL and NASL to launch an all-Canadian league. There could be as many as seven teams involved, all affiliated with local CFL teams and playing in CFL stadiums. Hamilton's Bob Young is said to be the leading voice on the CFL side. The Ti-Cats owner was previously involved in professional soccer in Carolina. Although he had a falling out with Traffic Sports, sources say that relationship has been healed. The league would likely begin play in 2016, which the possibility of up to two teams coming in for 2015 (Hamilton and Calgary have been suggested). The three MLS markets will likely opt out. There is no word on whether teams independent of CFL teams (with the exception of the pre-existing FC Edmonton) will be considered. It's likely that such arrangements would be considered after the league was established. The league would be affiliated with the American NASL. The format would likely resemble Major League Baseball with two distinct leagues operating in close cooperation. There would be some inter-league play and the Soccer Bowl would likely be played between the two champions. CSN reached out to the CSA. We will update their response when we receive it. Attempts were also made to reach the CFL"
So, essentially, a Canadian division of the NASL operating somewhat autonomously but interconnected. This is something that I have suggested/hoped for in the past.
I think we all have seen it as likely that Calgary, Winnipeg and Hamilton would join the NASL fold sooner or later. I doubt we'll see teams in this league in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver, though perhaps those CFL teams would opt to put a NASL team in a (relatively) nearby city like say Mississauga, Quebec City or Victoria (in the latter case perhaps buying up the Highlanders). Not sure if it would be successful in Regina. Saskatoon would be a better place in Saskatchewan IMHO. There's also long been talk of CFL expansion to Halifax, and perhaps a NASL team to go with that as well.
This story does come out, though, one day after the Whitecaps announced they were putting a PDL club in New Westminster
this is a great news to hear or read I mean I hope that it goes very well and brings in a lot of Canadian players. also I do hope that the MLS teams do join or get involved but only the secondary squad instead of usl. I'm happy that they are going for it and gradually building it up similar to MLS don't mind if their is a cap set up also.
I hope it goes thru... it's about time to see pro league in Canada. 7 teams looks good for start, I believe it can be a success.
You know, on further thought, I can see the Argos getting on board with this. Seeing as they're getting booted from SkyDome and have been told that BMO is not an option, they're desperate for a new home. They might be able to get one of the larger 905 cities (Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan or Markham) to build (or help build) a new stadium and it would help their case if they promised that such a stadium would get additional use with a NASL club started by them as well.