A source is saying they are looking at putting their NASL team into coquitlam when the caps move to MLS They will play out of Coquitlam Town Center. A board member disputes the seating capacity, but either way they would upgrade and refurbish it to hold at least 5000. Discuss.
my guess is that the caps will have/already have a player development with the new edmonton franchise that will become part of the new NASL league in 2011-- the caps will play in the nasl for 1 year and then the edmonton owners take over-- with the caps soccer academy having successes with their young player development, they will need a higher quality league beyond the PDL for them to continue to develop having said that, it might be possible that the caps will be using the coquitlam stadium for their other PDL teams and maybe even the woman's team which are playing at swanguard-- just a guess
You always have negative things to say about my posts. I have trusted inside sources and you should respect that. Thank you
Mr 2x4 hacksaw, and Russian anthem singer Volkoff are not my inside sources; they have no connection to the club. question... why do you guys find Coquitlam Whitecaps FC to be such a far fetched idea?
Using the Canucks and Giants as an example... I think the Giants pull decent crowds because there ticket prices are much more affordable, and available. The Vancouver Whitecaps will draw a lot of fans from the Coquitlam area, and until tickets become much more difficult to get (price/availability) fans in coquitlam or the lower mainland have no real reason to go see a div 2 team when a better product is available. The obvious objection is fans who may support both teams, but even this would require some very favourable scheduling... I also do not think the stadium in Coquitlam has a large enough capacity (if the fans were there) to support a div 2 team.
Thats a pretty extensive upgrade if they want to reach a similar capacity to Swangard. Either way, I don't see how they will fill those brand new seats...
With the new Golden Ears bridge, it will be an easy drive for anyone from the Fraser Valley and Langley/Surrey who do not wish to go to BC Place to see a game. I dont think there will be a problem filling the seats.
i think it's a little far-fetched for a few reasons. firstly, by purposely moving from swangard to coq, they are creating a disconnect from the minority of fans who will not be following the current 'caps from usl to mls. you've already lost the hardcore fan to the mls, so you're counting on families and youth teams to support the franchise, and if you look at the usl caps, the increase in attendance when the caps play big games doesn't come from this demographic (easily confirmed by looking at the southside during these games). imo, the caps already have trouble pulling in the casual fan/families for more than 1 or 2 games a season. the numbers are bolstered by older fans and hardcore fans, who, as previously mentioned, will likely convert to mls. and this is at the border of vancouver and burnaby, two municipalities who have youth systems at least as large as the tri-cities area. also, what would the purpose of the coq. team be? it likely wouldn't be for player development (see edmonton). would it be solely to maintain a presence in nasl? who assumes responsibility/ownership of this team? does the potential ownership group and the use of the whitecaps name create problems with the mls caps ownership group? i could maybe see the women's team playing out there, but to be honest, i think there's too many questions for this to happen. maybe if a few of them get answered, i'll be more convinced
I would think placing the team in Victoria (although Victoria has a USL2 team and PCSL so there would be conflict there) or Kelowna would make more sense. Large populations, far from Vancouver so as not to take away ticket sales from each other, close enough to generate interest for the Big team.
the Shriek makes me want to scream at him for forging this ridiculous forum without a shread of proof that this is ever going to happen He needs to put his iron mask on and head back to jail!
Agree with Vegas, If you were to put a team in Coquitlam that would draw from Langley/Fraser Valley, why not just put it out in the valley? I think having a team in the interior would be great, I don't think they have much competition for high level sports beyond the junior hockey teams.
I think just like with the George Vancouver thing our little friend here is just confused. The Whitecaps PDL and residency teams are likely to continue to play in the subburbs, but all signs seem point to the NASL team being sold/moving to Edmonton. I think it would be great to see them play out of another BC city like Victoria or Kelowna, but playing in Coquitlam makes absolutely no sense at all.
How can you say Kelowna makes sense and Coquitlam doesn't? There are 10 times as many people within 60 minutes of the Coquitlam stadium vs the Kelowna area. You have no basis to back up such a ridiculous comparison.
Because the MLS team will be in VANCOUVER! It's simple marketing and economics. All they would be doing by putting an NASL team in Coquitlam is saturating the market with an inferior product. Like the Canucks and Lions, the Whitecaps will attempt to attract fans from all over the Metro Vancouver area (which includes Coquitlam). Their primary goal will be to get as many fans of the MLS team as possible, rather than worry about a minor league team that would potentially steal a small number of fans away. And don't use the Giants as an example. This is soccer, not hockey we're talking about here. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the day where soccer is just as popular as hockey in this countryand all suburbs and cities would be able to support or have their own major league or semi professional team, but we're nowhere near to that at the moment. Likely only a few diehards would be willing or able to support both teams. Regardless of where a person is from and where the team is playing, any ordinary soccer fan, or even just people who have never seen a game before but want to check it out, will all go to the one that is "Major League." Even if they were to promote an NASL team as a cheaper alternative, how much cheaper could it actually be? The whitecaps have said MLS tickets will be affordable, and would NASL tickets really be any cheaper than what we already pay at Swangard? If they are, how is the team going to be profitable? If it's not going to be profitable, it's not going to exist for very long. Putting a team in Victoria, or Kelowna would instanly make it the highest level of pro soccer in town. It would become "the big ticket item" in the region, unlike with Coquitlam where the MLS team would have that title. Plus, putting a team affiliated with the Whitecaps in another region of the province (or in Alberta) expands the Whitecaps footprint from a marketing standpoint. Putting a team in Coquitlam does not.
Some of your points.. ticket pricing - Coquitlam could easily charge $5 per ticket; they would fill the stands at that rate and NOT draw away from the MLS team. profitability - an affiliate of the MLS club should not be operated to make a profit; it is there to develop players. The Whitecaps can run this reserve club in the NASL at an operating loss as it benefits the overall organization kelowna - would be lucky to get 1000 fans on a consistent basis, it is nothing more than a junior hockey market. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN THERE? Its hick town hockey fans and NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. "top level pro club" for soccer would mean nothing to most of the residents. victoria - the Vistas failed there many years ago; no history to prove they would draw again.
If tickets are only $5 a ticket what does that say about the product on the field? Calling Kelowna a hick town is pretty ignorant. I have been there many times and know first hand that youth soccer is quite big there. The Victoria Higlanders PDL team averages close to 2000 a game and they play well out of downtown in Langford (which if you want to be ignorant is MUCH more of a "hick town" than Kelowna). So if they can get that many fans for a lower league, playing well outside of downtown in a stadium that is nearly impossible to access by public transit, I'm sure they could get much more with a better team in a stadium like Royal Athletic Park downtown. YOU are the one who has no basis to make up all these ridiculous comparisons.
The fact people put their kids in youth soccer in Kelowna means nothing for the attendance at pro games (we know this from all of Canada). All they talk about in kelowna is hockey, hockey, hockey; gossip around town (as in most small towns), and have little appreciation for the worldly game of soccer. Yes Kelowna is a beautiful place but that is not the point. You are just defending them because it is a nice city to visit. I am saying, it is your typical small town hockey villa that dreams of being named "hockeyville" by the CBC. How much of the Highlanders 2000 is paper? I highly doubt they have 2000 fully paid fans. A $5 ticket in Coquitlam does not mean inferior product. It just means the Whitecaps are committed to an affordable option for people who can not, or will not, travel downtown for MLS games.
i know some of the people involved in the ownership of the Highlanders and personally attended about 5 games this past year. the stands were packed and rocking every game. and the fact that the vistas failed 20 years ago means absolutely nothing today. i fully agree with the other posters that keeping an NASL team in the greater vancouver region (be it Coquitlam, Richmond, Surrey...etc) makes no sense at all from a marketing or financial standpoint.