The size of the market doesn't automatically mean people will support it in profitable numbers. Does Edmonton's 1,1 million have 4000 people who will go to most of the games for a 5 year period? I am betting not..... NHL in Atlanta - huge city, shitty support. By your logic Atlanta is a better market for the NHL than Vancouver because it has double the population. Thats like saying "Vancouver at 2.1 million metro population supports the NHL with sellouts and huge ticket prices; so I should go to Atlanta because it has double the population; so it must also be viable" I hear and see your other points; but this one is a weak way to determine if a market will work. I am sure Bettman used the "size of market" logic for most of his southern expansion, and it has been a massive failure.
Actually, I very clearly did not use the population size to indicate whether there were soccer fans - one of my other points did that. I simply used population to show that other cities with equal or far smaller populations have successfully supported this level of soccer. Unlike, say, any city with a metro population below 500 000.
well, there are more people within a 60 minute drive of Coquitlam than in Edmonton Metro........ So if you think Coquitlam is a bad market, then clearly metro population does not matter..... by your logic
Iron Sheik, your passion to have soccer in coquitlam is admirable, but to keep on arguing about it is getting old. YOu need to accept the fact that Edmonton will be the city to get the franchise and instead of speculating about the business cases for and against it going there, mabye you should just see and what happens, because no one really knows how it will go there, it could do great, it might not. Coquitlam is part of Vancouver so mabye you should support the white caps instead of coquitlam getting a lower tiered team.
Well, just remember.. One day you will say "Wow, that IronShiek guy on BigSoccer was right about Edmonton". Mark my words, it WILL fail. And, if the Whitecaps have changed their mind to go to Edmonton, after my sources told me Coquitlam; that is their choice. I have given the warnings... and as many people with vision, I have been mocked and rebutted.
You're clearly a nutcase. Metro Vancouver has done a decent to poor job of supporting the Whitecaps (Mostly having to do with them playing the Suburbs (Burnaby), away from rapid transit (1km walk to skytrain through dodgy dark central park), away from any real resteraunts and pubs, etc) Why do you think they would be dumb enough to put in a competitive product to their MLS product in an area plagued with the same market conditions as Swangard. what you are proposing is the same thing as if the WFC organization just left a team at swangard and took their A team to BC Place with the MLS. It would draw flys. Edmonton on the other hand is a city with only 1 pro sports franchise of note (do they play AAA Baseball there anymore?) and has a lot of money, and more importantly a high population of youth and senior recreational soccer participation. The business case, without even doing any research at all, is better for Edmonton than Coquitlam... Edmonton failed for the same reasons the TOA left the USL... in fact they are one of the many albatross' ownership groups the TOA men were concerned with, along with the Calgary Mustangs, etc... Give your head a shake.
You can tell he is not a wind up artist because his posts are so poorly put together, no tongue in cheek, and no flow... he isn't smart enough to be on the wind up. he actually believes what he is stating... scary...
you're absolutely right on IMO-- the guys not a nut case-- he enjoys seeing all the people reacting to his comments and 'reliable sources' he's all about 'smoke and mirrors' and loves every minute of the attention he is getting!!
I hear his source was George Vancouver, back from the grave to apologize for raping and pillaging the First Nation peoples of coastal BC.
No, I honestly believe with CONVICTION, that Pro Soccer in Edmonton will fail again. This is not, as has been put, a "wind up". Visionaries are always mocked when they are ahead of the curve. I expected that.
OMG!!!111!!1one Are you actually predicting the demise of a Canadian soccer team? That's quite the crystal ball you have there Nostradamus. In other news, I predict February will be cold. So just remember.. One day you will say "Wow, that KLR650 guy on BigSoccer was right about February". Mark my words, it WILL be cold!
suggestion for name change "NASL will not work in Edmonton"-TheIronShiek b/c it's obviously about his disdain for Edmonton more than because of any real reason Coquitlam would be the home of a new D2, Whitecap affiliated team
You're clearly not from Vancouver... Warmest Jan in the books! no snow for the olympics Who knows, maybe Edmonton will be a bigger success than Vancouver
I believe the point being made is that IronSheik is not a visionary, but rather that he's an idiot. Not that all visionaries are idiots.
As an American who lived in Canada for 8 years here is my take.................. Probably because every other Canadian league has failed. I don't quite know how to describe it but there is a weird Canadian psyche that kind of speaks to this. Its bizarre but when I was living in Canada you would hear people talk to this. If a show was on tv and it was on a US channel it would be a show.....if the show was on a Canadian channel and a Canadian show it was "just a Canadian show". When I was in Winnipeg in the 90's the Tragically Hip or Harlequin would play a bar and it was "just a Canadian band" but if some random act from Northern Michigan or the UK would show up it was an "event" Same with sports leagues. When a league had a Canadian team in an American league it was supported. When a Canadian league had a game it wasn't supported. Its a bizarre Canadian only 'superiority/inferiority complex' that I witnessed. To this day I struggle to explain it. My own wife thinks my theory is nuts but Canadian people I tell know exactly what I'm talking about. People will point to the CFL and CHL as examples. But the largest crowd I ever saw at a Blue Bombers game was vs Sacramento Gold Miners. The place was packed to the rafters. The largest crowd I ever saw at a Medicine Hat Tigers game was when the Portland Winter Hawks showed up. Its almost like a Canadian team, person, work has to make it in the USA to gain the status of 'arriving'.
what? Nothing I said referred to a Canadian league at all so I dont know where you got that from. Yoshou's assumption was correct.
the Shiek is probably computer geek who rarely plays a sport, collects bottles and plastics and stuffs his ego up his arse-- he's just seeking attention and hallucinating about 'his sources'!! just make him the mascot of the Southsiders and he will be kept on a short leash
Dude Every post you have made in this thread is silly childish insults towards me. Why dont you write a post that lays out the business case for Edmonton instead; try to be constructive.
Shiek where is your coquitlam business plan. Please in your next post I want a detailed plan from your sources, one that explains: The decision to play at a sub par turf in a stadium whose seating capacity is far below what would be required for a Div 2 team. Why the current planned renovations for the stadium (to be completed this year) do not include an increase in seating, concession or washroom facilities How the Whitecaps plan to deal with marketing both teams in such a close vicinity and getting fans out to div 2 game when a div 1 team will be available in a better facility, for a very similar price? Why would they not keep a team at Swangard? If you do not have exact answers for these questions, don't bother posting Visionaries have a vision and a plan, you have neither. Coquitlam will not be home to a professional div 2 soccer team.
First of all; the plan for Coquitlam has been changed. we all know that now. The Whitecaps have changed direction since I originally received the information and made this post. Yes, there will not be a div 2 team in coquitlam. HOWEVER, I will always maintain it would be a better choice than Edmonton. Edmonton will be a money pit and it saddens me that such a quality ownership group will be faced with losing a bunch of money over the first 5 years; if they chose to go to Edmonton (which isnt decided yet; the new location is still up for speculation). As for the business case for Coquitlam; I have one. Your stadium issues are easily fixed with renovations and upgrades. You say why not swangard? Swangard is a shitty location and always has been. Coquitlam stadium is within walking distance of a half dozen pubs, dozens of restaurants, shopping malls, etc. The population is there I believe the suburbs would support Div 2 in Coquitlam... a great idea for a family outing on a Sunday afternoon (as an example)...., and the city will still fill BC Place for the MLS team. Additional interest in a Coquitlam team with future "MLS Prospects" on the team would also draw some of the MLS fans to the games. A sunny day, 5000 seats, in the setting by the mountains would be very appealing to alot of people. There would be significant numbers of people that would go to both clubs(including me). If the Abbotsford Heat were a Canucks farm club; they would pack that building every single night. They are not, as you guys keep arguing, going to be competition for the big club. It is a different product! Anyways, this is all a moot point as the Caps are not going there now. SO be it. But I will again, be proven right if they chose Edmonton. I will keep this tread bookmarked and remind you all. I am ahead of the curve on these things; as such, I expected resistance.
We do? Where was this ever announced one way or another? see above comment where I ask for evidence stating this as fact aside from your "sources" Great, I can hardly wait really, on whose dime? Taxpayers, unlikely. WFC? unlikely. Get real. Where do I start? Here's a map of the site in Coquitlam: Here's a map of Swangard. What do we have in common? 1. Over 1 km to the mall, either Coquitlma centre or Metrotown. 2. Can you name the pubs that are "walking distance"? 3. You do realize that the definition of "walking distance" changes when you are talking about a suburban area vs urban right? 4. We see houses, seas of houses, and angry neighbors that a) don't care... and b) Don't like crowds in their 'hood. I could go on, but I'll save my breath really? Burnaby is 600,000 people strong, Coquitlam is 125,000 at best. Is the population that is "there" going to be different than the one that is 5 times larger at swangard?! Burnaby is suburbs, like Coquitlam. Family outings on Sunday afternoons.. like a picnic at Central Park in Burnaby pre-game on a WFC Mens and Womens doubleheader?! 5000 people eh, so an entire half percent of the population of coquitlam will fill Percy Perry for 12-15 home games every year but the WFC can't fill Swangard for every game in Burnaby? where's your mystery calculator!? I need one to do my tax return. I don't see how whether they are the Flames or Canucks farm team has anything to do with a lower league club being in a different suburb of Vancouver, but I'll pretend to understand and answer... Abbotsford is a full 80 kilometers away from GM Place. Abby is oft considered more a part of Sumas/Fraser Valley than it is Mero Vancouver... but I digress... Distance from BC Place to Percy perry is approx 50 km... or almost half.