Sports in Ottawa (misc. articles/news)

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

Closing single pad arenas!! It is likely then that the old Sandy Hill Arena is on the chopping block. That makes it more likely that uOttawa will get that piece of land to build their new major athletic facility. The uni has been negotiating to get it for some time.

That would be a win ultimately. Tom Brown is another that could be demolished to make way for something more appropriate, such as TOD at the nexus of our rail network. Outside of those two rinks, I don't believe any other should be shut-down.

[rocketphish]

Ottawa Fury expected to suspend operations

Tim Baines, Postmedia
Updated: November 7, 2019

What has been a bad week for The Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group keeps getting worse.

It’s expected that OSEG will announce at a Friday morning press conference that the Ottawa Fury FC will suspend operations.

Fury FC began as a North American League expansion franchise in 2014, then joined the United Soccer League in 2017.

Prior to the 2019 USL season, governing body CONCACAF refused to sanction Fury FC, trying to pressure them into joining the Canadian Premier League in its inaugural season.

Fury FC finally got its sanction after appealing.

It seems likely those issues with CONCACAF lingered.

More to come.

https://ottawacitizen.com/sports/bre...end-operations

[Radster]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Ottawa Fury expected to suspend operations

Tim Baines, Postmedia
Updated: November 7, 2019

What has been a bad week for The Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group keeps getting worse.

It’s expected that OSEG will announce at a Friday morning press conference that the Ottawa Fury FC will suspend operations.

Fury FC began as a North American League expansion franchise in 2014, then joined the United Soccer League in 2017.

Prior to the 2019 USL season, governing body CONCACAF refused to sanction Fury FC, trying to pressure them into joining the Canadian Premier League in its inaugural season.

Fury FC finally got its sanction after appealing.

It seems likely those issues with CONCACAF lingered.

More to come.

https://ottawacitizen.com/sports/bre...end-operations

Rumour I heard is that they will suspend operations for one season, and return the following season under a new ownership group, to the CPL. Ottawans will be much more interested in seeing their team play against teams from other Canadian cities, and witness these new rivalries being created, instead of watching their team play against teams from American cities they have never heard of and have no connection to. So, with a new ownership group, and playing in the growing CPL league, I think attendance will get a boost. I hope this rumour is will materialise into reality!!

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

So OSEG will no longer have a stake in the soccer team?

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Jamaican-Phoenix

So OSEG will no longer have a stake in the soccer team?

It remains to be seen whether Ottawa's CPL team will be operated by OSEG or not. It's been mostly confirmed that there's another ownership group in Ottawa interested in CPL.

[rocketphish]

OSEG to put an end to Ottawa Fury FC soccer club

Don Campbell, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: November 8, 2019

Professional soccer in Ottawa is dead.

It will be for the foreseeable future. And maybe longer. A lot longer.

The Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) will announce this morning that it has pulled the plug on its Ottawa Fury franchise in the United Soccer League, according to a well-placed source.

The franchise was part for OSEG’s initial major sports plan and first started with an expansion franchise in North American Soccer league way back in 2011. The team began play in 2014, once TD Place was completed and joined fellow tenants the Ottawa Redblacks and Ottawa 67’s. The franchise then joined an even higher league in the USL in 2017.

Hopes were high to sell the sport and make TD Place a year-round venue for the three sports teams. OSEG even tried a women’s Fury team to little financial success.

Instead, the Fury will join the once Ottawa Pioneers/Intrepid on the sidelines, a pro team that played in the Canadian Soccer League from 1987 through 1989. And the prospects of another ownership group talking a chance on pro soccer in Ottawa are slim to none.

The Fury were a financial drain on OSEG, where the Ottawa 67’s might be the only profitable entity among the stable of soccer and the Redblacks, the net loss may be as much as $2 million per season.

OSEG was also facing a second straight fight with CONCACAF, North America’s governing body on soccer, over whether they could even be allowed to continue in the USL, or be forced to play in the lower-tier Canadian Premier League.

OSEG was done with the politics and wasn’t about to pay big bucks to challenge CONCACAF and the appellate body in Lausanne, Switzerland, with a fight they might win but also might prove expensive. That cost might have been $200,000 or more. And why?

CONCACAF wants to make a legacy of a true Canadian league. They are oblivious to all the past failures.

Announced crowds at the Fury games at TD Place were often of 5,000 or more. In reality, no more than 1,500 were in stands on many given nights and afternoons.

Ottawa may be a hot minor soccer community. It just appears parents don’t want to take their kids to minor pro games, even if the tickets are free.

Only the Canadian women’s team on a special visit can draw fans in big numbers.

OSEG will not be back in the pro soccer game. Not ever.

Maybe Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk will want a team in Kanata as he did years ago. But that’s unlikely.

Last off-season was a disaster when CONCACAF tried to pressure the Fury to play in the upstart Canadian Premier League, which just completed its inaugural season.

Free agents the Fury eyed were lost due to the uncertainty and while the club squeezed into the USL playoffs, it lost out in the play-in round on penalty kicks to Charleston on Oct. 23, in what was the beginning of the end.

Within days, head coach Nikola Popovic’s contract was not renewed and that was the first sign the franchise was dead. Popovic came over from former USL championship contender Swope Park (Kansas City) at great expense. He thought he had a mandate to win. He never had a chance.

Things never worked out to the plan the Fury had.

Sadly, the two most emotional people at Friday’s press conference will be Fury FC president John Pugh and GM Julian de Guzman, both great people.

Pugh is heart-and-soul about Ottawa soccer, never mind all the politics. He has lived for pro soccer to succeed in Ottawa.

The accomplished de Guzman only wants to win and promote Canadians, the way he could never experience as a youth.

The pair poured so much into it. They deserved so much better. The two were devastated at the first round playoff loss. They also knew the bigger picture.

And now they are done, though de Guzman will be a force in Canadian soccer for years to come.

https://ottawacitizen.com/sports/soc...e-e6c5c6cb6a38

[Radster]

That Ottawa Citizen article is misleading. Official statement from the Fury uses the word "suspending operations for next season". Nowhere do they say the team is done for good, like the Ottawa Citizen article alludes to. I think there will be lots of backroom talks (between OSEG, Concacaf, CPL, City of Ottawa, new ownership group, etc) over the next months happening with the hopes of bringing the CPL to Ottawa for the 2021 season. Sorry Don Campbell, but I don't appreciate your negative article.

[rocketphish]

Fury owners blame 'politics' for decision to suspend operations
Team failed to obtain sanctioning from governing bodies

Darren Major · CBC News
Posted: Nov 08, 2019 11:36 AM ET | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago



The owners of the Ottawa Fury are blaming "politics" for the decision to suspend operations for the 2020 season, after the team failed to obtain sanctioning from governing bodies that oversee the United Soccer League (USL).

In order for a team to play in the USL, they must be sanctioned by three governing bodies: Canada Soccer, the U.S. Soccer Federation and CONCACAF.

The latter is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies that oversee soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

The team did receive a one-year sanction from Canada Soccer for 2020, but the other two bodies have not indicated they would sanction the team for the upcoming season.

In a statement, Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) Mark Goudie said he believes the U.S. Soccer Federation and CONCACAF intentionally ran them out of time.

"I think it's apparent that soccer's hierarchy is trying to force Fury FC out of the USL," the statement said.

OSEG is Fury FC's parent company and also owns the Ottawa Redblacks and Ottawa 67's.

John Pugh, an OSEG partner that oversees the Fury, wrote in a letter to fans posted on the team's website that the reason for suspending operations was simple.

"[It's] politics," Pugh wrote. "Despite our best efforts over a period of many months, we were unable to obtain full sanctioning and since schedules must be developed, players signed and tickets sold, we simply ran out of time."

Canada Soccer released its own statement, calling the news "disappointing" and saying they lobbied the other governing bodies to approve the Fury for the USL.

The Fury's future has been in doubt before, after CONCACAF told the Canadian Soccer Association in 2018 it would not sanction the team's ongoing membership in the USL.

Fury FC had widely been expected to be home to the eighth team in the Canadian Premier League, which launched in 2019.

At a press conference Friday, Goudie said he envisioned the team joining the CPL, noting the league's existence is important for soccer in Canada.

But the organization wanted to do it on their own terms, Goudie said, rather than being forced by governing bodies into the league.

"The desire to join somebody who has issued you a ransom note was not particularly high," Goudie.

The club was allowed to remain in the USL for the 2019 season after an about-face by the agency.

Pugh said at Friday's press conference the USL lobbied the governing bodies to sanction the Fury.

"[They] bent over backwards in so many ways to avoid what is happening today," Pugh said, appearing to choke back tears.

Fury FC general manager Julian de Guzman also joined Goudie and Pugh at the press conference, mostly hanging his head while the other two spoke.

But when he was asked how he took the news, the former Canadian soccer star struggled to overcome his emotions.

"For a lot of the [heavily] invested individuals who believe in this vision, idea, philosophy, this dream that has now come to an end," he said.

"It's just really hard to digest at this moment."

The Fury initially played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2014 to 2016 before jumping into the USL in 2017.

The statement from OSEG also included a comment from USL president Jake Edwards, who said he was "disappointed."

"Ottawa Fury FC is an extremely professional, well-run organization and it's frustrating to see them treated in this way," Edwards said.

Ottawa was the only Canadian team playing in the USL.

Last month, the team announced it was parting ways with head coach Nikola Popovic after two seasons.

The Fury plays home games at TD Place stadium at Ottawa's Lansdowne Park, which can hold 24,000 spectators.

The club finished in eighth place in the USL's eastern conference in 2019 with a 14-10-10 record.

Goudie said the organization will be tacking a step back before deciding what to do for 2021.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...ions-1.5352935

[JHikka]

"I think it's apparent that soccer's hierarchy is trying to force Fury FC out of the USL," the statement said.

They knew this two years ago and yet still tried to play in USL in 2020 anyway. They refused to make any plans whatsoever to transition to CPL despite the issues they knew were going to happen with CSA and CONCACAF on their USL sanctioning. Difficult for me to find sympathy for them.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by JHikka

They knew this two years ago and yet still tried to play in USL in 2020 anyway. They refused to make any plans whatsoever to transition to CPL despite the issues they knew were going to happen with CSA and CONCACAF on their USL sanctioning. Difficult for me to find sympathy for them.

It is mentioned that it isn't quite so simple. The caibre of play in the USL is significantly higher than offered in the CPL. They did not want to degrade the product offered to fans.

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by JHikka

They knew this two years ago and yet still tried to play in USL in 2020 anyway. They refused to make any plans whatsoever to transition to CPL despite the issues they knew were going to happen with CSA and CONCACAF on their USL sanctioning. Difficult for me to find sympathy for them.

I don't blame them for not wanting to be strong armed into joining the CPL. As an entrepreneur, someone interfering in your business or forcing you into making a certain business decision is insulting. In this case it's especially insulting both as an organization and city because they aren't doing the same thing to TFC, the Impact and the Whitecaps.

[qprcanada]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

I don't blame them for not wanting to be strong armed into joining the CPL. As an entrepreneur, someone interfering in your business or forcing you into making a certain business decision is insulting. In this case it's especially insulting both as an organization and city because they aren't doing the same thing to TFC, the Impact and the Whitecaps.

It has to do with how soccer is governed, unlike most North American sports there is a world governing body, FIFA and a regional governing body CONCACAF.

The decision of CONCACAF and ultimately FIFA to force clubs to play in their domestic leagues instead of a foreign league of the same standard (CPL and USL are both considered "2nd division" leagues) is the reason the Fury were not sanctioned again. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver can play in the MLS because there is presently no league in Canada that is considered "1st Division"

I'm surprised how naive the Fury were to think they could circumvent this rule after receiving a one time exemption.

I think the Fury were losing money hand over fist and this gives OSEG a face saving way to suspend operations and blame it on sanctioning issues.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

It is mentioned that it isn't quite so simple. The caibre of play in the USL is significantly higher than offered in the CPL. They did not want to degrade the product offered to fans.

I disagree with the sentiment that the CPL is a noticeably weaker league than USL. The latter is certainly not significantly better than the former.

[Nepean]

Originally Posted by qprcanada

It has to do with how soccer is governed, unlike most North American sports there is a world governing body, FIFA and a regional governing body CONCACAF. *SNIP*

While you are correct in a legal sense, this is not how things work in the real world. Truth is that FIFA is constantly flexible with their rules.

If the President of CONCACAF was not Victor Montagliani, a former head of the CSA and someone who was directly involved in creating the new Canadian league, the Fury would get sanctioning. The only reason CONCACAF is playing hardball is because their president has a direct interest in the CPL.

This is politics pure and simple. The Fury are a relatively weak club so CONCACAF bullied them. If TFC, the Impact, and Whitecaps were not strong clubs, and if CONCACAF had the ability to push them around, you can bet they would also lose sanctioning.

While the argument of MLS being a higher level is technically true, and is interesting pub talk for soccer nerds like me, that is not the reason the MLS teams are given special status. The reason they are (for now) protected is because there would be a massive backlash if CONCACAF denied them sanctioning. But don't kid yourself, if Canada's governing body was in a position to deny the MLS teams sanctioning and force them into the CPL, they would do it.

[Nepean]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

I don't blame them for not wanting to be strong armed into joining the CPL. As an entrepreneur, someone interfering in your business or forcing you into making a certain business decision is insulting. In this case it's especially insulting both as an organization and city because they aren't doing the same thing to TFC, the Impact and the Whitecaps.

This is essentially the reason the Fury did not join the CPL. In a nutshell, the Fury owners did not trust the CPL, and after seeing what happened this week who could blame them.

I know a lot of fans are upset, but we have to remember that the players did not want to go to the CPL because it meant lower wages, less benefits, and a smaller stage to showcase their talents. As for the owners, would you want to partner with someone pointing a gun to your head? The FIFA sanctioning rules, while technically valid, were in reality an excuse to strong arm the Fury.

If CONCACAF wanted to they could have made an exception for the Fury, but they chose not to because they decided to use their political power as a negotiating strategy. If they were willing to do that to the Fury to force them to join the CPL, imagine what other strong arm tactics they would have used once the club was a (forced) member. From this perspective, I do not blame the owners for refusing to join a group that has proven themselves to be a bunch of thugs.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

Closing single pad arenas!! It is likely then that the old Sandy Hill Arena is on the chopping block. That makes it more likely that uOttawa will get that piece of land to build their new major athletic facility. The uni has been negotiating to get it for some time.

Yes which would be too bad. Too bad suburban councillors and staff consider everyone a driver and therefore there to be other rinks in the area. Sure St-Laurent is a short drive away but for many in the area it's inaccessible on foot or by transit.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

Yes which would be too bad. Too bad suburban councillors and staff consider everyone a driver and therefore there to be other rinks in the area. Sure St-Laurent is a short drive away but for many in the area it's inaccessible on foot or by transit.

For hockey almost everyone is a driver - being mobile with hockey equipment almost always requires a vehicle, unless under very rare circumstances. Not the same as simply carrying a pair of skates to the canal.

Single-pad arenas of the size of Sandy Hill are not economically tenable long-term. Hockey is an expensive sport at its base and it makes no sense to have a facility with only one pad which requires an ice machine and zamboni just for itself. Easier to spread those costs over two or four pads.

[qprcanada]

Originally Posted by Nepean

While you are correct in a legal sense, this is not how things work in the real world. Truth is that FIFA is constantly flexible with their rules.

If the President of CONCACAF was not Victor Montagliani, a former head of the CSA and someone who was directly involved in creating the new Canadian league, the Fury would get sanctioning. The only reason CONCACAF is playing hardball is because their president has a direct interest in the CPL.

This is politics pure and simple. The Fury are a relatively weak club so CONCACAF bullied them. If TFC, the Impact, and Whitecaps were not strong clubs, and if CONCACAF had the ability to push them around, you can bet they would also lose sanctioning.

While the argument of MLS being a higher level is technically true, and is interesting pub talk for soccer nerds like me, that is not the reason the MLS teams are given special status. The reason they are (for now) protected is because there would be a massive backlash if CONCACAF denied them sanctioning. But don't kid yourself, if Canada's governing body was in a position to deny the MLS teams sanctioning and force them into the CPL, they would do it.

Respectfully, you are incorrect. There is no conspiracy between the CSA and CPL, OSEG were losing money and this is a face saving exercise to suspend operations whilst recovering their "franchise license" from the USL by selling it to a prospective American owner. It is about $$$ not politics and the money OSEG is losing on it's real estate and sporting enterprises.

A club that wishes to play in a foreign league must be sanctioned by the national association (CSA) and the regional association as well as FIFA. While you may argue about the standards of MLS it meets the required technical/infrastructure standards to be a "first division" league and that is why TFC, Impact and Whitecaps have no issues with sanctioning because there is presently no equivalent in Canada.

In the future that may change and if it happened they could sell their MLS "franchise license" for a lot of money.

I expect that in 2021 Ottawa will have a CPL team with or without the involvement of OSEG.

[Nepean]

[QUOTE=qprcanada;8744503]Respectfully, you are incorrect. There is no conspiracy between the CSA and CPL, OSEG were losing money *snip* . . .[QUOTE].

I agree with some of what you said. Of course $$$ was involved, as OSEG did not want to lose the profit it made with the USL. Joining the CPL would have forced the Fury to pay an expansion fee to the CPL -- last number I saw was $1.5 million -- and at the same time lose the value of their USL franchise, now reportedly worth $10 million. (The Fury paid about $3 million to join the USL). Where I disagree is with your analysis of the relationship between the CPL and CONCACAF, as it is clear that CONCACAF's Canadian president used his political power to strong arm the Fury.

As for FIFA rules about clubs playing in foreign leagues, yes, as I said previously, you are correct according to a literal application of FIFA laws. But FIFA, as everyone knows, is flexible with its laws. It applies them when it suits them and discards them when convenient. The bottom line is that CONCACAF decided to apply the "foreign league" rule now because its President had skin in this game and was part of a negotiating strategy. If the President of CONCACAF had been someone from El Salvador who couldn't care less about Canada, rather than a Canadian named Victor Montagliani, the Fury would have received sanctioning. FIFA is not some equitable body that applies its laws fairly. Rather, it takes decisions to advance its interests, and is flexible with how it applies its rules.

As for Canada's three MLS teams, my point is this: They will lose their sanctioning the moment it is politically convenient to remove it. That may take years, but if they ever become weak enough to have sanctioning removed, no amount of FIFA rules will protect them.

Finally, while it is true OSEG always lost money with the Fury, I do not think they folded due to that. I think they folded because given a choice between not existing and entering into business with people they did not trust, they decided to fold. Frankly, I would have made the same decision. As a fan, I am devastated, but from a business perspective everything I have seen of the CPL screams, "do no trust them!"

[phil235]

Originally Posted by JHikka

For hockey almost everyone is a driver - being mobile with hockey equipment almost always requires a vehicle, unless under very rare circumstances. Not the same as simply carrying a pair of skates to the canal.

Single-pad arenas of the size of Sandy Hill are not economically tenable long-term. Hockey is an expensive sport at its base and it makes no sense to have a facility with only one pad which requires an ice machine and zamboni just for itself. Easier to spread those costs over two or four pads.

Not everyone. I coach minor hockey in arenas like Brewer and McNabb, and I would guess that a good 20-25% of the kids walk at least some of the time. And there are other uses of the arenas as well. The number of walkers is probably higher for public skating, skateboarding, lacrosse etc.

The problem with multiplexes (aside from diminishing the community connection) is that they require massive parking lots which don’t really work in urban areas, especially in established parks where most single pas arenas are located. Underground parking is too expensive.

To me the question is more than just the cost of staff and aa zamboni. You need to weigh that against the impact of forcing almost everyone to drive, or paving over big swaths of your central city for these complexes. This being Ottawa, I expect that the likely outcome is to shift these facilities to the suburbs and abandon the core altogether.