Forge FC

SteelTown · #1 Posted **Feb 24, 2009, 11:14 PM**

Bob Young to Seek USL Soccer Franchise for Hamilton

http://www.oursportscentral.com/serv...es/?id=3781903

February 24, 2009 - Canadian Football League (CFL) Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Hamilton, Ontario - Bob Young, owner of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, announced today that the team has begun the process of applying for a United Soccer League (USL) franchise for the city of Hamilton, contingent on the construction of a new stadium in Hamilton.

Young remarked, "As a minority owner of the USL's Carolina Railhawks, I'm personally aware of the growing popularity of USL soccer across North America and would be thrilled to see a Hamilton team play in a league with the great Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps franchises."

"We have been investigating the economic viability of a professional soccer team in Hamilton for a number of years and with the possibility of a new stadium on the horizon, we felt that this is the right time to begin the application process."

drpgq · #2 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 12:39 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Bob Young to Seek USL Soccer Franchise for Hamilton

http://www.oursportscentral.com/serv...es/?id=3781903

February 24, 2009 - Canadian Football League (CFL) Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Hamilton, Ontario - Bob Young, owner of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, announced today that the team has begun the process of applying for a United Soccer League (USL) franchise for the city of Hamilton, contingent on the construction of a new stadium in Hamilton.

Young remarked, "As a minority owner of the USL's Carolina Railhawks, I'm personally aware of the growing popularity of USL soccer across North America and would be thrilled to see a Hamilton team play in a league with the great Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps franchises."

"We have been investigating the economic viability of a professional soccer team in Hamilton for a number of years and with the possibility of a new stadium on the horizon, we felt that this is the right time to begin the application process."

Wow, that would be pretty cool.

Hammer Native · #3 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 1:24 AM**

Well it's good that he is already coming up with plans to put a stadium to other uses. I think with proper marketing and if the franchise is big league, hopefully it would catch on. We've certainly seen enough World Cup fever from all the nationalities in our city, and hopefully international interest can be turned into local.

thistleclub · #4 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 2:23 AM**

Great add. I foresee an international version of the Art Crawl taking root.

The warm months are slowly getting locked up, but only slowly. USL seems to be 18 home games from February to September; the Montreal Impact, for example, plays 12 of those from June-September, while the Cats play 10 home games from June through October. Prime outdoor season would probably be May-September, and even then the two franchises would only account for around a sixth of the bookable dates for the facility's peak season. A National Lacrosse League franchise could keep the USL team company on nine dates Jan-May (prior to the Cats' season), which would bring us to 37 dates locked in (not counting the Cats' twice-weekly October practices). If someone was convinced of the viability of that strategy, it would mean a little more peace of mind for stakeholders and a more dynamic venue. And you still have around 90% of the year open for concerts and events.

urban_planner · #5 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 2:33 AM**

This would definatly work just given the demographics of the city. I would be suprised if it didn't work. Espcially given also where the stadium would be build I just think ot the soccer parties on James N when some of the more popular teams win the World Cup etc.

emge · #6 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 4:45 AM**

Certainly a good time for this to come out, and perhaps one more piece of the overall funding/use puzzle.

Soccer as well as football does hit a greater cross-section of the population, and the location is close to many multicultural neighbourhoods, not just James North - more interest.

The Whitecaps' sits lists season tickets as starting from $247 to $509. Prices for single tickets aren't posted for the current season, but groups of 15-19 are given prices of $14-$28 per ticket depending on the section.

Here's the wiki on it as well - attendance figures look like they're growing as well over the past few years for the league - just over 5000/game in the regular season and almost 8000/game for the playoffs, though that seems averaged over all the teams.

BCTed · #7 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 11:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by thistleclub

A National Lacrosse League franchise could keep the USL team company on nine dates Jan-May (prior to the Cats' season), which would bring us to 37 dates locked in (not counting the Cats' twice-weekly October practices).

The National Lacrosse League plays in indoor arenas.

SteelTown · #8 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 12:08 PM**

New tenant for Pan Am stadium?

February 25, 2009
Drew Edwards
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/Sports/article/519974

A day after city council approved a $60-million stadium for the Pan American Games, another potential tenant for the facility has stepped forward.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats' owner Bob Young announced yesterday that he will seek a franchise with the United Soccer League, a Tampa-based organization that fields 11 teams in its top division, including the Montreal Impact and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Young, who is part-owner of the league's Carolina RailHawks, said that he has been examining professional soccer opportunities in Hamilton since taking over the Canadian Football League franchise in 2003, but couldn't make the numbers work with a team housed at the aging Ivor Wynne Stadium.

"With the new stadium, we have a business model that makes good sense and the USL league is doing well enough, so we're excited to do this, assuming the stadium does get built," Young said.

While the team has yet to formally submit an application to the league, Young says he's already held discussions with league officials about bringing a team to the city.

Matthew Weibe, senior director of franchise development for the league, says the interest is mutual.

"They've approached us and have shown interest in acquiring a franchise and that's something we're interested in exploring," Weibe explained. "We think given its location and where we want to grow the league, Hamilton is an ideal market."

Weibe said a franchise typically costs in the "upper six-figures."

Young said the application is conditional upon the success of the Pan Am bid -- a decision is expected in November -- but that the team could begin play earlier than the planned stadium's 2015 completion date, possibly as early as 2011.

"We'd play a couple years at Ivor Wynne and then move to the new stadium," Young said.

The Tiger-Cats owner said he doubted a team could be viable playing at Ivor Wynne on a permanent basis.

"It would certainly raise real questions about it," he added.

Young said he wanted to step forward quickly after the stadium decision because he wanted to show his support for council's decision with something tangible.

"City council has demonstrated a real commitment to this stadium project. A lot of people were telling the city, 'if you build it, good things will happen,' and we're just an example of that."

thistleclub · #9 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 12:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BCTed

The National Lacrosse League plays in indoor arenas.

Thanks for the reminder. I transposed threads in my head. Had been going on the assumption that they might want to equip the facility for the possibility of winter events. Or at least to make the beginning of soccer season less nippy.

thistleclub · #10 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 12:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteelTown

New tenant for Pan Am stadium?
"With the new stadium, we have a business model that makes good sense and the USL league is doing well enough, so we're excited to do this, assuming the stadium does get built," Young said.

Can't wait to see the business model.

SteelTown · #11 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 2:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Matthew Weibe, senior director of franchise development for the league, says the interest is mutual.

"They've approached us and have shown interest in acquiring a franchise and that's something we're interested in exploring," Weibe explained. "We think given its location and where we want to grow the league, Hamilton is an ideal market."

I thought that was a good quote, Hamilton an ideal market for soccer.

Quote:

Young said the application is conditional upon the success of the Pan Am bid -- a decision is expected in November -- but that the team could begin play earlier than the planned stadium's 2015 completion date, possibly as early as 2011

Another good quote, stadium built by 2011? Would be nice but I doubt that, I say if awarded the Games 2012 or 2013. Maybe the CFL is pushing to build the stadium ASAP so Hamilton can host a Grey Cup.

king10 · #12 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 3:10 PM**

"We'd play a couple years at Ivor Wynne and then move to the new stadium," Young said

i think he means the team can start play in 2011 at ivor wynne untill the new stadium is completed

SteelTown · #13 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 3:13 PM**

Opps. Well that would be good.

drpgq · #14 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 5:30 PM**

Doesn't Toronto FC play against Montreal and Vancouver in the USL for the right to go on to the North American Champions League thing? A home date at Ivor Wynne against Toronto FC might get a good crowd.

SteelTown · #15 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 5:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by thistleclub

Thanks for the reminder. I transposed threads in my head. Had been going on the assumption that they might want to equip the facility for the possibility of winter events. Or at least to make the beginning of soccer season less nippy.

Replace Lacrosse with Rugby.

thistleclub · #16 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 10:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Replace Lacrosse with Rugby.

Occurred to me but I second-tiered it because of the sub-optimal seasonal overlap (May-August?) with soccer and football, and the economics of the franchises (Hamilton's Hornets and Wildcats both play out of Mohawk Sports Park, as does Burlington’s Niagara Thunder).

SteelTown · #17 Posted **Feb 25, 2009, 10:35 PM**

Bob Young Owner, Hamilton Tiger-Cats with Bob McCown & Jim Kelley
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

The owner of the Ti-Cats joins Prime Time Sports to talk about the team's decision not to renovate Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton and the push for a new stadium.

http://www.fan590.com/media.jsp?cont...24_180118_1980

Bob Young talks about the USL.

thistleclub · #18 Posted **Feb 26, 2009, 7:18 AM**

Montreal Impact grab headlines. I'd love to see something like this be a Hamilton newsbrief one day...

thistleclub · #19 Posted **Feb 26, 2009, 3:17 PM**

A little more light on the possible lacrosse draw compared to the key tenants.

Toronto Rock: 7,000 season tickets and an average attendance of 14,570 in 2008. So the Rock is making up half of its attendance in undecideds, adding over 7,000 bodies: slightly above the size their committed base. That's volatile, but they're obviously doing a decent job of filling the seats. A Valentine's Day match-up with Buffalo drew over 18,000.

Tiger-Cats: 16,000 season tickets and an average attendance of 20,784 in 2008. The Cats are fairly dependent on their season ticket holders and generally adding fewer than 5,000 bodies that haven't already bought into the ride: about a third the size their committed base. That's volatile too -- if season ticket holders decide they've had enough, the numbers can dip precipitously and stabilize much lower. Average the team's attendance numbers over the last 30 years and you're sitting around 15,000-16,000.

The stats obviously don't tell the whole story, but they seem to reflect favourably on lacrosse, especially considering the minimal overlap with USL/CFL action.

BCTed · #20 Posted **Feb 27, 2009, 4:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by thistleclub

A little more light on the possible lacrosse draw compared to the key tenants.

Toronto Rock: 7,000 season tickets and an average attendance of 14,570 in 2008. So the Rock is making up half of its attendance in undecideds, adding over 7,000 bodies: slightly above the size their committed base. That's volatile, but they're obviously doing a decent job of filling the seats. A Valentine's Day match-up with Buffalo drew over 18,000.

Tiger-Cats: 16,000 season tickets and an average attendance of 20,784 in 2008. The Cats are fairly dependent on their season ticket holders and generally adding fewer than 5,000 bodies that haven't already bought into the ride: about a third the size their committed base. That's volatile too -- if season ticket holders decide they've had enough, the numbers can dip precipitously and stabilize much lower. Average the team's attendance numbers over the last 30 years and you're sitting around 15,000-16,000.

The stats obviously don't tell the whole story, but they seem to reflect favourably on lacrosse, especially considering the minimal overlap with USL/CFL action.

The lacrosse idea just does not fly. The indoor component of the proposed stadium is a bubble that would cover only the field, not the stands. NLL play takes place on hockey rinks surrounded by hockey boards --- it does not take place on football fields.