Winnipeg Goldeyes - Page 7

drew · #**121** Posted **May 13, 2021, 6:25 PM**

That's great for the rest of the world.

But as we are discussing spectators in Winnipeg, I think my point stands.

esquire · #**122** Posted **May 13, 2021, 6:31 PM**

I get that baseball and hockey don't overlap, but at the end of the day they're chasing the same entertainment dollar. Even though they don't overlap at all, the Jets coming back was a big hit to the Goldeyes... I know this because a Goldeyes account executive admitted as much to me (although I think we all could have guessed it).

The Goldeyes were born from the early 1990s baseball frenzy in Canada resulting from the Blue Jays' success. In some respects it's impressive that the Goldeyes have lasted this long considering it has generally been a slow but steady decline since then.

Just to be clear, I hope the Goldeyes last a long time to come in Winnipeg. Even though I'm not a huge baseball fan I do enjoy having a baseball team in town. I just foresee a time in the not too distant future where they will end up with a different ballpark and Shaw Park will get redeveloped.

buzzg · #**123** Posted **May 13, 2021, 7:03 PM**

It's too bad you can't fit a soccer field in Shaw Park (I think?) because the Valour playing there would be such a better experience. Yes I know the whole WFC tie to IGF will make any move ever extremely unlikely, but going to watch a soccer game (which I already find obscenely dull) in a 15% full stadium, on a good day, will never be of interest for me. No matter how much the Valour try and make a good game day experience, or how good they are, there is nothing that can overcome the awful experience of sitting in a venue thats 5x too big.

blueandgoldguy · #**124** Posted **May 13, 2021, 8:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzg

It's too bad you can't fit a soccer field in Shaw Park (I think?) because the Valour playing there would be such a better experience. Yes I know the whole WFC tie to IGF will make any move ever extremely unlikely, but going to watch a soccer game (which I already find obscenely dull) in a 15% full stadium, on a good day, will never be of interest for me. No matter how much the Valour try and make a good game day experience, or how good they are, there is nothing that can overcome the awful experience of sitting in a venue thats 5x too big.

You could fit a soccer field at Shaw Park. Problem is the north and west grandstands are not at a perfect 90 degree angle with respect to one another. It would result in the stands on one side tapering towards the field. Ideally, one the west stands would be destroyed and reconstructed and realigned to a perfect 90 degree angle. This would allow that side of the stadium to be perfectly flush with the soccer pitch allow the entire length of the field.

Let's see what happens with the Canadian Premier League over the next decade. If Winnipeg could grow their average crowds to 12,000 per game that would fill two-thirds of the lower bowl and provide a more engaging atmosphere for the fans.

esquire · #**125** Posted **May 13, 2021, 8:57 PM**

^ Yeah, it wouldn't take much to create a better atmosphere for Valour. They drew about 6,500 fans a game in 2019... Double it and all of a sudden you have a lower bowl that doesn't seem empty anymore. I realize doubling attendance sounds like a tall task, but if any sport can pull it off it's soccer given that it has a fairly broad following.

Ando · #**126** Posted **May 13, 2021, 11:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by drew

That's great for the rest of the world.

But as we are discussing spectators in Winnipeg, I think my point stands.

I don’t think your point stands at all. Sorry, I was giving you the benefit of the doubt, I thought you were joking as opposed to being misinformed. Soccer is growing, in terms of participation, nothing beats it. The CPL is providing a focal point, and youth soccer teams tend to want to attend the games. The ability of Canadian players is also increasing dramatically. Two of the best young players in the world right now are Canadian: Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich and Jonathan David who plays for Lille in the French Ligue 1. I dare say that CPL attendance compares favourably to the Goldeyes.
Anyway, my original point that was that attendance has declined dramatically for the Goldeyes, and musing what might happen down the road for the stadium. This wasn’t really about the popularity of one sport vs another.

Ando · #**127** Posted **May 13, 2021, 11:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

You could fit a soccer field at Shaw Park. Problem is the north and west grandstands are not at a perfect 90 degree angle with respect to one another. It would result in the stands on one side tapering towards the field. Ideally, one the west stands would be destroyed and reconstructed and realigned to a perfect 90 degree angle. This would allow that side of the stadium to be perfectly flush with the soccer pitch allow the entire length of the field.

Let's see what happens with the Canadian Premier League over the next decade. If Winnipeg could grow their average crowds to 12,000 per game that would fill two-thirds of the lower bowl and provide a more engaging atmosphere for the fans.

That’s a cool idea.

JHikka · #**128** Posted **May 14, 2021, 3:29 PM**

Soccer fields in baseball stadiums is very common in the US. Not ideal, but definitely do-able.

Whether Valour would want to play there is another question entirely. I'm all for right-sizing venues to teams and don't see much point in Valour playing in a stadium three times too big for them, but on the other hand IGF already has everything they would need in a venue. They would need a sweet deal at Shaw to warrant moving there.

esquire · #**129** Posted **May 14, 2021, 3:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHikka

Soccer fields in baseball stadiums is very common in the US. Not ideal, but definitely do-able.

Whether Valour would want to play there is another question entirely. I'm all for right-sizing venues to teams and don't see much point in Valour playing in a stadium three times too big for them, but on the other hand IGF already has everything they would need in a venue. They would need a sweet deal at Shaw to warrant moving there.

Yeah, I think the fact that Valour's parent effectively runs IG Field means that they will remain there. Part of Valour's raison d'etre was to provide some more event dates at that venue, so they aren't going to be moved out. I'm confident that as Valour's fanbase grows, the atmosphere thing will be less of an issue. If the club can consistently draw into the 5 figures it won't be a big deal.

The idea of turning Shaw Park into a soccer stadium is intriguing, but it's hard to see it happening. More likely if the Goldeyes disappear it will be replaced with office/residential development.

buzzg · #**130** Posted **May 14, 2021, 5:34 PM**

This whole conversation about Valour and attendance just makes me angry again that they hired an apartment designer to design IGF and not a stadium designer. A proper stadium architect would have known not to put soooo many seats in the lower bowl end zones, they are so undesirable from a value perspective. I'd much rather sit in the upper deck than the end zones – and I think Bomber fans prove that point as well. Mosaic got it right.

esquire · #**131** Posted **May 14, 2021, 6:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzg

This whole conversation about Valour and attendance just makes me angry again that they hired an apartment designer to design IGF and not a stadium designer. A proper stadium architect would have known not to put soooo many seats in the lower bowl end zones, they are so undesirable from a value perspective. I'd much rather sit in the upper deck than the end zones – and I think Bomber fans prove that point as well. Mosaic got it right.

That was a client decision, not the architect's. I remember when David Asper first trotted out the plan, he touted the full 360 seating bowl. The perception was that it was "big time". For what it's worth, he wasn't wrong... it looks cool and it's not that there are tons and tons of endzone seats... the number is pretty marginal.

Contrast with old Winnipeg Stadium... when they put up the upper decks in the 1970s, they boasted about how many of the seats were between the goal lines. And all but the north end zone seats were between the goal lines. No one cared that the south end zone was an open field... that would never fly today.

(Related fun fact: the west side upper deck at Winnipeg Stadium was the first upper deck in a Canadian stadium when it was added in 1972)

rivercity · #**132** Posted **Jul 22, 2021, 4:33 PM**

Goldeyes home opener August 3 @ Shaw Park

pegcityboy · #**133** Posted **Jul 22, 2021, 6:42 PM**

Mosaic Stadium has a lower bowl and upper bowl in one of their endzones and pilsnar section in the other end zone probably resulting in more seats in the endzone total than IG has .

esquire · #**134** Posted **Apr 17, 2023, 8:21 PM**

So is the renaming of Shaw Park to something Rogers-inspired imminent now that the corporate merger is complete?

The Shaw name was itself a result of Shaw's takeover of Canwest Global some years back... the stadium's original name was Canwest Global Park.