Canadian Premier League

[elly63]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

New Mosaic needs to be used.

Mosaic Stadium has permanently inlaid football lines, something soccer purists often complain about.

[JHikka]

If and when a CPL team ends up in Saskatchewan it'll likely be in Saskatoon. That's where the ownership interest is and that's where the summer series games have been played. They've identified Prarieland as their preferred stadium location and have played exhibition matches out of SMF Field.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by elly63

Mosaic Stadium has permanently inlaid football lines, something soccer purists often complain about.

And permanently inlaid soccer lines as well. But Turf is always getting replaced so things can change in the future.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by JHikka

They've identified Prarieland as their preferred stadium location and have played exhibition matches out of SMF Field.

This is still ridiculous to me because Prairieland is such a shitty place to try and put a stadium, even if it is temporary. The only reason it is considered is because the grandstand is there and it sits empty for most of the year.

SMF Field wouldn't work as a permanent solution either since it's a football field as well. But at least it has a field, I suppose.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by JHikka

If and when a CPL team ends up in Saskatchewan it'll likely be in Saskatoon. That's where the ownership interest is and that's where the summer series games have been played. They've identified Prarieland as their preferred stadium location and have played exhibition matches out of SMF Field.

Saskatoon makes sense... it's an underserved market when it comes to summer sports. A CPL team would probably do quite well.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by esquire

Saskatoon makes sense... it's an underserved market when it comes to summer sports. A CPL team would probably do quite well.

That's the thinking, and once we're past COVID they'll fit in nicely between Valour and Edmonton/Cavalry.

Congrats to Forge on their repeat championship. Next up will potentially be CONCACAF League matches before they face off against TFC for the Canadian Championship and a berth in the Champions League.

[JHikka]

https://northerntribune.ca/concacaf-...-limeno-match/

Forge defeated El Salvadorian side Municipal Limeno last night in the first round of the CONCACAF League. They advance to the Round of 16 with the win and will play Tauro FC of Panama. Because of COVID they'll be travelling direct to Panama and staying there until the match before returning to Hamilton.

Forge have now defeated teams from Guatemala and El Salvador in continental play since their inception. If they manage to get by Tauro they'll be in good position to qualify for next year's CONCACAF Champions League as one of the top six teams in this year's CONCACAF League.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by JHikka

https://northerntribune.ca/concacaf-...-limeno-match/

Forge defeated El Salvadorian side Municipal Limeno last night in the first round of the CONCACAF League. They advance to the Round of 16 with the win and will play Tauro FC of Panama. Because of COVID they'll be travelling direct to Panama and staying there until the match before returning to Hamilton.

Forge have now defeated teams from Guatemala and El Salvador in continental play since their inception. If they manage to get by Tauro they'll be in good position to qualify for next year's CONCACAF Champions League as one of the top six teams in this year's CONCACAF League.

Good to hear!

[JHikka]

It's been rumoured for a while but it's sounding like BC will be getting a semi-pro league in 2021. League 1 BC will be at the same level as League 1 Ontario and PLSQ. Looking at 6 teams.

North Vancouver council will be hearing/has heard a request for a team to operate in that area, and it's presumed Highlanders and TSS will join as well as an indeterminate number of teams from the valley.

---

CPL is looking at a Victoria Day (May 22nd) start for its third season in 2021 pending COVID. The 2021 USports Draft is currently happening.

[JHikka]

https://canpl.ca/article/canadian-pr...n-saskatchewan

Canadian Premier League Announces Expansion in Saskatchewan

Toronto, ON / Saskatoon, SK (March 12, 2021) – The Canadian Premier League (CPL) is pleased to announce they have awarded the exclusive rights to a CPL expansion club to Living Sky Sports and Entertainment Inc. (LSSE), a Saskatchewan based company. The launch of an expansion club is contingent upon LSSE delivering a soccer-specific stadium to League standards, and to that end, LSSE has identified Prairieland Park in Saskatoon as a preferred site for a stadium.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by JHikka

https://canpl.ca/article/canadian-pr...n-saskatchewan

Canadian Premier League Announces Expansion in Saskatchewan

Toronto, ON / Saskatoon, SK (March 12, 2021) – The Canadian Premier League (CPL) is pleased to announce they have awarded the exclusive rights to a CPL expansion club to Living Sky Sports and Entertainment Inc. (LSSE), a Saskatchewan based company. The launch of an expansion club is contingent upon LSSE delivering a soccer-specific stadium to League standards, and to that end, LSSE has identified Prairieland Park in Saskatoon as a preferred site for a stadium.

Interesting. I would have expected Saskatchewan's first CPL team to go to Regina where there is already a venue ready to go. I wonder what this group is planning to build in Saskatoon?

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by esquire

Interesting. I would have expected Saskatchewan's first CPL team to go to Regina where there is already a venue ready to go.

For reasons outlined earlier in this thread, Mosaic isn't great for soccer. It's also not soccer-specific, and it's much too large.

Originally Posted by esquire

I wonder what this group is planning to build in Saskatoon?

Probably something modular like what is in Halifax. Prairieland has an unused grandstand:

[esquire]

Originally Posted by JHikka

For reasons outlined earlier in this thread, Mosaic isn't great for soccer. It's also not soccer-specific, and it's much too large.

Even if it isn't perfect for soccer Mosaic is still probably going to be a hell of a lot cheaper than building a new venue. And you have to wonder how much of a detriment Mosaic's size would be given that Valour plays in a roughly identical sized stadium and drew very good crowds in 2019.

That said, I suppose the biggest reason for picking Saskatoon is that they'd have the local market for summer sports more or less to themselves there.

[ZeDgE]

Originally Posted by JHikka

https://canpl.ca/article/canadian-pr...n-saskatchewan

Canadian Premier League Announces Expansion in Saskatchewan

Toronto, ON / Saskatoon, SK (March 12, 2021) – The Canadian Premier League (CPL) is pleased to announce they have awarded the exclusive rights to a CPL expansion club to Living Sky Sports and Entertainment Inc. (LSSE), a Saskatchewan based company. The launch of an expansion club is contingent upon LSSE delivering a soccer-specific stadium to League standards, and to that end, LSSE has identified Prairieland Park in Saskatoon as a preferred site for a stadium.

This is awesome. My buddy is gonna be so happy. I took him to a Cavs game and he really enjoyed it. Hes a native Calgarian who lives in Saskatoon, hardcore Stamps fan lol. Lucky he has a thick skin and good sense of humor. His wife and family are all hardcore Riders fans. But he supports the local sports like the Rush etc. On the down side now half the fans at CAVS home games vs SAS will be SAS fans...

[Acajack]

Looks like they will be using the grandstand of a former horse racing track, and convert the track and infield into a soccer pitch.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by esquire

Even if it isn't perfect for soccer Mosaic is still probably going to be a hell of a lot cheaper than building a new venue. And you have to wonder how much of a detriment Mosaic's size would be given that Valour plays in a roughly identical sized stadium and finished second in league attendance in 2019.

Valour is owned by the Bombers so it's a bit of a different situation. If the Riders were involved with this then yeah, Mosaic would make sense. As it stands CPL teams can work with very modular, very bare-bones stadiums (Halifax), so propping one of those up is probably cheaper than paying rent at a CFL stadium. Putting up a couple of bleachers isn't that expensive, especially if you've already got a main grandstand waiting for you.

Originally Posted by esquire

That said, I suppose the biggest reason for picking Saskatoon is that they'd have the local market for summer sports more or less to themselves there.

That's probably part of it. The SK Summer Soccer Series also played its matches in Saskatoon, but that series was run by a different group that did not get this expansion bid the guy heading this proposal was a part of the SK SSS. Those games were based out of SMF Field.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Looks like they will be using the grandstand of a former horse racing track, and convert the track and infield into a soccer pitch.

There's quite a bit of local opposition to this move since it will kill horse racing in the city, but it's going to be interesting to see how they modify Marquis Downs. It's 100% tailored to horse racing and will require some renos to the seats to bring them closer to the field.

There's a few positives here, though. There's plenty of space within the grandstand to add concessions and other fan amenities. It seats 3500, which is a great skeleton for a stadium that will reportedly seat 4000. It has a big parking lot (albeit with some accessibility issues). And most uniquely (to me), it has a massive indoor lounge/restaurant/viewing area that takes up half the grandstand. I'm excited to see what they do with that; hopefully they keep it because it will be something unique to Saskatoon.

The biggest negative is that the grandstand is a bit of a dump. It's been neglected for quite a few years, so while the skeleton is there, it's going to need quite a bit of renovation. I'm pretty sure one of the bathrooms has had plywood floor covering a spot for twenty years. The size of the grandstand also makes it kind of hard to picture what the rest of the stadium is going to look like. But hopefully they can come up with something that is conducive to a good atmosphere.

Anyway, here's hoping they brand the team after Saskatoon. I'm sick of "Saskatchewan" teams. They'd be named something dumb like Prairie FC. And make the colours green and yellow, not green and white!

(I hope their nickname becomes the Stubble Jumpers, though)

[phone]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

Anyway, here's hoping they brand the team after Saskatoon. I'm sick of "Saskatchewan" teams. They'd be named something dumb like Prairie FC. And make the colours green and yellow, not green and white!

(I hope their nickname becomes the Stubble Jumpers, though)

"Living Skies FC" (yuck)
"Bridge City FC" (bo-ring)

I'd be happy to see something with pelicans integrated into the imagery, as they're a bit of a low key local icon.

And yeah, please please be a Saskatoon branded team whatever it ends up being, as opposed to Saskatchewan. I would love Regina to get its own team -- having a provincial soccer rivalry would probably help ensure the sustainability of both teams.

Something simple like Saskatoon FC would be fine. I also understand that the "Selects" may be a contender.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by phone

Something simple like Saskatoon FC would be fine. I also understand that the "Selects" may be a contender.

I get why they'd want to do that, but Selects would be a terrible name with the bare minimum of relevance to the city. It'd also be a lie, since it's not like the team will be a selection of Saskatoon's best players.

I'd like to see something tied into the city's science background. We are a uranium capital and we have the Synchrotron, so why not something that ties into that? What I'm really getting at here is that they should name the team the Saskatoon Accelerators SC.

Also, personal preference, but I hope they go with SC over FC. SC gels better with Saskatoon. Also it's the correct name of the sport.

[Dalreg]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

There's quite a bit of local opposition to this move since it will kill horse racing in the city, but it's going to be interesting to see how they modify Marquis Downs. It's 100% tailored to horse racing and will require some renos to the seats to bring them closer to the field.

There's a few positives here, though. There's plenty of space within the grandstand to add concessions and other fan amenities. It seats 3500, which is a great skeleton for a stadium that will reportedly seat 4000. It has a big parking lot (albeit with some accessibility issues). And most uniquely (to me), it has a massive indoor lounge/restaurant/viewing area that takes up half the grandstand. I'm excited to see what they do with that; hopefully they keep it because it will be something unique to Saskatoon.

The biggest negative is that the grandstand is a bit of a dump. It's been neglected for quite a few years, so while the skeleton is there, it's going to need quite a bit of renovation. I'm pretty sure one of the bathrooms has had plywood floor covering a spot for twenty years. The size of the grandstand also makes it kind of hard to picture what the rest of the stadium is going to look like. But hopefully they can come up with something that is conducive to a good atmosphere.

Anyway, here's hoping they brand the team after Saskatoon. I'm sick of "Saskatchewan" teams. They'd be named something dumb like Prairie FC. And make the colours green and yellow, not green and white!

(I hope their nickname becomes the Stubble Jumpers, though)

This is not the horse track currently in operation. This is the old grandstand from the rodeo grounds from years ago. Even back in the 80's and 90's this was only used for monster trucks, rodeos, and the occasional concert. The Marquis Downs horse track is a modern track which the soccer club would kill to use.