CMISL Attendance

[jwalters]

Looks like the showcase season has gone fairly well for the CMISL. Attendance has been very good when you consider that these teams only had a month or so to prepare before the showcase kicked off. Here is the attendance for the showcase matches:

Winnipeg Alliance FC 7,727
Edmonton Drillers 3,730
Saskatoon Accelerators 2,102
Calgary United FC 1,850

Remember these teams are made up of local amateur club and college players. The league owner stated that budgets are almost nothing and they still get a turnout like this. Add to the fact that the average ticket price is $15 and these teams look like they will be fine. I wish we had a minor league like this in the U.S.. Hey Shootmaster did you go to the game in Saskatoon?

[Shootmaster_44]

Yeah I did. It wasn't a bad product, but it needed a few tweaks. For starters a primer on the rules would've been nice, since I had never watched an indoor soccer game. Plus I think the CMISL is unique in that certain fouls get a 2 minute penalty, like in hockey. The announcer never said what the penalties were for and it left my dad and I confused about what happened. I also don't think you'd want a minor league like that in the US. Most of the players from what I understand were paid something, moreso for the "pro" Edmonton Drillers players than the local kids but they still received something for their troubles. The owner claimed he lost a small bundle of money on the Saskatoon game.

As well, they need a better plan for getting the ball back in play when it goes into the stands. So much time was killed with them trying to get the ball from the little kids trying to throw it over the glass.

The Winnipeg Alliance looked very professional. They had nice uniforms, appeared to have a coach that was interested and were clearly the better team (even though they lost) and wives and/or girlfriends seemed to have t-shirts and windbreakers with the team logo on it.

On the other hand, you could tell Saskatoon has no dedicated owner. The jerseys were ugly and looked as if someone ran to a sporting goods store and bought the first set on the clearance rack. The team was very clearly one that had never played together before as they didn't know each other's tendencies. The only reason Saskatoon won is Edmonton loaned them one of their stars and he scored something like 4 goals and had 3 assists in the 2 games. Even Saskatoon's coach seemed like he didn't know what he was doing. Before the game Winnipeg was huddled around their bench and the coaches seemed to be discussing strategy. Look over at Saskatoon and the players are milling around and the coach seemed to be just joking around with one of them. No real pre-game pep talk, he looked like a youth league coach just having fun. I'm not even sold on the name Accelerators, I think something shorter that would lend itself to a cool logo would be better.

The other little odd thing I noticed about the game, was they had shortened the hockey rink by about 5 feet, which meant centre "field" was not actually under the scoreboard it was about the blue line for hockey. It also meant some of the ads on the boards from the Blades' sponsors were missing pieces. Also, the nets weren't the same size as a section of boards. So to cover the gap, they had a giant piece of white plywood next to each goal. As well the carpet was lumpy and a few players tripped on the lumps and fell. As well, the carpet looked like it was pieces of several different rugs as they were all different colours.

That said I enjoyed it. If/when the Accelerators play next (which apparently is November, if the President lives to his word that was in the paper a few days back) I would go back. I'm guessing that since they will play during hockey season, the Accelerators will need a bigger carpet as I can't see the Credit Union Centre dismantling and reconstructing the boards before and after each game. I also think that since this showcase game probably didn't make the Accelerators name stick in people's minds that a name change wouldn't cause a big uproar or loss of fans. So I think they should do that too. But all in all I would go back, unless they jack the ticket prices up too much. $18 is alright to pay for that product, but $33 like they were charging in Edmonton is ridiculous.

I've wondered something sort of on topic sort of off-topic, why is Saskatoon suddenly the pro sports hotbed. The CMISL, IBL, Northern League all want/have teams here. I've heard an arena league may be popping up in Canada, with Saskatoon as one of the teams and there's the persistant rumor that the Edmonton Roadrunners of the AHL may be moving here. So what has changed to make all these people think that the carcasses of pro sports teams past will be forgotten?

I mean since 1990, Saskatoon has had 3 basketball teams (Storm, Slam and Hawks) in 4 leagues (WBL, NBL, IBA and CBA) and 2 baseball teams under 4 names (Riot/Smokin' Guns/Stallions and Legends) in 3 leagues (NCL, Prairie League and CBL) go under. Add into that the various pro hockey (GHL, CHA, MLH, CPHL and FHL), baseball (Can-Am) and indoor football (CIFL and NAIFL) leagues that failed to get off that included Saskatoon. As well as the rumors of pro leagues moving teams here (IHL, Northern League, Pioneer League and AHL) and you have a precarious market to try and promote pro sports. We have a great arena in Saskatoon and a lot of burnt business people and fans. I certainly hope one of these teams takes off because if it doesn't I think Saskatoon can kiss pro sports good bye.

[Shootmaster_44]

Here's an article about the league that was in the paper a few days ago

Soccer league wants to run full schedule soon
Kevin Mitchell, The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, April 05, 2007

The Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League can't count its success in dollar-signs -- the Saskatoon Accelerators lost a small bundle a few weeks ago -- but the loop wants to kick its game up several notches in November.

The fledgling league, which recently completed a so-called showcase schedule that featured one doubleheader in each of its four cities, is talking about running a full schedule several months down the road.

"It's our intent to go ahead," says league president Mel Kowalchuk, who also owns the Saskatoon franchise.

"I wouldn't say it's 100 per cent, but I'm confident it's going to happen."

Saskatoon's heard that from all kinds of pro leagues in the past, only to have things go horribly wrong.

But Kowalchuk insists he's different He says the brief showcases allowed his league to flash its wares to fans, sponsors and media while helping team owners figure out what works and what doesn't.

The league, which also includes teams in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary, had originally planned to run another showcase series early next year before launching a full schedule in 2008-09.

But the league's other owners pushed for a quicker start-date, and the 7,727 fans who witnessed last weekend's doubleheader in Winnipeg fueled their determination.

Saskatoon drew an announced crowd of 2,102 -- approximately 1,500 actually paid -- for a March 23 sweep of Winnipeg. Those games were poorly marketed and relied on a large walk-up -- mistakes Kowalchuk says won't happen again.

"We all learned something (from the showcase experience)," said Kowalchuk, who blames his absentee-owner status -- he lives in Edmonton -- for the promotional shortfall.

Kowalchuk continues to look for Saskatoon-based franchise partners.

The commissioner sees teams playing 12 doubleheaders apiece next season, with six at home and six on the road.

"Each one of us owners has different things we want to see or do," said Kowalchuk, who hopes to have the league's plans spelled out after an April 21 meeting in Calgary. "We all agreed we have to get down to details before we're 100 per cent certain we're going to go this route. Right now, we are certain, but there's some roadblocks to clear."

Those roadblocks, he says, include what kind of lease deals the teams can negotiate with their respective arenas. He also says they'll have to decide whether expanding by a couple of teams is a good or bad idea heading into a first full season.

Asked if Saskatoon will field a team whether he finds a partner or not, Kowalchuk responds "in all probability, yes."

He said he also plans to sit down with Regina-based coach Kevin Holness and talk about bringing him back for next season. Holness coached the Accelerators to 5-2 and 3-2 wins over Winnipeg.

kmitchell@sp.canwest.com


© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/sports/story.html?id=dde76d64-4414-4566-a97c-f23d80d1b026

I posted it in its entirety as its subscriber only content and I figured I'd share this with everyone. If this is wrong Paul, please delete this post.

[jwalters]

It is interesting that you mention the nets. When the MISL first started in the 1970's they used 12' wide nets because that was the width of exactly three hockey dasher boards. To this day that is the standard length of the end boards in hockey (4ft.). The 14' wide nets used in the MISL today require the team to slice up some standard boards and shorten them to a length of three feet. I have always wondered how much it cost to do that. It must be fairly expensive if they didn't do it. It would seem like they could have saved quite a bit of money on the league if they chose to play futsal instead. Each city has a smaller basketball gym that is perfect for the sport and the basketball venues would get fans closer to the action. I know the semi-pro CSL in the east plays a futsal tournament at a church gym in Toronto and averages over 1,000 in attendance with no marketing. Do you think anyone would go to futsal style games out west Shoot?

[jwalters]

You know Saskatoon seems like it should be a very good sports market. I didn't know the IBL was expanding into Canada. Instead of spending the money and playing at the Credit Union Centre why don't they play at the PAC at USASK it seats 2400 and I think it would be a great venue for minor league basketball.

[Shootmaster_44]

It is interesting that you mention the nets. When the MISL first started in the 1970's they used 12' wide nets because that was the width of exactly three hockey dasher boards. To this day that is the standard length of the end boards in hockey (4ft.). The 14' wide nets used in the MISL today require the team to slice up some standard boards and shorten them to a length of three feet. I have always wondered how much it cost to do that. It must be fairly expensive if they didn't do it. It would seem like they could have saved quite a bit of money on the league if they chose to play futsal instead. Each city has a smaller basketball gym that is perfect for the sport and the basketball venues would get fans closer to the action. I know the semi-pro CSL in the east plays a futsal tournament at a church gym in Toronto and averages over 1,000 in attendance with no marketing. Do you think anyone would go to futsal style games out west Shoot?

I'm not sure. I doubt it since there is a smaller immigrant population from soccer mad countries. I know I wouldn't go to a futsal game as I'm not a huge outdoor soccer fan. I like the fact you can use the boards and there's more open range for a player to move in the indoor game. However, you can sell anything given the right marketing, the game itself wouldn't draw people in, but if you promote it people may come.

[Shootmaster_44]

You know Saskatoon seems like it should be a very good sports market. I didn't know the IBL was expanding into Canada. Instead of spending the money and playing at the Credit Union Centre why don't they play at the PAC at USASK it seats 2400 and I think it would be a great venue for minor league basketball.

Oh I think it would be a good venue. Except there's a strange stigma attached to the U of S. Non-University people seem incredibly scared of campus. Since there's a lack of parking actually on campus, it forces people to park off campus and then walk around on campus, it makes people think they'll get lost. Huskies basketball is lucky to draw 500 people to a game and that's including the students who get in for free. I'll admit because of the awkward parking situation, as a student I didn't attend any basketball games. If Troy Burns, owner of the IBL franchise, could convince the University to make the lot in front of the PAC free on game nights, it could work.

The other problem with playing at the PAC is that people would find it bush league. I know it shouldn't matter, but Saskatoon has this weird idea about any pro team that is in Saskatoon. We think of it as a major league team and should play in a major league facility. I remember when the old CBA Saskatchewan Hawks played a couple games at a local high school. After that people turned on them. No longer were they a major deal for the newspaper and local TV news, they became about the same level as Midget AAA hockey. They weren't the pros any longer they were just a good amateur team. As a result their support and coverage was done as such. There might be scores given, but no longer was there interviews and highlights on the news.

Plus, if you go over to the IBL section on here, I posted an article from the local paper, where the owner is aiming for 3-4,000 per game, so the PAC would be too small for the league. But you're right the PAC is a good facility and if the U of S would step out of the Ivory Tower and promote itself to the general public instead of dwelling in academia, it could work as a viable facility. The only U of S facility that draws well is Griffths Stadium, where the football team plays. That's because it is across the street from campus and it abuts a residential area that's free to park in on weekends.

[jwalters]

From the pictures I've seen Griffiths is a beautiful setting for football. I can see why they draw well.

[Shootmaster_44]

From the pictures I've seen Griffiths is a beautiful setting for football. I can see why they draw well.

It's better since they did the renos for Vanier Cup. For football the Huskies tend to draw 3-4,000 per game with this year's Vanier Cup drawing 13,000. Pretty amazing that 13,000 showed up when it was -30 Celsius with the windchill.