

Posted by

Ryan Stead ,

December 8, 2013 Email

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Is the timing right for professional soccer in Ottawa? The Ottawa Fury F.C. will begin play in the 2014 NASL Spring Season, but there are many unanswered questions. Ottawa soccer fans can thank the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) and more specifically, John Pugh for bringing professional soccer to Ottawa. The OSEG is behind the re-development of Lansdowne Park, the iconic home of the former CFL franchise Ottawa Rough Riders, and are building up not only the stadium but the surrounding area to make it the newest attraction in the nation's capital. Mr. Pugh had the goal of turning the PDL's Ottawa Fury into a legitimate professional team. Now the Fury are set to begin training camp in a couple of months. What is in store for professional soccer in Ottawa? The new Lansdowne Park seems to be progressing nicely after a rocky start. It will host CFL games, NASL games, and be an entertainment and commercial centre. It all sounds good but is this truly the right facility for the new NASL expansion franchise. NASL draws an average of about 3000-5000 fans, with some teams being lower than that and some higher. If, and it's a big "if", the Ottawa Fury can draw 3000-5000 fans to a game on average, that will make for a very empty looking stadium. Not the kind of thing that will be attractive to the casual fan. Do the Ottawa Fury think they will draw upwards of 10,000 to a game? That would be very optimistic, and what if they only draw 1500 to a game? Is the OSEG prepared to take the long road to growing a fan base or are they gambling that the time and climate are right for this next step. The spring season will be played at the close fit surroundings of Keith Harris stadium, a 5,000 seat complex at Carleton University. It seems to me like 3000-5000 fans would look much better in that type of venue. There is however an excitement about the stadium, and the new shops, restaurants and stores should help with the walk-in crowd. An affordable ticket price is always attractive, but most importantly, the NASL has to appear to the city as a top or near-top level league. The Ottawa Lynx AAA baseball team had great crowds to start with but eventually died. Could this be the fate of the Ottawa Fury? The NASL is a legitimate professional league in Canada, second only to MLS and should attract the hardcore soccer fan, but what will it take to draw the casual fan? What about the team? Well, there’s not much to look at right now considering they only have 3 players under contract at the moment, but speaking to Head Coach Marc Dos Santos, he seems very committed to the youth approach. He doesn’t expect to have a player over 30, and if the first few signings are any indication, he’s not looking to sign players with big names, but going the development route instead. This could be a fatal mistake. Not long ago, there was a semi-professional team named Capital City F.C. that entered the Canadian Soccer League, and made it to the finals in their inaugural season. They often drew over 1000 people to their home games at Terry Fox Stadium, which was very impressive, especially for the CSL. The fans were treated to a little-known skilled forward named Sullivan Silva. He finished the season sixth in league scoring and regularly dazzled the crowds with his dribbling ability. That being said, he didn’t sell any more tickets for Capital City F.C. He didn’t have the big name. Look at what David Beckham did for ticket sales for the Impact. They had to move a game to “The Big O”, filling it with over 60,000 fans. He had the big name. Now Ottawa isn’t going to sign a huge name player that is recognizable to casual soccer fans. My point is, with no one really knowing how many people will come to Fury games, and as they try to attract new fans, will a team of little to unknown players attract non-hardcore fans to buy a ticket? I can think of two ways new fans will show up in large numbers. One way could be by spending money and signing players with names like Dunfield and De Rosario, who are known to the Canadian soccer fan, and will entice them to come see a few games. The other way is by having a winning team of young unknown players. That’s not only hard to do but very risky. Even if the Fury have a winning record, there is still no guarantee the fans will come out. Is OSEG prepared for 2-3 years of youth building with an average attendance of 1500? The San Antonio Scorpions entered the 2012 NASL season by signing solid veteran players and had a league leading average attendance of almost 10,000 per game. Though they spent a lot of money and had a very good team, they have seen their attendance drop since. Maybe Marc Dos Santos is taking the right approach by signing hungry, young players that have affordable contracts. Only time will tell. The biggest question is the toughest. How many people will be there? There are positives that have already come from Ottawa’s experience in the higher levels of domestic soccer. The Ottawa Intrepid that played (1987-89) in the old Canadian Soccer League at least proved that you could draw 1500 people to a game in Ottawa, playing in a much less favorable climate then today. Ottawa is not immune to the growing interest in soccer in North America, so the timing might be right for a fully professional soccer team to survive. Many of the questions will be answered soon, and when they are they will quickly shape the identity of the team, not only for the coming season, but for the future of soccer in Ottawa.