Canadian Premier League seeks single-site solution

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This article was published 19/05/2020 (2131 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sports-starved fans were finally able to sink their teeth into something this past weekend with Germany’s Bundesliga returning to the pitch to play in empty stadiums.

The Canadian Premier League (CPL) was taking notes as their eight teams, including Winnipeg’s Valour FC, may find themselves playing in a similar setup later this summer.

In a video chat with Atlético Ottawa supporters on Saturday, CPL commissioner David Clanachan said league officials are looking into a single-site solution that would allow teams to play matches during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While that might be music to the ears of soccer supporters across the country, Valour FC head coach and general manager Rob Gale isn’t in favour.

“I think it sucks. I’m not going to lie,” said Gale.

“I think it would suck for everybody. In particular as a dad, if you told me I have to be held up in Victoria or Hamilton for two months to get a season in, it’s a massive sacrifice. I’m not the only one with kids. There are players in the league who have kids. I just don’t think a single venue is a good idea.”

Even if that venue ended up being in Winnipeg, Gale still wouldn’t be fond of the idea. Duane Rollins, co-owner of the Sports Podcasting Network and co-host of SoccerToday, reported last week that Winnipeg, as well as Victoria and Moncton, is on the league’s shortlist as potential options.

The Free Press reached out to the CPL for comment but didn’t hear anything by press deadline.

“I don’t think it’s an advantage for the team that (hosts) it either. If you’re at home in your hometown, there are other distractions. It might be your girlfriend, it might be your wife, it might be your family. If it was somewhere else, it’d be a slight advantage as you’d be away in a bubble,” said Gale.

But it remains to be seen how the CPL could afford to go this route. The league’s broadcasting rights are owned by Mediapro Canada, which airs the matches on its online streaming service OneSoccer. It’s hard to imagine the money from Mediapro would be enough to keep the lights on when there’s no ticket revenue coming in.

Even with ticket sales, teams weren’t rolling in the dough after the CPL’s inaugural season in 2019. Valour is owned by the Winnipeg Football Club, meaning their finances were revealed alongside the Blue Bombers in the organization’s annual report that was released last week. The books show that Valour lost more than $200,000 in Year 1.

The CPL asked the federal government for $15 million in financial assistance during the global pandemic. If that cheque doesn’t come through, it’s likely the plans for this season will be thrown out the window.

Gale shares the same concerns when it comes to the business side of making this work.

“Economically, I don’t see how it makes sense,” said Gale.

“There’s no revenue coming in. To put that many people into hotels, per diems, food, everything else, financially, I don’t think it makes sense. Individual sacrifice, I don’t think it makes sense. Ultimately, I’m not going to be the one who makes the decision as that’s above my paygrade, but I’m not a fan.”

Clanachan didn’t provide many details on their single-site solution, but sounded optimistic about being able to make something work.

“We at the league office are very interested in this idea of playing an event where we bring all the teams together and how that would work,” Clanachan said on Saturday.

“We think that would be very entertaining for our fans from across the country. We’ll see how it works, and it will take a lot of work to get it done. Things are starting to move along now and we’re excited.”

Gale said the coaches haven’t been involved in any discussions with the league on possible ways to get Year 2 off the ground, but he does have an idea of his own that he’d pitch if given the chance.

“If it was my choice, I’d go with two sides, an East and a West, and do a shortened, tournament-style season. I could see it where you’re in a hotel for three weeks, play a game every three days. Four teams in the East and four teams in the West, you play each other twice, six games in total and you’re there for 18 to 20 days,” Gale explained.

“I think that’s manageable, then the winners go to a playoff. It keeps the excitement, it gives some form of season and I think we all want to build on the successes of Year 1. It’s not an unrealistic time away from family and home and the cost and the burden would be more manageable.”

Players have already felt the impact of the delay, as they’ve had 25 per cent of their contracts deferred and coaches, technical staff, and club and league employees have also been hit with unspecified pay reductions as a way to keep people around the CPL employed. Valour midfielder and Winnipeg native Dylan Carreiro said players have been out of the loop when it comes to the league’s discussions, but they’ve heard rumblings of a targeted start date in July. Carreiro has been talking to players around the league and they’re open to anything at this point, but like everyone else, they have more questions than answers.

“We have lots of questions. We would obviously like to know more information in terms of everything,” Carreiro said.

“It’s not our job to think about generating revenue, it’s obviously the owners and the league’s job to think about that. But we’re thinking about how many games are we going to play? If it’s safe to play, are we going to get tested for the virus on a weekly basis? I think those are the questions players are wondering and waiting to hear answers for.”

 

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31