What I'm watching for in Calgary Foothills PDL's first season

We are just days away from the first regular season Foothills PDL match in Calgary.   It has been over a decade since the A-League Calgary Mustangs rode off into the sunset, leaving a big hole in soccer landscape.  During that time, much has changed in Calgary and in the North American soccer scene.  Can Calgary join cities like Toronto, Indianapolis, Orlando, and Sacramento and have soccer success even after repeated failures in the past?  I think it’s possible.  Can Foothills FC be the club that does it?  We shall see. 

I have watched Foothills FC’s progress so far, and there are some promising signs without a doubt.  But I still have some questions about their plans.  I suspect we’ll know the answers by the end of this season.  Here’s what I’ll be watching for this year.

Will Foothills FC find a way to make non-Foothills members welcome?

Last year at their exhibition matches, the crowd in attendance was approximately 80-90% Foothills members.  It was easy to tell as most everyone was wearing their club gear.  I was one on the slim minority of non-Foothills members.  While I never felt uncomfortable or unwelcome, I definitely felt like an outsider.  I felt like I was at a party where everyone know everyone else, except I knew no one.  Actually, I did know a few supporters, but it was a handful of hard core guys that make up the Foot Soldiers. 

I think an even bigger challenge might be how to attract members of rival local clubs to PDL matches.  Will members of other clubs feel like they can support this team?  I am outside this club soccer world, but I do appreciate the fact that there are real rivalries between these local clubs.  I'll be watching for other local club gear in the stands each match.

I realize that Foothills is counting on their members to be their fan base. But if they want to receive the support of the city in general, they will have to come up with a way to make non-Foothills people feel like they belong.  I have no easy suggestions on this one, but if they want to grow into being the top soccer brand for Calgarians, they will need to find a way.  Perhaps the first thing they can do is look at my next point.

Will Foothills create a good game day experience?

We have been given a few hints about plans for game day.  A beer garden has been promised behind one of the goals.  There has been talk of cheerleaders.  Hopefully we will see the other elements that we expect for a professional sporting event.  We have heard that last year was a test run for this year and there would be improvements.  I hope that this is the case as last year there was no opportunity to buy club merchandise or to purchase food.  Toilet facilities at Hellard Field are not too far a walk, but it currently does require you to leave the fenced in area of the stadium.  Will closer port-a-potties be brought in?  Will we see game programs and lineups distributed?  I do not think the fans expect explosions and a slick Flames or Stampeders level show.  But hopefully the basics are in place and it is a comfortable experience for the fans in the stands

Will Foothills provide information about their players?

It is mere days before the opening match, and even the most hard core fans know do not know much about the players on the club.  There is no mention of player names on the club website.  Prior to Saturday’s intrasquad game, I asked the club via Twitter if they would post lineups for the game.  They did tweet out a list of last names and positions with no other information and that tweet was promptly deleted after the match.  As far as post-match reports, if we are lucky we might get the goal scorer’s last names via Twitter.   Foothills needs to do much better with this.  How can they expect the fans to get engaged with the club if they do not know the identities and backgrounds of any of the players?  This is information that can easily be distributed via the club website and social media.  I am curious to see if lineups are available to the fans at the first match.  I would consider it a major fail for the club if the fans have no idea who is lining up on the pitch. 

 How competitive will Foothills be on the pitch?

This is really a mystery at this point.  We don’t know anything about the competition, and we don’t know much more about the Foothills players either.  Can Foothills compete in the PDL?  I hope so.  I don’t think supporters will expect a division title the first season, but seeing quality matches and some wins will keep the fan base interested.  I know the primary goal is player development, and I understand that. But if they lose most games, it will be difficult to convince fans to stick with the club.  I remember the first season of the Calgary Storm in 2001 when they played in the PDL.  That club was dominant, and even though it was their first year and they had no established fan base, they were able to draw 2000 fans a match.  When the club moved up to the A-League and were not competitive, attendance quickly started to fall.  That first A-League season we were treated to watching a very young Nik Ledgerwood start and had Lars Hirschfeld in goal.  Ryan Gyaki was considered a future star and left for Europe during the season.  Another three players were in the Canada U20 pool.  But they lost almost every game, and it’s hard to convince people to watch a team with little chance to win, even if there are some future stars in their lineup.  I hope Foothills keeps this in mind.  And if it becomes evident they aren’t good enough, will they bring in new recruits? 

Can the Foothills model be viable and possibly be copied by other clubs?

Tommy Wheeldon and the executive at Foothills have created a bold and ambitious plan, unlike most other attempts at high level soccer in Canada.   Will it work off the field?  There are some really encouraging signs.  Apparently the team budget this year is $200,000 and this includes the $50,000 expansion fee.  The club has reported they've received $100,000 in corporate sponsorship.  That covers half the budget.  Can they make up the other half with ticket sales, merchandise, food, and other revenues?  Rumours are the season ticket total is very low, maybe no more than 100 or so.  Wheeldon has stated the goal is to get 1000 fans per game.  If you do the math and say $15 for a single game adult ticket x 1000 fans/game x 6 home games this year, that equals $90,000.  This would pretty much cover the other half of the budget.   And what is the financial goal of this club?  Are they happy if they break even or are the expecting to profit from this project?  Would they be okay with small losses as long as they are building their brand and development pyramid?

I'm fascinated by the off the field financials.  I think I'll save a more detailed analysis of it for a future post.  Suffice it to say that Foothills seems to have a pretty interesting and seemingly realistic business plan in place.  I'll be watching to see if it works, and if it seems translatable to other clubs in other locations.

These are some of the notable points that I’ll be watching this year.  Despite some criticisms in this piece, I really do wish this club success both on and off the pitch.   Once the season is over, I’ll revisit this post and provide my observations on how things went.