Another professional sports league appears poised to place a franchise in Saskatoon.
Following the success achieved by the National Lacrosse League’s Saskatchewan Rush after arriving in 2016, and the birth of the Saskatchewan Rattlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League in 2018, the city has proven there is an appetite for sports entertainment.
And, following the pattern of the Saskatchewan Roughriders the province has jumped on-side too.
So it’s really not a great surprise the Canadian Premier League, the top domestic league for soccer in this country announced March 12, it was announced the league 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, expected to begin play in 2023, 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.
“On behalf of the Board of Governors, we are pleased to make this announcement today as we know we have a very supportive and engaged community of soccer fans in Saskatchewan and have since we launched the League,” said David Clanachan, Commissioner, Canadian Premier League in a release at canpl.ca. “We are extremely hopeful that LSSE will be able to meet the League soccer-specific stadium requirements so that we can begin celebrating Canadian soccer in Saskatoon.”
Clanachan told this reporter in a recent telephone interview that there is a demand for a CPL team in the province.
After announcing the initial seven teams “a lot of people in Saskatchewan weren’t happy with me and were asking ‘when do we get a team’,” he said.
The team added its eighth franchise in Ottawa that started play in the league’s ‘bubble’ tournament in 2020, and now it appears Saskatchewan will be the ninth team.
Clanachan said the market has been ready for the team.
“We know what CFL football has done (in Saskatchewan) ... We think we can do very, very well,” he said.
But it was about finding the right ownership to make it a reality, and they feel they have that now.
Of course a stadium is needed, and while a spot has been picked, it comes at a cost to another sport – one with a decades-long tradition in Saskatoon. The stadium is slated to go where the current thoroughbred race track is, effectively ending pari-mutuel horse racing in the province. A cut in funding by the current provincial government had killed standardbred racing – based in Yorkton – several years ago.
It now remains to be seen if pro soccer can rise from the ashes of the thoroughbred industry in the province and have anywhere near the proud history of horse racing.
So what would a new soccer stadium look like to fit the needs of a CPL franchise?
To begin, Clanachan said it needs to offer 5,000 seats, and the related amenities.
And “it needs to be able to grow,” he added, suggesting a modular design affording the ability to become a 10-12,000 seat, which he suggested “is the right size for a CPL team.” He noted the league is currently averaging about 5,000 and is still in its infancy, so fan growth is expected.
The facility is also likely to be multi-purpose, said Clanachan, adding that is only logical as it expands the number of events it could host.
The Saskatchewan franchise may be the next add to the CPL, but it won’t be the last.
“We’re working on a number of different ones (perspective cities),” said Clanachan, adding ultimately the CPL could have near double the teams it has now. “ . . . Fourteen-to-16 (teams) is about the right level for a premier league” when looking at European leagues in countries with a similar population to Canada. He added they look to markets with 400-500,000 population to draw on.
So what will soccer fans see exactly with a CPL franchise?
Teams have a roster of 23 players, 16 of which must be Canadian, explained Clanachan, adding much like the Canadian Football League there are numbers for domestic players on-field too. “Six of the 11 at the start of the game must be Canadian.”
In addition, to ensure player development 1500-minutes a year must be played by player’s under-21.
So is there enough Canadian talent to feed a significant expansion moving forward?
“One hundred per cent; there is a ton of Canadian talent,” offered Clanachan, adding those who follow the sport internationally “have been pleasantly surprised how well the league has done in its infancy,” in large part because of the showing on domestic talent.
