Is Victoria A Viable Sports Market?

    With the Victoria Highlanders recently ceasing operations, and a string of financial meltdowns over the years in local sports franchises, is Victoria a viable sports market? In some cases, teams have had plenty of fan and community support, but still failed to make ends meet in the office. With only a handful of sports teams being able to sustain a profitable business over the long haul, the Victoria sports community is beginning to become skeptical on the durability of sports teams on the island, leaving sports fanatics wondering just what does it take to keep a franchise above ground.

     The Victoria Highlanders news came out of right field (or maybe mid-field? Terrible pun attempt)

and shocked the soccer community, as pro-level soccer has left the Capital City, at least for the time being. Owner Alex Campbell Jr. decided to pull the plug on the operation after 7 seasons with zero profit in each campaign. This comes at a bitter time, as the team itself was on the rise, coming off back-to-back playoff appearances and a friendly against the Glasgow Rangers that drew in nearly 6,000 spectators to the event. The fans were behind them, the team was winning, and yet the team still couldn't add up the numbers. Turns out, the business structure was the eventual downfall of the team. It's pretty simple: too many expenses, too little profits. With no support for upcoming youth and high school soccer players to associate with, it leaves a massive gap to fill on the island in terms of the expansion and development of the sport. While the Highlanders have no hope of being revived, former GM Alex DeFrias hinted that a new team could be in the making to return to the USLPDL for 2016, so there may still be hope for the soccer faithful in YYJ. 

     Another team that has recently been in financial hot water despite a growing fanbase: the Victoria Harbourcats. As a baseball lover, my heart was in my throat when I first received news that the team

had been sold to an off-island company and the team's future was entirely up in the air. Luckily, the new ownership group plans to keep the team in Victoria and run it for the time being while they look for a suitable group to sell the team to. But still, the fact that the team nearly folded due to financial issues just a handful of years after we've seen two baseball organizations come and go was a little eye-opening. Many coaches and staff went weeks throughout the season without pay, and the team was scavenging for profits despite looking like a well-oiled machine on the outside. Here in Victoria, we've had a handful of baseball franchises fold due to financial issues, and this winter we nearly saw another team bite the dust.

     Hockey isn't safe either. While some of the smaller markets on the northern island seem to be having the majority of success, lower island teams struggle to make ends meet on a regular basis.

Each team has their own causes, but a mutual factor is the number of teams on the South Island, each within short drives between them. With the exception to the Victoria Cougars program and a couple others, local junior hockey teams in the southern part of the island dig deep to keep the wheel spinning each season. It seems like the further north you go, the more success there is. Take the Campbell River Storm for example: a VIJHL club based in a very small town, but with the right people and the right mindset, the team packs it's arena every home game and has the entire town behind it. The Victoria Grizzlies are the most noted hockey club on the island to be going through financial troubles, owing a large sum of money to numerous former employees. As a big Grizzlies fan in my youth, seeing the plummet of this franchise has been tough to watch, as a rink that was once filled with thousands now fighting to draw a decent crowd on a Saturday night. Time will tell if the Grizz can find their way back to the glory days.

     However, there is evidence that Victoria can be a viable sports market. Take the Victoria Shamrocks for example, they've been around for decades, built an extremely passionate fanbase, consistently succeeded on and off the floor and continue to be on the rise. Being an outsider for my

whole life, following the team as close as I did last season really showed me how much this community rallies around that franchise, and how rich and legendary that organization really is. The Victoria Royals are another solid organization that has thrived since arriving on the scene in 2011, and although they're not pulling in 7,000 fans to their regular season games anymore, they're still drawing 5,000 on a good night and with the team looking to improve on a solid playoff run last season, the Royals could send this city into a craze if they can assemble a dynasty like the Portland Winterhawks/Kelowna Rockets/Vancouver Giants have over the years.

As a local sports fan myself, I want nothing more than local teams to thrive. While I'm no financial wizard, it's not hard to see that Victoria can be a city where local sports can succeed and then some, it's just a matter of the right business structure to make the numbers add up. While we mourn the loss of the Highlanders, rest assured. This city can still support local sports franchises. The problem isn't in the stands, it's in the front offices.