FC Edmonton GM: The Eddies can’t be “second or third fiddle” at Clarke Field

FC Edmonton GM Jay Ball, left, with owner Tom Fath.

Jay Ball became FC Edmonton’s general manager a scant few weeks before the kickoff of the NASL spring season, so he’s playing catch-up. He hasn’t had the chance to put his stamp on the club.

FC Edmonton’s general manager does not have input into the on-field decisions, but his job is to help build the club’s fanbase — and to attract more sponsors.

But Ball is uniquely equipped to deal with difficult situations. In Edmonton’s he’s known as a long-time president of Junior Achievement Northern Alberta; and he’s also worked behind the scenes helping to market events such as last year’s Women’s World Cup matches and cycling’s Tour of Alberta. What many people don’t know about him — and he’s recently become comfortable with speaking about it publicly — is that he had a very troubled youth. He was homeless and got his life straightened out at Edmonton’s Youth Emergency Shelter. He was in foster homes and was supporting himself by the time he was 16. He recently spoke at Youth Empowerment and Support Services, event, sharing his success story.

The fall season begins in July (wow, does that sentence read strangely). And, Ball is currently in talks with three different potential suitors for a kit sponsorship. He’s not divulging any names, but for a team that hasn’t had a shirt sponsor since the deal with Sears Financial ended at the conclusion of the 2012 season, it’s a hopeful development.

And, slowly, the team is shifting its message. Ball said that, to increase attendance at FCE matches, the club must “sell the experience, not the game.” New ad materials focus on the fans in the stands, not the players on the field. It’s about giving the fans a great experience – not trying to educate them about the finer points of the NASL.

“We want to focus that people can do things at an FC Edmonton that they can’t do at Rexall Place (former home of the NHL Oilers) or Commonwealth (home of the CFL Eskimos),” says Ball. “We have to ask ourselves, ‘what do fans get out of the experience.’”

Clarke Field can hold more than 4,000 fans, but it’s a good day for the Eddies when the attendance moves north of the 3,000 mark. And, in a city dominated by hockey, where Connor McDavid’s name is on everyone’s lips, trying to compete for the sports fan by using the tired soccer vs. every other sport schtick isn’t going to work.

So, the Eddies will work a little harder to bring fans to games. A new matchday bus will pick up fans from the pub-filled Whyte Avenue area; and it won’t be affiliated with any single bar, so it can make multiple stops. A new sponsor will support team experiences for fans.

Ball says that the Eddies want to make some more changes, too. The Eddies will play all of their home games — except one — on Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. local. In 2017, the Eddies would like a lot of Saturday night home dates — but it’s not their call. Ball said that as tenants in a city-owned facility, the team doesn’t have control over dates it would like. The Eddies are tenants in a facility that hosts soccer, various levels of amateur football and other events.

“We would like more Saturday games to align better with the NASL schedule,” he said. “But the truth is we play second or third fiddle to so many other groups that use that stadium.”

He admitted that it’s frustrating that the Eddies have to pack up all of their equipment and clothing after games and training sessions; he said, that as a top tenant at Clarke, he’d like it if the club could at least have a clubhouse.

He noted that FCE pays the bill to have the football lines taken on and off the pitch, and that owners Tom and Dave Fath spent hundreds of thousands to put new stands in the venue.

“This city needs a soccer-specific stadium,” he said. “Fact is, soccer is the number one choice for parents in this city for their kids’ fitness and recreation. And that needs to be recognized.”

Ball said the team is focusing many of its promotions online, so it can better track those who engage with the club. He believes that it’s far more effective to use social media and web advertising to pump up the club than billboards — in the 21st century, it’s about engaging fans and potential fans.

Of course, the biggest frustration has been the weather. FCE’s crowds have been curtailed because of weather issues throughout the season.

“One thing that struck me is how many people in Edmonton are willing to write their tickets off,” he said. An example? A cold home opener, which had more than 3,000 tickets sold, but less than half of the holders actually come out to the game.

But, one thing that’s not going to work much longer: The status quo.

“Time is ticking,” he said. “The team won’t be here forever if we don’t put more people in the stands and attract sponsors.”

FC Edmonton and the City of Edmonton have discussed a plan to double the capacity of Clarke Field. Tom Fath has previously said that, to break even, the team would need to attract more than 8,000 fans a game. But, to get the stadium to the point where it could even hold 8,000 people, the City wants the Eddies to prove that they can attract 4,000 fans on a regular basis. And the Eddies aren’t meeting that target. So, the team needs the stadium to grow in order to be viable, but the stadium can’t grow unless the fans make that leap of faith.

That’s a lot of pressure for Ball. But, when you recognize that he’s been a fixture in Edmonton’s philanthropic and sporting scene, despite one time calling a park bench his home, maybe he’s just the right person to take on a seemingly impossible task.