GhostRider
Member
Memberships I would think should be explored here though with the way our population is laid out, teams based along ethnic lines would tend to get the most.
That being all said, how many teams realistically could survive and be supported here in BC? I tend to think that even 8 would be a stretch, no?
Immigrant-wise Australia is very similar to Canada. If you look at the teams listed in one of their tier 2 leagues (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Premier_Leagues_Victoria) none of them have 'ethnic' names. However, if you dig deeper into their Wiki pages you find most of them are backed by an ethnic community. (e.g. Melbourne Knights represents the Croat community. Average attendance 4-5,000 per game.) It's not clear to me if the league has a rule about 'no ethnic names' for the teams - but their logos definitely have ethnic motifs.
If we use Melbourne or Sydney as like-comparisons to Vancouver then the answer is yes we do have the population to support a semi-pro league. The bigger mystery is where is the leadership going to come from to make it happen? Grass roots clubs (youth and adult) have close ties to the community and access to people-power. Associations (ie. BCSA) have access to resources and civil/govt influence. Outsiders like the Vancouver Giants (as an example) have systems and know-how. It will probably take a combination of these three forces to come together in some way to come up with something sustainable.