By: Brad Fougere
There are no concerns for Algonquin’s athletic director that the college’s soccer facility will remain well used despite a major tenant moving forward with organizational changes.
The Ottawa Fury Soccer Club have been granted a North American Soccer League franchise for the 2014 season and will play home games out of the renovated stadium at Landsdowne Park. However, the Fury’s youth organization and women’s franchise is likely to remain at Algonquin.
Ron Port, the director of athletic operations for the Algonquin Student’s Assocation said last week that the yearly negotiated agreement with the Fury isn’t likely to be impacted by the move.
“They use only a portion of the field and don’t train as often as you’d expect,” Port said of the current Premier Development League Fury men’s program.
That program is expected to cede to the NASL franchise.
Seasonal agreements with the Nepean Touch Football League and Ultimate Frisbee Association, as well as a year-to-year arrangement with the Fury sees the facility booked for the majority of evenings, and weekends during the school year. The leagues also book a majority of the hours all summer long.
These agreements generate approximately $285,000 in revenue, annually, for the athletic department with approximately $60-80,000 of that as profit directly benefiting the department, according to Port.
Current owner and CEO of the Ottawa Fury, John Pugh, also indicated that he expects the agreement to remain mostly unchanged when renegotiated. He told the Times that the academy requirements would keep the Fury on the turf at similar levels to their current bookings.