Interview with Toronto Lynx CEO Nicole Hartell

by Harmit Singh Kamboe

In the hyper competitive sports market of North America, contrary to popular belief, many sports and clubs exist on the fringes of financial success. While these clubs may not hog the limelight and mass appeal, their existence is crucial for the general well being of a specific sport as they create long term demand at the grass root level.
IndianFootball.Com was fortunate in being able to catch up with Nicole Hartell, the CEO of the Toronto Lynx, a United Soccer League Division One to gain a brief understanding of how soccer fares in North America. Even a club that faces financial pressure understand the key things:
1. Importance of media
2. Importance of having a youth team and multiple youth outreach programs
These are two critical aspects that all amateur/ less than stellar club owners/operators should pay attention to.

Please tell us about the main professional leagues that are run in North America and how many teams participate in them? Which league does the Lynx play in?

The Highest level in North America is the MLS (Major League Soccer). Canada has just been awarded its first club in this league, the Toronto FC which is owned by Maple Leaf Entertainment (owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Ice Hockey team of Toronto; the largest sports team followed in the city and adjoining cities). The Toronto Lynx played in the United Soccer Leagues Division One which is Division 2 in the US and Division one in Canada. With the fielding of the MLS team in Toronto in 2007, the Toronto Lynx have dropped to the Premier Development League within the USL, which is the highest level of men's amateur soccer.

What is the duration of the season that you play in and how many matches does the season consist of?

Our season in the PDL will begin in May and run until the end of July. 14 games in total.

Are the players on your team fully professional or are they semi-pros? How often does the team get together in the off-season to practice?

The players in the PDL are amateurs and mainly college/university players. They usually play for their college/university during the off-season and begin training with the Lynx in early May during the full season. The players train every day during the season.

What are the main channels of funding/revenue for your soccer club?

They are sponsorships, ticket sales and Lynx camps.

What are the main areas that constitute the largest areas of expenses in your football club? Is the club financially profitable?

From 1997 until 2006, the club lost over 5,000,000 dollars in the USL. However, by dropping the team to the PDL, we now hope to break even.

How far out in advance do you know the teams you will play against, the dates and locations? Does the league pay for travel expenses for "away" games or does each time pay for that expense.

Our schedules are set in November during the General Meeting of all clubs in Florida. All teams pay for their own travel for road games.

How many fans turn out to watch a home game and what is being done to make an outing to a Toronto Lynx game as a popular alternative to other forms of entertainment?

Our average attendance is 2,500. Time does not permit to answer this question in great detail. We market a special school program to all schools in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) and have an annual school day outing. This is our most successful program. We also have youth days in July that are marketed to youth organizations. We have found over the years, the young players along with their parents and coaches have shown the most enthusiasm for the Canadian product. We also market theme days with special off the field activities to various ethnic groups i.e. Fiesta Latina to Latin groups. Since we have been in operation for over 10 years, we have a very extensive data base of clients/fans that have come out to our games. We traditionally fax, e-mail and telemarket these clients with special offers. We also have over 30 media partnerships where we advertise to special communities and also offer special contests/draws. Most of our fans find our product of high quality and very affordable compared to other sporting events.

How much is a season ticket and a regular ticket for the best seat in the house?

All seats are general admission. We don't have special seating since we play in a community stadium which was never meant for professional sports. The tickets are $15/adult and $7.50 per youth per game. Our season tickets sales are extremely low. Our greatest success is with group sales.

Who are the owners of the club and how long has the club been in existence?

The club is owned by Nicole and Bruno Hartrell and has been in existence for 10 years.

How many players do you have on your roster for the main men's team, women's team, the youth team and the reserve team. What is the purpose of a reserve team?

We have roughly 26 players in each team: Lynx, Lady Lynx, Junior Lynx (U15-U19) and Junior Lady Lynx (U16-U19). They play in the PDL, W-League and Super Youth League which are all a part of the USL.
Go to our Website for more info. (http://www.lynxsoccer.com)

How do you see the future of soccer in North America against established sports like Basketball, American Football, Baseball and Ice-Hockey)?

We don't have a crystal ball. But given the lack of progress that we have experienced, we believe that it will be a long time before soccer makes it in North America. The traditional North American sports are very powerful financially and have a strong tradition and following.

Many, many thanks for taking time out for an interview with us!