Canadian Premier League sets Apple Bowl sporting event attendance record

In May, the Canadian Premier League announced Kelowna would be the first stop on their newly-established On Tour campaign.

The tour was created to bring the league to markets without a team, testing their feasibility for future expansion – and locals made sure to show up for Kelowna’s opportunity.

Sunday’s scoreless draw between Vancouver FC and Cavalry FC saw 6,281 fans attend the game, an attendance record for a sporting event at the Apple Bowl.

“This city is a sports city, it's always been, they support their sports teams and again, soccer (has) grown so fast here that I think it'd be a great, great market for a summer professional team,” said Vancouver FC President Rob Friend.

For Friend, Sunday’s match had significant meaning as he grew up in Kelowna and used to play on the Apple Bowl’s pitch, eventually leaving the city to chase his dream of playing professional soccer.

First 45 in the books @KelownaOnTour ⚽️#VancouverFC #CanPL pic.twitter.com/I4tb8wILp4

— Vancouver Football Club (@vanfootballclub) June 16, 2024

“It would have meant everything. As a young kid, I didn't see any opportunities in soccer, and I had to grind my way down outside this country,” said Friend when asked what the CPL would have meant to him if it had been around when he was growing up.

“That's why we started this league in 2019 – for opportunities – and to grow the game, support our national team and create an economy of soccer in this country. And six years later, I'm standing here in Kelowna hosting the game, and hopefully one day, we'll be able to announce a team here, which will be very exciting.”

But before a team can call Kelowna home, it would need a stadium, with the CPL’s commissioner, Mark Noonan, stating the Apple Bowl was “great” for Sunday’s event, but not as a permanent venue.

Noonan added the stadium would have to hold around six to eight thousand people and that it would be designed to allow for expansion as the young league grows.

Vancouver FC, founded in 2023, plays out of the Willoughby Community Park Stadium, adjacent to the Langley Events Centre.

“The modular stadium system dramatically reduces onsite construction time and allows municipalities to create professional and intimate soccer-specific venues for a fraction of the budget typically spent on arenas and concrete stadiums,” said Dean Shillington, managing partner of SixFive Sports & Entertainment, in a news release from February 2023.

Building a CPL stadium could pay dividends to the community by impacting the local economy and working as a marketing tool for the city.

“Not only do we drive local impact, but Kelowna is now going to be broadcast nationally and internationally. This is our match of the week, so it'll go to 35 countries around the world, and it'll be a postcard for Kelowna around the world,” said Noonan on Sunday.

“That's the beauty of our game. Every time the ball gets kicked, the cameras light up, and it's a global commercial for our league, our players and the communities that we serve.”

THANK YOU KELOWNA! ♥️#VancouverFC #CanPL | @KelownaOnTour pic.twitter.com/yRXQtBbhpR

— Vancouver Football Club (@vanfootballclub) June 16, 2024

But those questions will be answered down the road, with Sunday’s event one that many will remember for some time.

“To bring pro soccer here in Kelowna, at least this one game, it's very special,” added Friend.

“And I see the buzz in the stadium right now and you know, this is my hometown, so it's a special day for us, myself and the club.”