New CPL club Forge FC offering co-founding memberships to general public

Matthew Gourlie

Bob Young described the creation of the Canadian Premier League and a club for Hamilton as a “six-year process.”

Thursday all those years of hard work paid off as the Forge Football Club was unveiled in Hamilton at Tim Hortons Field.

“The ‘Forge’ perfectly represents both Hamilton’s industrious history as well as our region’s ambitious commitment to continuous advancement. Our soccer club will mirror the fine qualities of our eclectic city as Forge FC integrates into the heart of the Hamilton community,” said Young, Forge FC co-founder.

Young and Scott Mitchell have been at the fore of the push to create the CPL. They brought league president Paul Beirne on board.

Young has been the owner of the Tiger-Cats since 2003 — he prefers to call himself the team’s caretaker — after founding Red Hat Inc., an open-source software company.

Mitchell is the CEO of Canadian Soccer Business and remains the CEO of Bob Young’s group of Canadian companies.

Young is merely the co-founder of Forge FC because he wants the people of Hamilton to join him.

Forge FC is offering co-founding memberships before their inaugural season. Beyond getting priority access to season seats and an exclusive scarf, there will be annual general meetings with the club to vote club initiatives. Co-founders will also get field access and discounts on merchandise and concessions.

Hamilton has been at the fore of everything going on the league since well before its inception.

Hamilton and Winnipeg were first two cities to have clubs approved by the Canadian Soccer Association.

The Barton Street Battalion was the first supporters group for the league and has been active for two years.

CPL commissioner David Clanachan also hails from Burlington.

“Hamiltonians have a unique way of coming together to rally around their sports teams with loyal, passionate support. We’re excited to see the CPL and Forge FC grow the game of soccer in the Hamilton region for years to come,” Clanachan said.

The Canadian Premier League has announced six clubs — Calvary FC, FC Edmonton, HFX Wanderers, Valour FC and York 9 FC — that will debut in the spring of 2019. The club that will play out of Langford on Vancouver Island will be held on Friday, July 20. The United Soccer League’s Ottawa Fury are also expected to be the eighth team that will join the CPL for its inaugural season.

Forge FC will play at Tim Hortons Field which will have a reduced capacity of 14,000 for CPL matches by draping off the upper decks on the two main stands. Tim Hortons Field has a seated capacity of 23,218 plus The Stipley bar in one end zone and the Coors Light patio in the other.

The inspiration for the name is “the community’s industrious roots, ambitious future and indelible spirit.”

The name pays respect to the region’s manufacturing heritage and also fits a club and city forging ahead into the future.

The club also unveiled its logo. The left part of the H logo forms an F when combined with the orange three sparks — the ones made when a hammer hit steel — above the H. A “cascading waterfall is featured within the H” as a tribute to the area which has more than 100 waterfalls.

The club also unveiled it’s secondary crest which features a forge hammer creating orange sparks.

Hamilton FC’s colours are spark orange, platinum steel and waterfall white.

Forge FC also plans to honour Hamilton’s sporting history by wearing black and gold during the first match they play every June. The city was founded on June 9, 1846 and the 15-time Grey Cup champion Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Canadian Soccer League’s Hamilton Steelers, the current Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs and the Hamilton Tigers — who played five seasons in the National Hockey League in the 1920s —  all wore black and gold.

Forge FC have begun taking co-founding membership deposits and have announced that season tickets will prices be as low as $10 per match.