Ottawa Rapid FC: City’s new pro sports franchise makes debut

Article content

Eight months before its first-ever game, Ottawa’s women’s pro soccer team is, in a sense, already a couple of steps ahead of the city’s popular, one-year old PWHL squad.

“You’re supposed to play an entire season before announcing the team name in Ottawa,” Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said — acknowledging he was delivering a playful poke at the hockey team — to Ottawa Rapid FC CEO Tom Gilbert and Northern Super League president Christina Litz during Thursday evening’s unveiling of the name, badge and colours in the west end-zone at TD Place.

Article content

“What a great name,” Sutcliffe added. “I love the colours, I love the name. This is an historic moment for our city.”

The six-team NSL is an all-Canadian loop that will include Halifax Tides FC, Montreal, AFC Toronto, Calgary Wild FC and Vancouver. Each team will play 25 games in a schedule beginning in April and ending with the playoffs in November.

By the time the league begins, Ottawa Rapid FC will be the seventh professional sports team in the nation’s capital and the sixth sports tenant at TD Place.

“My goal is to sell it out,” Gilbert said with a glance at the 24,000-seat stadium when asked what kind of crowds he envisioned for the Rapid. “I think that there’s an incredible opportunity. And I think what we saw with the PWHL really demonstrated the size of the opportunity for women’s sports in the city. You know, they were at 94 per cent capacity average. So I think we’re going to do very well.”

Asked how he was going to compete with a market that already included pro teams in hockey, soccer, Canadian Football League, basketball, baseball and soon lacrosse, Gilbert replied: “I think we’re going to have to do a really good job of making sure that the game-day experience is an experience, and we’re committed to doing that. And, honestly, I think that the on-field product quality is going to be exceptional. We’re bringing back some really great players.”

Article content

The names of those players, as well as the coaching and managerial staff and information on tickets, will be released soon.

“As I said a couple of days ago, (in) weeks, not months,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert, whose family is from Ottawa, has been involved in “a lot of start-ups,” in operation, strategy and sales.

When he was approached by NSL co-founder (and former national team player) Diana Matheson two years ago, he was running a frozen pizza company.

“So I’m new to sports,” said Gilbert, who was taught what he knows about the game by Matheson when they were doing their executive MBA together. “But I’m a fast learner, and I know the business side, and on the technical side we’re bringing in some amazing people are going to be better than me.”

Prior to the logo and name reveal, Gilbert announced three key additions to the team’s front office: chief operating officer Stephanie Spruston, chief sport officer Heidi Bloomfield and technical director Kristina Kiss.

Spruston, currently an executive with Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), will join the soccer club in September. Kiss, a former national team member, and Bloomfield are already active in their roles. 

Article content

Here’s how the Rapid described the badge and team colours:

The badge represents a Peregrine Falcon, native to Ottawa and the fastest animal on earth.

The falcon is drawn in an attack position to set the stage for who we are.

The symmetry of the wings is a nod to the structure and formations on the field, and the negative space between the wings is representative of Ottawa’s three main rivers: the Ottawa, the Rideau and the Gatineau.

The circular crest and concentric circles of the badge are nods to the “O” of our home, Ottawa.

The negative space created when using two birds, the shape of a heart, is a reference to the cartographic shape of our city.

The color palette uses shades of blue that refer to water, sky, and the power of nature all around us.

Our accent neon orange is a reference to the Centennial Flame: a fountain that doesn’t freeze, a flame that never dies, a symbol of our resilience that gives back to the community.

The typography uses forward movement, indicating a name and a team that constantly evolves, who is never still.

“When we looked at sort of naming conventions in sports, we saw two kind of verticals,” Gilbert said in explaining why Rapid was selected. “One of them was the North American iconography you have, lions and tigers. And the other one was a very European, sporting, united, that really was about the community and the club.

“We wanted to find something that bridged the gap between the two, that had an icon you could attach yourself to, but was visceral and emotional and gave you the sense of connection in place and a feeling more than just like an icon.

“And, then, with Ottawa, Rapid was just such a great fit. It’s the way that we want to play, but also this city is built on rapids.”

dbrennan@postmedia.com 

Article content