A Business Point of View

The Story Behind the Halifax Tides FC

Before co-founding the Halifax Tides FC professional women’s soccer team and becoming the majority owner of the team, Courtney Sherlock’s only exposure to the sport was as a soccer mom. Sherlock is a practicing veterinarian who over a period of less than ten years built the Village Veterinary Group of six animal hospitals with 150 employees with her partner (Crystal Craig, another veterinarian) before selling the majority of her interests in 2022 to VCA Canada. VCA Canada is a consolidator in the sector with over 150 veterinary facilities across the country. It is headquartered in Calgary and was acquired in 2017 by a larger US company called Mars, Incorporated. Sherlock still maintains a minority share of the business, but the sale of a majority of her interests in the business led her to begin looking for other business opportunities.

She credits her rapid business success to her involvement as a member of the Entrepreneur Organization (EO) which she joined in 2014 and continues to be a member. Her EO experience provided her with the mentorship and support needed to realize her opportunities to scale her business.

From Soccer Mom to Team Owner

For Sherlock, the key turning point was a friendly match between the Canadian national women’s team and the Brazilian women’s team on Halloween of 2023. It was a result of that match that she learned that Canada was only one of two countries (along with Haiti) among the thirty-two teams that participated in the most recent FIFA’s world cup for women’s soccer who did not have a women’s professional soccer team and that there were efforts to remedy that. She was introduced to a group of local women who were looking to bring a team to Atlantic Canada but needed a lead investor. It was Sherlock who stepped up to sign the Letter of Intent (LOI) with the league in December of 2023 (including a $ 1million franchise fee to the league) and secure the last of the initial six teams for the new Canadian Northern Super League, joining teams in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Calgary. Sherlock was attracted by the business opportunity and the fact that women’s professional soccer was the fasting growing professional sport in the world.

Early Success

Despite being the last team to join the new league, the Tides were well organized out of the gate. With the launch of the league scheduled for April 2025, there was a lot of work to be done in a very short period of time, including putting a management team in place, recruiting players, logistics for housing for the team, negotiating a place to hold the games, securing sponsorship, season ticket development, merchandise strategy, marketing among others. Sherlock has put in place a strong management team who she credits for the team’s early success.

The Tides’ attendance target for the first year was 4,250 and the team averaged 4,000 for the season, despite weather challenges in the early part of the season. The team ended up either first or second in overall attendance (numbers still being finalized) and attracted a very respectable 2,000 season ticket holders. It had the second highest sponsorships in the league that accounted for 37 percent of the team’s revenues and had the third highest merchandise sales (Tides in the Wild).

On Field Performance

Despite the team’s early financial success, the Tides’ on field performance did not measure up to Sherlock’s expectations, as the team failed to make the playoffs. The team has a roster of 25 players of which eight can be international. Five of the team’s initial roster were Nova Scotian. There is a $1.6 million salary cap in place (along with a minimum salary of $50,000), and each team is allowed to sign one player that is outside that salary cap. There is a secondary cap of 15 percent of the salary cap that can be used for non-salary expenses like housing, education etc. Sherlock is determined to improve the team’s competitiveness both in terms of recruitment as well as an improved strength and conditioning program that has already been initiated. The team has added a new role for that purpose, Vice-President of Sport Operation.

Future of the League

In its initial season, which concluded with its first championship on November 19 (won by the Vancouver Rise) the league generated $30 million in league-wide revenues and attracted major sponsors like Canadian Tire, BMO, Coca-Cola Door Dash, Simons , Intact and WestJet. There was a national broadcast deal with both Bell Media through TSN and CBC Sports which provided wide coverage of the league in its initial season. All the league games were also available for viewing on YouTube. There is a plan to expand the league by an additional two teams by 2027. With the calibre of players in the league, the Northern Super League is quickly gaining recognition globally as one of the best leagues for women soccer.

As for Sherlock and the Halifax Tides, the goal is clear. Continue to build on the team’s early success by building its season ticket holder base (goal is to double number of season ticket holders), improving the team’s competitiveness and continuing to engage with the community to build a deep connection with the team. And, hopefully, to have a little bit better weather in the early part of the season.