I know a bit about what has gone on here.
It is more than likely there would have been no Christchurch United in 2017 had this not occurred. The Club will be providing football at Spreydon domain in 2017, it is unclear how many of the current membership will move out to Yaldhurst although it does provide an option for players who in previous years would have left in order to play junior Div 1 football.
The 500 members is the total CFA / CU membership this season.
CFA doesn't current have any senior teams. Christchurch United will, in time be a 'full service' club. The intention is to grow players who can play at the highest level possible under the Christchurch United banner. While not an immediate priority there is an intention to rebuild the senior programme and gain promotion to the MPL.
The current CFA muster is made up of players from almost every club in the city, there are a number of former FC2011 players which is unsurprising given the location. At 10th grade and below there are a good number of players who had previously never been associated with a club.
The facility will continue to be available for the local football community - whether others continue to use it will be up to them but in my view it would be short sighted not to.
There will be a full year football programme provided at Yaldhurst, it will come at a higher cost than the traditional winter club but will be led by professional coaching staff and will have the use of some of the best facilities in the country.
This can only be good for football. If executed properly it will develop better players and encourage other clubs to provide better development opportunities and in turn develop better players as well. Logic suggests a bigger pool of better players will result in a higher standard of football in Canterbury.