MLS Attendance Analysis: Week 8

Discussion in 'MLS: News & Analysis' started by edwardgr, Apr 29, 2012.

  1. MLSFan123

    MLSFan123 Member+

    Mar 21, 2011
    Boston Area
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    considering how bad the mall is doing financially, I don't think you want to want to look too deep at that. ;)

    Also considering that many people actually avoid Patriot place on game days this might be a negative, not a positive.
     
  2. MLSFan123

    MLSFan123 Member+

    Mar 21, 2011
    Boston Area
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Correct. Those are the revenue generators and need to be balanced against the costs of running a team, buying time on local tv, paying the 30% gate fee to the league etc etc.

    Shame we will likely never get to see this level of detail. Hell, the Revs are so secretive that I don't think anyone ever found out how much the shirt deal was for so we have had to just make our best guesses.
     
  3. Allez RSL

    Allez RSL Member+

    Jun 20, 2007
    Home
    Don't forget the capital call for player salaries!

    You guys might be right, but I'd be surprised if operating the Revs at a loss was really all that profitable to the Kraft empire.
     
  4. MLSFan123

    MLSFan123 Member+

    Mar 21, 2011
    Boston Area
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Do we have any idea what the size of the capital calls are or do they fluctuate year to year?
     
  5. Fiosfan

    Fiosfan Red Card

    Mar 21, 2010
    Nevada
    Club:
    New York City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Revs are a major tax right off and on top of it all the Krafts are the major voice in the front office business in MLS. Go figure..
     
  6. okcomputer

    okcomputer Member

    Jun 25, 2003
    dc
    with the Revs I think theres more to the issue then if they technically lose or make money. The business plan they have in place seems to guarantee that the team will only not get more popular but will drive away over time the few fans left and also foster the impression that MLS is a minor league operation. In a major market like Boston with many influential sports media people, I dont see how the league or other owners can be happy with this situation. Most other teams are investing in infrastructure, talent, etc. and the plan here seems to be just the opposite and let everyone else do all the work. Its not a good situation for the league.
     
    manoa repped this.
  7. Fiosfan

    Fiosfan Red Card

    Mar 21, 2010
    Nevada
    Club:
    New York City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Revs need a 15 or 13 k temp stadium like the White Caps last year some where close to downtown Boston with easy access till they figure out the location for permanent stadium.
     
  8. Fiosfan

    Fiosfan Red Card

    Mar 21, 2010
    Nevada
    Club:
    New York City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Can the league move the Revs to Carson City , this way Chivas USA has no choice but to move out of HD..:ROFLMAO:
     
  9. LongDuckDong

    LongDuckDong Member+

    Jan 26, 2011
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's never going to happen. They don't pay rent at Gillette. There's no way they start paying rent at another venue.

    In terms of a future stadium, it's pretty obvious that they've already found locations. Primarily, they're interested in Somerville, at the future "Assembly Square" station or a few miles north of "Lechmere" on the future green line extension. Unfortunately, these locations aren't immediately available because of the ongoing infrastructure and rapid transit improvements.

    MBTA_Boston_subway_map.png

    The fallback could be "Wonderland" station in Revere. The mayor of Revere has mentioned interest in a stadium several times, and IMO if Kraft said the word they could break ground in the next few years. Unfortunately, Revere can be sketchy and is further from the city center. Somerville is simply a better location.

    Since the organization really hasn't been under the gun, I think they've waited for the Somerville locations to pan out before falling back on Wonderland. However if Revs attendance really takes a dive I could see KSG perhaps pushing ahead at Wonderland, a site that's ready now rather than in 5 years.
     
  10. Fiosfan

    Fiosfan Red Card

    Mar 21, 2010
    Nevada
    Club:
    New York City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You're correct, I have posted so many news stories on Somerville location for the Revs new stadium but noting has happen since.
    The above location is a perfect place for Revs, the railway is at stadium door like London and that's a pipe dream that sounds good on paper only. May be one day..
     
  11. OleGunnar20

    OleGunnar20 Member+

    Dec 7, 2009
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    i used tho think it was a crazy conspiracy theory but i am more and more inclined everyday to believe that Kraft is actively trying to salt the earth towards soccer in boston/new england area as a protection mechanism for his NFL team. maybe he is wise enough to see that the rise of soccer is a serious proposition and that in the future, if left unchecked (or worse yet if fostered and nurtured to grow like in some MLS markets) that MLS soccer could become a viable sports entertainment competitor to the NFL (never going to overtake it obviously but perhaps put a dent in its unchecked total dominance). and if he sees MLS/soccer as a threat perhaps the gross incompetence of his team and his outright hostility and antipathy towards the few remaining fans isn't by mere happenstance but an actual plan to basically ruin the name of soccer and MLS in new england for decades to come.
     
  12. Allez RSL

    Allez RSL Member+

    Jun 20, 2007
    Home
    I certainly don't. Triplet1 probably has the best idea about how they work, but I think he's just going off of pro-formas that have been released in the process of financing stadiums. It looked like it was more or less equal to the salary cap, though. My guess is that it matches it -- but I could be way off.
     
  13. yellowbismark

    yellowbismark Member+

    Nov 7, 2000
    San Diego, CA
    Club:
    Club Tijuana
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Right.... MLS and its vaunted 0.3 TV ratings - the lurking Hun menace off in the distance.
     
  14. triplet1

    triplet1 BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 25, 2006
    Allez RSL is right, I only know of references from the various studies. Portland's indicated the capital call was $3.1 million a year, and that it would remain level for all five years of the club's financial projections. The San Jose study has a brief reference that the primary use of the funds raised through the capital call is player salaries.

    If both of those statements are accurate, the teams really do pay for most of their payrolls themselves even though the league holds the player contracts. It appears each I/O sends a check to the league for $3.1m, and the league sends them back $3.5 - $4m worth of players.

    It's probably not that simple though. I would think the capital call amount does change more frequently then the Portland study suggests.
     
  15. NE till i die

    NE till i die Member+

    Jun 26, 2010
    Stoughton, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That Revs attendence last night is bull. I watched the game on TV and thought there was no way there were more than 4-5K. I think there were more people at the game last year that was the same night as game 7 of the Stanley Cup.
     
  16. Absolute

    Absolute BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 18, 2007
    Green Hell
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I've always assumed the Revs are just a way for the Krafts to show a loss for tax purposes. They don't appear to give a crap about their team. It looks bad on MLS , but, I'm not sure what it looks like from Boston. I hope it don't reflect badly on the league, but, you never know.
     
  17. MUTINYFAN

    MUTINYFAN Member

    Apr 18, 1999
    Orlando
    If I were Kraft, I would close off half of the stadium to save on security costs, reduce player salaries (no DP, operate at 60% of the salary cap) and let the Patriots front office staff operate the team. This way there may be a profit. If the Revs have an academy i would get rid off it also. What would you do if you were Kraft?
     
  18. LongDuckDong

    LongDuckDong Member+

    Jan 26, 2011
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He already did that; now only 10,000 people show up on game day

    It looks really bad. Each team is an ambassador of the league in its respective region. The Revs and thus MLS are a complete joke in Boston right now. Even the die-hard fort members have stopped attending, many of them hoping that lower attendance will force Kraft to shit or get off the toilet. My friend (a previous fort STH and SG member) called me up after the Colorado game and said he couldn't recognize more than 4 or 5 people in the closeups of the fort on the broadcast. Its not a good sign when you see sizable turnover among your hardcore fans.

    I think Kraft is genuinely interested in building an SSS in the hope that it will rejuvenate the franchise, but I'm skeptical. It will take years to repair the brand damage. The more I think about it, the more I think there's only one good solution: Move the team somewhere else and try again in 5-10 years.
     
  19. RevsLiverpool

    RevsLiverpool Member+

    Nov 12, 2005
    Boston
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Seems like a good idea but the Revs may not get another opportunity at a MLS club in 5-10 years, see Tampa and Miami. It will probably be 15-20 years. While I am not a fan of the Krafts' stewardship of the Revs like the next guy but they've got the political clout in the area to build an urban SSS and see it through. Hopefully that, combined with a rebrand will rejuvenate MLS soccer in the city. Right now, after the agonizing last 6 years, to start from scratch with a new ownership group who hasn't been privy to the site negotiations, etc is just painful to think about.
     
  20. bbsbt

    bbsbt Member+

    Feb 26, 2003
    On the bright side, if the Revs fold then MLS attendance goes up.
     
  21. LongDuckDong

    LongDuckDong Member+

    Jan 26, 2011
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't know about that. If Kraft sold the team to an operator in a different city, Boston would immediately go onto the list of potential future expansion cities. It's simply too big a market to ignore. Boston/Providence is 7.6 million people, but when you include southern Maine, northern Connecticut (Harford is split 50/50 NY/Boston), and Cape cod, the market easily surpasses the 10 million mark. Boston would also immediately become the largest TV market without an MLS franchise if the team was moved. The only difficult part would be identifying the right ownership group.

    Regardless, even if selling is the best possible move for MLS in the immediate future, there's no way Kraft sells this team. Hes committed right now and I have a feeling hes looking forward to owning a special event venue near Boston, especially since the fiasco with the NFL stadium in the late 90s.
     
  22. JDEsq09

    JDEsq09 Member

    Apr 12, 2011
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    But MLS is not competing with the NFL because their schedules don't overlap. There's no reason why someone couldn't be a devout MLS fan in Spring, Summer, and early fall, and then NFL fan in the fall and winter.

    I don't see a plan to keep the Revs bad in order to protect the Patriots, the most successful team of the last decade. I don't think Kraft & Co. are that paranoid.
     
  23. AeroNaught

    AeroNaught Member+

    Atlanta United
    Feb 14, 2007
    Birmingham, AL
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Another sub-10k game coming our way tonight? I hope the Pardo bump is bigger than I think it is, but I'm not holding my breath.
     
  24. newtex

    newtex Member+

    May 25, 2005
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    I agree that a person can be a fan of both, I am, but "don't overlap"?

    MLS runs from March through November. The NFL pre-season starts in August but even if you don't count that September, October , and November are the vast majority of the NFL regular season. NFL teams play 12 weeks of their 17 week regular season while MLS is going on. Looks like a lot of overlap to me.
     
    edwardgr repped this.
  25. WarrenWallace

    WarrenWallace Member

    Mar 12, 1999
    Beer and Cheese
    I am turning into a snob. There was mention of a game tonight. But then I saw that it was Chivas hosting the game. Not worth the time and energy.
     
    FuzzyForeigner repped this.

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