It is hard to personalize something you don't carry. My point is that this is a complete textbook example of how not to market your team. The whole reason for a minor league team to have sponsors is to leverage those sponsors to increase awareness of the team (and in some cases able to sell tickets). These sponsorships never involve very much money (if at all, some are strictly trade deals). The irritating thing about this case is it is roughly a partnership between equals. Both entities stand to gain from each other if done correctly. I think if I went to San Antonio I would find some great sponsor relationships with the Scorpions. They are crucial to the success of a team.
Again, I'm more inclined to think this is a UWS issue rather than something Nestor "doesn't allow them to do". Case in point is The Soccer Shop of Tampa Bay. They are a new outfit in S. Tampa, are a very minor sponsor, and they carry jerseys, sell tickets, sell season tickets, etc etc. UWS does none of these things. So to me they are the problem. In my opinion, if they are unwilling to step up their support then the Rowdies need to drop them as a sponsor ASAP. Sometimes its more than just about the check that a sponsor writes. Their Facebook page for example, NEVER a mention of the Rowdies yet they constantly promote Orlando City (again, perfectly fine). I called them out on it and there response was "oh well, that's the Clearwater store's responsibility". But they have one Facebook page that I'm aware of. They suck and the Rowdies are allowing them to be terrible sponsors as long as they keep writing checks.
The Rowdies will not be moving to another stadium this year and probably not next year either. They are there to stay for the moment and it is a better stadium than some of the other D2 teams. Edmonton for instance would be glad to have ALF for their stadium I'm sure. The management definately needs to do much more marketing from the sounds of it to get more butts in the seats. The fans could also help out by emailing UWS and complaining to them about lack of team merchandise, posted schedules for instance even though the Mgmt should be doing this. Embrace what you have in the Rowdies and try to build on it. Just my opinion after reading this thread and having my head spinning on the debate over the team's location.
Earlier this year, they said they were looking forward to being at Al Lang for many years to come. What if it was in Golden Spike, Alberta? The stadium's not really the issue in and of itself. The upgrades they're making to it make it serviceable. It's just on the other side of a psychic divide.
yeah for the 56.7th time, it isn't really the stadium itself that is the issue. Nor is it the immediate downtown St. Pete area. I've come to really enjoy both. It's the geographical location of both in relation to the vast majority of potential fans of the Tampa Bay Rowdies that is the issue. Of course, it's also the continued severe lack of meaningful marketing. The understaffed and over worked front office. The learning curve and growing pains of running a minor league pro soccer team. Etc, etc, etc.
I think it's because it's "minor" league. US soccer fans want the best and most don't even bother with minor league which it's kind of sad. I don't understand it.... some would rather go to a bar or watch at home the best, but will not bother watching live soccer. Maybe we should try and convert some at the U.S. qualifier game?
Well you aren't wrong. While there are a small, tiny number of clubs who have drawn very very well in the minor leagues we can't forget that 3 to 4k is pretty nice for our level of play. But then when you realize just how big a different another couple k average per game can make for a club's bottom line over the course of a season or seasons...
Exactly after this season Rowdies marketing needs to step up: TSW: Beyond salary overhead, travel and marketing are big costs for your clubs. Do your owners have the financial heft to make this league work? DD: I think all our owners believe that there is a business model there at our level, with national travel, that allows them to make money in the long run. In the short run as we establish our fan bases, most of our clubs will lose money. Right now on our model, we probably need between 5-6,000 fans a game, and in our league last year, Montreal was the only team that was averaging that on a paid basis. Several clubs had gates of 6,000 on an occasional basis, and some of those were comp tickets. So I think there are enough owners out there who understand that this is a model where you can build that kind of fan base, and operate on a pretty decent scale. Our clubs have significant budgets, but it’s not so significant that you don’t have a prayer of making your money back. And it’s not unrealistic to think that in time, an Atlanta, or a Fort Lauderdale or a Tampa Bay Rowdies would grow their fan base from the 3-4,000 that are showing up to the games now, to the 5-6,000 that it would take to be profitable. Most of our owners are committed to earning that fan respect and loyalty over the next couple years, and I think they’re going to do it. http://www.potomacsoccerwire.com/news/460/21210
I can only speak for myself. My wife and daughter would of been at the game with me but,Hillsborough County Schools had FCAT testing that week. I'm sure that kept some fans away. Lets make up for wednesday nights attendance at our next home match against the Strikers on April,28th. Tell all your friends about the game. We can draw at least another 3K plus fans. Lets go Rowdies!
All proffesional sports leagues count the tickets sold for the games attendance. They count the tickets that are sold as part of corporate sponsorships and the actual fans going thru the turnstiles.
Try and bring a friend or two to this weekends match. I'm sure that the Strikers will have 10-20 supporters at the game. Lets go Rowdies!
Strikers supporters look to be bringing between 20 and 30 this time, a little better than their usual travelling numbers. I'd like to see 3500 to 4k for this game and there are some hints that we could see something like that, but I'm not getting my hopes hope. The Mob will be there in numbers, as usual.
Bring on the Strikers fans to ALF. May their time there be short lived and go home with a loss. TAMPA > FT. LAUDERDALE
I'd like to see 3500 to 4k for this game and there are some hints that we could see something like that, but I'm not getting my hopes hope. The Mob will be there in numbers, as usual.[/QUOTE] God bless the MOB you guys are awesome!
I was disappointed by the attendance tonight. It appeared to me like 1500 were there. I know I could be wrong, but that's what it looked liked to me.
well announced attendance was 3,500, I don't really care about attendance anymore, it's not like you get promoted to MLS or something, I guess the only formula is too keep winning and hopefully win a championship.
1500? no way. For once it looked like the announced attendance of 3500 or so. Clearly more people at this game than the home opener, which was announced at 3k or so. Surprised the official number wasn't a little higher, really. The stands along the 1st base line looked much fuller than usual.
Like I said, I could be wrong and I was. My brother thought it was 3500-4000. Younger brother was right.