I can see where tomreel55 is coming from. But Garber will not force Vergera to sell the team. I wish that they could too, but they can't. At least if Kraft can sell the team they can stay NE Revolution or Boston Revolution. But I really hope Chivas rebrand and get their own stadium.
huh?? You havent been to the USC area in years yet youre sure about what it looks like?? Im sorry but you are an idiot. Do us a favor and stay in sunny beautiful Fullerton
Why are some of you so focused on the surrounding neighorhoods?? Maybe Michale Moore can make a documentary on people's fears of the inner city , oh wait; he did that already. Maybe you and GAVPATS can rent it on netflicks and watch if from good old Fullerton BTW Your Chiva joke was lame.
If Vergara could make alot more money rebranding, and it is such an obvious move, why doesn't he do it himself?
What exactly is this mainstream corporate american crowd you speak of?? BTW I see your other points but some people have said that the LA Galaxy have in some way alieanted the so called Hispanic market the past few years. So how is that any differnent from what Chivas USA is doing?
Haha, that is false. In what way do they do that? The Galaxy have a very mixed fanbase, many of them Hispanics. So I have no idea where that is coming from. Have you been to a Chivas USA game? They market their brand specifically to Hispanics. The announcer even speaks mostly in Spanish. I have no problem with that. But don't expect too much marketing and growth to go on with a team that markets to a specific fan.
Very simple. Vergara doesn't care about MLS - he cares about his own brand: the "Chivas" brand. That might have been okay years ago when nobody wanted to invest in MLS but now there are plenty of investors. I think both sides must have been aware of this from the beginning but only accepted his proposal to blatantly make a team a Mexican one because they needed to stay afloat. Now having him as an owner is a detriment to the image of MLS in 2 ways: 1) they need to pander to the Hispanic crowd - that is shameful in any other American sports league. This is MLS - not the primera. 2) That their teams can only have a particular fan base without national appeal and which exemplifies 2nd class to the "Real Chivas". They are even bigger laughing stocks than NE Revs. Even the NFL has teams that have financial issues: the Bills, Jaguars etc. But they definitely do not have any branding issues, which is what makes them more powerful than other leagues. Individual markets are important but overall brand is even more important.
Must have been that LARS mariachi band thingy. Apparently, their fans didn't think it was too funny when they went looking to crack a bunch of those ************** skulls.
That doesn't mean the Galaxy as a team alienated their fanbase. I don't condone anything like that, but that has nothing to do with how the Galaxy market their team. That was a fan issue. Chivas USA has made it clear they're trying to market to Hispanics, and what we're saying is that limits your growth.
I wouldn't really call it shameful considering that America is becoming increasingly Hispanic as the decades go on thanks to Kennedy's reform of the immigration laws in the 60s. There comes a point where you can't ignore the Hispanic population anymore because it won't be a such a small minority anymore and will become more and more influential vis the old Anglo population.
I have read that California is now a state with a Hispanic majority. So yes, it's wise to market them. But I wonder about the effectiveness of some of the ways that teams have tried to pull in different kinds of ethnic fans. To me, events like Hispanic Heritage Night and the Galaxy signing a Korean player do not do much to build a long-term fan base. They're just gimmicks. And I would put calling your team Chivas USA as one of the stupider gimmicks in MLS history. Mexican immigrants like soccer but trying to get them to attend games because of a name or a shirt insults their intelligence.
Not quite, Hispanics are still only 36%, though we'll find out better numbers after the latest census is tallied. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California#Demographics I don't see anything wrong with Hispanic Heritage Night. Teams in all sports do things like that (Irish American night, Italian American Night, etc.) I've always wondered why the Galaxy don't advertise their Armenian players (when they have them) in Glendale more often. Seems like a no-brainier. Someone may come out to a single game to watch a single player, but if they are really soccer fans, they'll see the team and the atmosphere and want to come back for more.
Have YOU been to a Chivas USA game? I've been to many, mostly over the last two and a half years and I have heard announcements in Spanish and English equally. Announcements in both Spanish and English is somewhat common throughout MLS. I'd say they market largely to the Hispanic population of Southern California, but not exclusively. They've branched out in recent years. This was especially true during Shawn Hunters tenure as C.E.O.
I get that. But you haven't addressed the issue. I still don't understand why Vergara doesn't rebrand if it's such an obvious money maker. Could you please answer that specific question?
I haven't been to the Coliseum since the 1984 Olympics. I read the article but I'm confused so maybe you locals can clear something up. Is there an arena next to the Coliseum? If so, the proposal is to knock it down and maybe put another stadium on it's footprint? I don't see an MLS team moving to that location unless they can control parking, concessions, etc.
The arena is right beside the Coliseum. The Clippers used to play there before their move to Staples. I'm pretty sure that USC basketball still plays there. The proposal is to knock it down and put a number of choices there, including a possible SSS.
USC basketball plays in the new-ish Galen Center, just across the street. More evidence of the fig corridor improving!
The issue with the Chivas brand is that it is not relevant outside of Mexico unless you are of Mexican descent. This is a team that prides itself of playing only Mexican players. It is more Atletico Bilbao than Real Madrid. This is why it baffles me that they want to make themselves an "international" brand when the team is not really international. Hell maybe they would've won Copa Libertadores if they had some foreign players. And as for Chivas USA it has not really caught on. I wish a rebrand to LA Aztecs would happen one day.
Does Chivas USA share in the parking and concession revenue at HDC? I don't know. If they do not, than its really a question of where the rent would be lower. But, this is all an intellectual exercise because there is little or no chance of this ever getting built. USC doesn't even have a men's soccer team and the Coliseum already hosts international friendlies, so the Coliseum Commission has little or no motivation to build anything involving an investment of this magnitude.
I didnt say that i felt that way, i just noticed that the subject gets attention every now and then on the LAG boards. Just recently someone opened up a thread on how the LAG needed a mexican/latino star. I've been to a few LAG games and yes the crowd looks mixed which is a nice great thing to see because it exemplifies what L.A is all about IMP. But ive also been to a few Chivas USA games when they play the LAG and i cant say that i agree with you on their home games. Their crowds are in large part latino but you do see an aray of other backgrounds and i believe the games are called in both spanish and english equally which shouldnt be an issue, most of our communications these days are all done in english and spanish ( have you called your bank or the LAPD recently?? )
Oooh! Come look everyone! Warmth is talking about stuff he doesn't know anything about again! Stick to Structural Engineering, sir.
Because he is not in charge of the team. Chivas Guadalajara did not have a good season and his new Omni Life stadium didnt do well either as far as attendance goes. Im positive that he dedicates 0% of his time to Chivas USA plus he can be a stubborn business man. He might have too much pride to admit that the Chivas USA plan failed.
It's because people think that somehow having a Mexican/Latino star is some sort of magic bullet to sell outs. It is, just not the type of sell-outs most are looking for. Maybe its different now, but simply adding a Nery Castillo isn't going to help. Marketing in a comprehensive and targeted image has never been the Galaxy's strong suit. They like splashes, marketing gimmicks.