MLS brought them in at a time they needed the money, needed the extra team, needed the attention it would bring. Thinking they could profit off of Mexican fanaticism they went in thinking full on that Chivas knew what they were doing in running their franchise on American soil, well, we all now know they were wrong. Mistakes were made, they went with a Mexican roster on US soil with the audacity to call themselves Chivas (USA), and tried to make it a Mexican team. Not only did they alienate the American and South/Central American crowd right off the bat but they were slow to recognize their mistake. They branded their team after a famous team in Mexico that represents Mexicans almost like a national team. They cheapened their brand by directly associating it with said team in Mexico by offering a terrible on field product in the US. Chivas in Mexico has fantastic fans to be sure, but it will not translate direct to what was offered in the USA, and they didn't see this coming I bet. They tried to rectify their borderline racist policy by incorporating Mexican-Americans into the team. They still lost regardless so they opened the doors to "latinos" and then still lost. Now they opened the doors to whoever will help the team regardless of color or background but its too late. They have alienated fans and they won't be coming back to this fake brand that doesn't represent anyone now. At the moment it is a combination of bad performance in games and the brand problem. I don't think anyone is happy with the name of the team being a direct ripoff of another team in Mexico. They would do better moving the team to San Diego and re-branding the team and start fresh. Sure, keep your connections with Chivas as you have to, but for God's sake don't keep calling yourselves Chivas "USA". There is only one Chivas, they are the respected and followed team down in Mexico, call yourselves something original or something the people of the region can identify with.
Agreed. They only had a couple successful seasons back when they first came in the league and even then they still weren't drawing any fans. I'm all for them rebranding and moving to either San Francisco or San Diego.
Maybe MLS LLC can use some of the SUM money to buy it from Vergara and Cue, they paid what 40-60 million for the team I think MLS LLC can afford that. Then Chivas can go the way of the Mutiny and the Fusion. BTW maybe do the same with Columbus, back to 17 teams until NYC comes along. I also do not like Dallas, so maybe 16.
No the thread is quite real, Chivas USA is the joke, we're just wondering what is going to be done about it.
I am done with Chivas USA in their current form. However, I think keeping them in LA (in a stadium in a different location) is perfectly fine. The fact is that there are enough fans to support a second LA team and CUSA's average attendances show that. They typically average in the 15k range despite the fact that they are in the same exact location as the Galaxy and that they have never settled on an identity (they are named after a Mexican team, yet they have no Mexicans but a Frenchman and a Englishman). A second LA team that markets themselves as a true competitor to the Galaxy instead of the Latino, Family friendly, low cost, or whatever alternative to the Galaxy then I think they can find success.
We first have to look at how incredible of a deal this has been for Vergara. Think of the expense as just a way to grow the brand and market to second and third generation Mexican Americans. He purchased the team for about 10M with an unknown amount to AEG for the rights to operate in LA. He got a sweetheart deal from AEG (probably influenced by the league to give to them) so he really never needed to build a stadium. And once the team tanked, they just decided to not bring in any Mexican stars anymore and just sit back and see what happens. If they make the playoffs or miss them it doesn't matter. If they get 14k or 10k it doesn't matter. If they give away tickets...it doesn't matter. Why? Their salary is paid by the league and they aren't going to go over it unless its a situation like JPA where Galaxy give them allocation to pay down his salary. So it doesn't come from their pockets, and every year the club grows in value because MLS franchise grow. Vergara purchased basically an advertisement for his Mexican club and his ADVERTISEMENT has grown in value. This guy is MAKING MONEY from advertising, that is a pretty amazing thing to do. He gets to break even each year and watch his advertisement grow in value, it is going to take a lot for him to get out. Probably more than market value and since he has the rights to operate in LA I'm sure he is going to think that value is close to NY money not Montreal money. This is why I don't think he'll ever move out of LA area because the franchise will be worth more than in San Diego. I have been thinking about a solution to this 'problem' so I'm going to throw it out there... Rumors were that Vergara first approached USSF about starting up a LA based Mexican league club in 2002-2003. USSF said no way and then basically sent him to Garber to set up an MLS franchise. They had to then sell the idea to AEG. Why doesn't USSF give Vergara a license to operate in LA for a Mexican League team BUT give 49% ownership to SUM. So Vergara can finally have his CD Los Angeles playing in Mexico which is what he always wanted, and if the team is very successful than MLS owners can profit from it . In the end if it helps grow the sport in LA/US then its good for everyone. Also if the Galaxy really start growing in stature, you could see a much more meaningful rivalry between the 2 teams. It would be like the Cubs and Sox here in Chicago. They don't play in the same league but when they do play each other it is always a very big deal. Sending CUSA/CDLA to the Mexican League would also open up another slot in MLS. Maybe you can get an owner in San Diego and try to develop a rivalry with Club Tijuana. I think the closer the two leagues can get and the more real rivalries we can form, in the end the better our Champions League will become.
Chicago isn't going to be drawing attendance numbers around 7k like Chivas did last night. MLS has gotten to the point where it needs to start trying out more viable markets(Orlando, St.Louis, etc.) rather than putting up with the ones that are practically dead.
7,000 fans? Really? And this is MAJOR League Soccer? Pull the plug on this disaster. The team sucks. They have a miniscule fan base. The "derby" with the Galaxy has always been a joke. They have no stadium and they tried to force a "Mexican players only" concept originally that has doomed this team ever since. The owners don't take this team seriously -- it's more like a nuisance to them. Relocate the team to San Diego, San Antonio or Orlando, or else just close it down.
move to pomona become the working mans team. bring over players from mexico on loan so that they can learn a different style while teaching the mexican style.
They've never had a good following. And before some schmuck comes in here to post their semi-impressive average attendance in 2005 and 06, remember those numbers are inflated by a 90k Colosseum DH with real Chivas. This team has always had shitty attendance. It was a bad idea from the start and they are an embarrassment to the league. Unlike when the Fusion and Mutiny folded or when the Quakes moved, I would not feel bad for the turds who support this team if their team got canned. And someone please assassinate that annoying PA announcer who yells "arriba las Chivas" every corner kick. WTF kind of chucky cheese shit is that? I thought these owners were going to school us gringos in how its done ACB, here's a tifo idea for your next super clasico: Chivas USA: Neither here (LA), Nor there (Guadalajara)
there's not much else to say that others haven't already said. there are some markets where you can look at mediocre attendance/interest and see reasons why it could improve. but there's no way Chivas is going anywhere under the Galaxy's shadow. there's just no reason to go and see them play unless you're an absolute fanatic of the original Chivas and see that as a reason to support them. and i think all of them were there this week. i'm on board with the San Diego experiment - area has some money and limited amount of teams in place. combine that with location and a market that seems obvious for soccer it seems like it has solid potential as a success story - 18000 fans a game in a nice little SSS near the water.
First, how many threads of re-brand/moving Chivas USA do we need? Try replying to one of these rather then creating a new thread each time you have a new comment: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1899912 https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1775235 https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1788510 https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=159941 The search function in the top right is there for a reason, try using it. And second, let's look at a few other games in the past two years (2010 and 2011) under similar conditions for other teams (rainy, cold, night): Toronto FC at New England June 15, 2011 - 6,680 - partly cloudy, 64F Chivas USA at New England May 5, 2010 - 5,990 - clear 71F Seattle at Columbus May 7, 2011 - 7,148 - cloudy 59F There were plenty of other games in the 8,000-10,000 range but I opted to not include those...
Congratulation, you're low attendance isn't as low as NE, you must be so proud. Also, you know just as well as I do that there were NOT 7k people in that stadium, hell you'd be lucky if there were 3-4k in there.
Lets just call it as it is. This organization is absolutely terrible. If they contracted both Miami and Tampa then they sure as hell need to do something with this monstrosity they call a club. I mean the inferiority complex is built in with that terrible "branding" idea they started with from day 1. I mean its so short sightened its amazing they even thought this could work. Not to rag on any fans, but as a newer mls fan (last 3 to 4 years) I am completely embarrased our professional top flight league has a knock off mexican team. This is America damnit!
I posted this link in another thread, but it's helpful to remember what this discussion was in 2004. First, Vergara initially wanted to put an FMF team in Los Angeles, which was blocked by U.S. Soccer -- his entry into MLS was a shotgun wedding. From Robert Wagman's excellent article in Soccer Times on May 13, 2004: http://www.soccertimes.com/mls/2004/may13.htm Second, at least four markets were considered for Chivas USA: Houston, San Diego, Chicago and Los Angeles. The league didn't want to put Chivas USA in an existing market and preferred Houston, but Bob McNair had no interest in leasing Reliant Stadium to a potential competitor. So Houston was out. As for San Diego, Wagman again: The final choice came down to Chicago and LA, with LA being preferred. Expectations were very high -- indeed it was thought Chivas could help boost the Galaxy: Obviously, those crowds never materialized and the team has remained deep in the Galaxy's shadow. But that's what was being discussed eight years ago.
We don't need to go around killing teams here. my idea is that MLS buys Chivas, rebrands it and then sells it to Beckham when he's done playing. then the MLS can add NY2, Orlando, Ottawa, Minnesota, and Miami and they're good. Chivas was a terrible experiment.
Some MLS alltime average attendances for comparisons sake: Columbus: 16,334 FC Dallas: 10,581 Chicago: 15,581 Colorado: 15,596 New York: 14,621 Kansas City: 10,153 Salt Lake: 16,660 San Jose: 12,752... It's all the more silly when you think about the fact that Columbus is a city of 787,033 (city) 1.8 million(metro) people compared to New York 8.1m (city) 18.8!m (metro) and Chicago 2.7m (city) 9.4m (metro).
LA will eventually build a new stadium that holds 40k+ and move out of the Home Depot Center. Chivas USA can then make it their true home. Problem solved.