Wynalda's thoughts on MLS Schedule

Hard to know all the details of MLS's modern stadiums, but I'd imagine they were built for reasonable (and likely almost year-round) use per their specific location's climate.

They didn't cut corners apparently at Toyota Park for the Chicago Fire.

They installed radiant in-ground tubing to help condition the turf and allow/encourage for grass to be grown (even in harsh/cold conditions).

http://www.pmmag.com/Articles/Cover_Story/0c2cc73a5ba4c010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____

No, that doesn't mean that MLS could play in blizzards or with large amounts of snow on the ground, but I do think MLS is building itself up to where it has the venues and fields that can be used for play (a bit) outside of the traditional MLS schedule of "late March/April to Nov" (and perhaps play a few more league and other games in earlier parts of March and December, and maybe even parts of February).

England can play in the winter, Boston can't (even though Boston is on the same parallel as Madrid).

Google "tropical convergence zone" to understand why Whine-alda is dead wrong

So, um, don't look now but:

http://www.queenofthesouth-mad.co.u...ere_relegated__davie_irons_747596/index.shtml

(Bold mine)

All they need (if this summer league does happen) is to get Denmark to make the switch and they can start the North Atlantic league.

Iceland, Scotland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Baltic countries.

define winter. and/or read my post and note that not once is the idea of playing MLS games in January listed as a suggestion or possibility.

NE (and many/all other MLS markets) can host league games in parts of Dec and Feb (if MLS ever opted to want to try that).

Would a mid-season winter break (to cover a significant if not total part of January) be required (similar to what is done in Germany or Russia) for league play? Yes.

But establishing a summer off-season, and concluding a season of play in late spring doesn't require MLS to (hypothetically) schedule a regular season exactly how England or Spain does.

Playing in "extreme" weather conditions is never an ideal situation, and MLS will always try to set a schedule that works best for their market(s) and product.

Also, get ready across the next 8-10 weeks for some great hot/humid MLS fast-paced summer soccer action.

With the exception of Dallas, I don't think has any "extreme" day games. And thank god MLS moved our Frisco game last week.

The period of time between the 24-hour period with the least amount of sunlight (called the Winter Solstace, generally around December 21) and the immediate 24-hour period in which there is exactly 12 hours each of sunlight and dark (the Vernal Equinox, generally around March 21)

The f'k? No, they really, really can't

Since this argument is built on the premise that you can play soccer outside in New England in December, it is inherently invalid

I would much, much rather (and y'know what, so would you) play at game at 8:00pm in Dallas than anytime in February or December in New England, or Toronto, or Montreal, or Chicago, or New York, or Columbus, or Vancouver or...(should I continue?)

Well, there was an MLS game in NE on March 24 this year.

And the league schedule included a decent amount of matches (some of them in "cold-weather" cities) prior to March 21 this year.

What will the league opt to do if/when NE advances to host MLS Cup on Dec 1, 2012?

Would Kraft opt to host/play that game in Florida, or would MLS Cup have to be cancelled since it is impossible to play outdoor soccer in NE in December?

The premise that MLS could (in some future seasons) opt to schedule games in the first 2 weeks of Dec and/or the last 2 weeks of Feb, is not an inherently invalid premise, imo.

(would/could some of those games be postponed due to frozen pitches or unplayable/unsafe conditions? yes, that is a real possibility. would an MLS season that ended in the late spring allow for those potentially re-scheduled matches to get played later in that same season? yes.)

Fair enough.

But this (the idea of MLS opting to expand their season footprint beyond the traditional March-Nov window, and/or perhaps establishing a set "off or down time" from league play in some summer weeks) is not about what weather conditions you or I would rather do or play in, but it is about what makes the best sense overall for MLS as they conduct the operation of their business and league.

(and you and I clearly have different opinions on what would and will make the most sense for MLS's business and league operations in the future. but since we don't get to make those decisions for MLS, we'll just have to keep an eye on what the league opts to do in the years/seasons ahead.)

Maybe the weather elsewhere in the States is different than it is here in New York, but I find the idea that MLS can play through the winter with a break in December and/or January almost as laughable as the idea that MLS can play through the winter or survive by putting the first 22 weeks of the season against all 22 weeks of the NFL. In New York, at least, the weather is just as bad if not worse in February than it is in January. Any "winter break" insanity would, in my opinion at least, need to be extended from around Christmas to the beginning (if not middle) of March.

Of course if this winter was any indication of what Global Warming might mean for winters in the future, than we might as well play baseball in February too because the weather won't matter until it becomes too hot to play anything in the day.

Well, since all of hell would be frozen, too, we could just play the game there.

If the schedule needs to be modified in any way, it's to go up against NFL football less. Sucks that MLS Cup/ the playoffs are during NFL season. However, it's also crappy for the season to start in late February when the weather is still very messy in a lot of northern markets.

There potentially is something to be said for the benefits of the idea to put the coldest weather in the middle of the season (perhaps on the fringes of a mid-season break) as opposed to having the coldest weather at both the start and end of the league season.

Starting and ending a club season in "nicer/milder" weather might have some operational benefits.

And, as has been mentioned elsewhere in this thread since this scheduling topic isn't only about weather concerns, potentially better aligning the MLS regular season with the CCL fall-spring schedule might also have operational benefits for MLS and its teams.

I don't see any purpose in having a longer winter break than an off-season break. That's what happens in countries like Poland and Ukraine. The league is off from December to March. The off-season is simply from May to July. You have a 4 month long winter break and a 2 month long off-season break. It makes no sense.

Well it makes sense every 2 years during the World cups and Euros (not that Poland and the Ukraine are usually playing in the WC or EUROS). But yes it would make more sense to play March to May take June and July off then play from end of July to December.

Well now that they hosted the Euros they can tell UEFA and FIFA to suck it and go to what ever calendar they prefer, be it what it may.

Edit: Another issue is the Champions UEFA League; champions of their leagues get to play right away in the European competitions they do not have to wait 6 months.

Some interesting late-June comments about the realities of trying to conduct/schedule a professional soccer league in the markets in which MLS operates:

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...ting-heat-force-colorado-alter-practice-plans

clearly, MLS is going to run into extreme weather and conditions from time to time, and all of their scheduling decisions can and do come with a cost. I wonder if "excessively hot" weather negatively affects the number of tickets that MLS teams can and do sell in the summer months. (I'm sure that any possible "ticket revenue" effects do vary by market.)

I don't think the hot weather here will affect ticket sales. I do think the massive wildfires that have been sparked by the weather will hurt sales. I doubt there's going to be many people coming north from Colorado Springs for the game on Saturday.

(Plus, 4 days before our annual 4th of July game, ticket sales were probably going to be down anyway).

do you think going up against the NFL would affect attendance at MLS games? Or would it affect the TV ratings?

The TV ratings cannot get any lower than they are now. I'd argue that ratings would go up if you had the fall to spring schedule for the simple reason that you would be able to have a consistent weekend schedule. MLS could have all its games start at 1pm and 4pm on the weekend and then one weekday game on a wednesday

I've yet to see any evidence (surveys etc) that show NFL and MLS fans are the same people.

well you can't have a 1pm 4pm schedule during the summer. It's too hot in many cities.

Of course both would be affected.

False. They absolutely can because they have been.

Except for the part that having a fall to spring schedule is irrelevant to having a consistent weekend schdule. It can be done and not be fall to spring.

And why is it that fall to spring make that possible ? Why can't it be done outside of a fall to spring schedule ?

So you honestly think that there is no overlap or that both sports don't have fans that like the other ?

Seriously ?

Of course, you're claiming a lack of evidence to try and prove something yet you don't every present any yourself so that would imply that everything you say is invalid based on lack of evidence .... irony is funny.

well you missed my point.

there are pros and cons of a fall to spring schedule. One of the pros is you could have a set time every weekend when games were played. For instance 1pm and 4pm. Then you could have a double-header on each saturday with a highlight show between both games.

You can't do that right now because of the hot summer weather.

Or, you know, you could have a consistent weekend schedule during spring/summer where you had night games!

Gasp! Shock!

Having a consistent time for games doesn't mean you have to play in the fall. I know it might be hard for you to understand, but you can do that while playing in the summer! It just may not be 1pm and 4pm!

Well, like others and logic have said, there is no reason why they can't do that in a summer schedule and pick whatever times they want during whatever season they play in. Also, I'm not sure I'd want to go to a Red Bulls match at 4 PM in February--it will be dark by halftime and the temperatures will keep dropping.

Also, having an NFL like schedule where all games are played during set windows requires television cooperation. If all the games are handled by local TV deals, then who cares when teams play? And what network wants regional MLS doubleheaders every week?

Yes..there is no reason they couldn't choose 1pm and 4pm times and then choose whatever times they want! seriously dude?

1pm and 4pm like the NFL is an obvious nod to the NFL west coast schedule so like those 4pm games are actually 1pm starts on the east coast. *face palm*