soccer in the dirty south

[halfnelson31]

i think Atlanta or Charleston deserve mention in the expansion talks. Charleston has some of the best soccer fans this side of columbus and Atlanta is one of the biggest markets in the region.

[Minnman]

Dirty?

Okay, you've mentioned them.

[Colin Grabow]

Charleston averages around 3,500 attendance with a SSS. Not MLS material.

Atlanta strikes me as a really bad idea.

[eric515]

If you put an SSS in a good location (North of the city) I think you would be pleasantly surprised at the crowds Atlanta would get. The only reason the Silverbacks don't draw is because their stadium is 45 minutes to an hour away from where the soccer hotbeds are, and it is in a sketchy part of town.

The fact that some of the best youth teams and high school programs are based in the Metro Atlanta area should tell you what kind of support they would get.

And from what I hear, the Beat gets some of the better attendance in WUSA.

[notebook]

Originally posted by eric515
If you put an SSS in a good location (North of the city) I think you would be pleasantly surprised at the crowds Atlanta would get. The only reason the Silverbacks don't draw is because their stadium is 45 minutes to an hour away from where the soccer hotbeds are, and it is in a sketchy part of town.


There was an article on the Silverbacks a few weeks back that was linked to from BigSoccer. The article interviewed the Silverbacks owner who had some ambitious plans underway for the team. One was building a soccer complex with a stadium in an area referred to as "Spaghetti Junction". Is this north of Atlanta? If so we will get to see whether you are right or not. The article said the complex would be ready for the 2004 Silverbacks season. The owner had already purchased the land.

[Mikey mouse]

I don't think Charleston would want to move to MLS, in fact many of the players here probably make more than they would in the MLS. I know the owners don't like the single entity idea and wouldn't want to throw away what they have spent the last ten years building. I think the A-league is prefect for Charleston. Charleston average around 3,500 and I don't think we would see much of an increase in fan base by moving to the MLS.

Believe it or not, their is alot of sports competition in Charleston. Recently the Battery attendence (3700) out drew both the local baseball team, the Riverdogs (3300) and the Arena Football team, the Swamp Fox (3600) on a Saturday night game. Take in to acount the golfing, boating, fishing, beaches and other things to do on a Saturday in the Charleston area, I think we do very well.

mikey

[FootyMundo]

Originally posted by eric515
If you put an SSS in a good location (North of the city) I think you would be pleasantly surprised at the crowds Atlanta would get. The only reason the Silverbacks don't draw is because their stadium is 45 minutes to an hour away from where the soccer hotbeds are, and it is in a sketchy part of town.



MN plays at least that far from its core base of soccer hotbed suburbs and they draw much, much better than Atlanta. At least to my knowledge they do. Often in excess of 4,000. Sometimes in excess of 5,000. And for one time events like scrimages against Chivas or a game with the Earthquakes they'll draw more than 8,000 paid and have the bleaches away from the grandstand half full - meaning there's probably over 10,000 in attendance. And no, I'm not proposing MN get a team. I'm merely using them as an example to show that location is not necessarily and excuse for attendances. MN is a solid A-League draw and they play in the absolute sticks. North and east of Minneapolis - with all the soccer hotbed suburbs generally being West and South of Minneapolis.

[DavidP]

Originally posted by notebook


There was an article on the Silverbacks a few weeks back that was linked to from BigSoccer. The article interviewed the Silverbacks owner who had some ambitious plans underway for the team. One was building a soccer complex with a stadium in an area referred to as "Spaghetti Junction". Is this north of Atlanta? If so we will get to see whether you are right or not. The article said the complex would be ready for the 2004 Silverbacks season. The owner had already purchased the land.

It's northeast of downtown. It's on the eastern edge of the "Soccer Crescent," that extends from Fayette, Cobb, and Douglas counties over to Gwinnett and DeKalb. It would probably be close enough to get the folks from the North, and some from the Westside. It's way better than where they're playing now.

The 'Backs' main problem this year is that they raised the ticket price to $15, and segregated the seating, putting the season ticket holders in the middle, but it still costs $15 to sit on the ends. Also, they've focused on the 20-something male crowd, and have more or less abandoned the family-types, and the "dreaded soccer moms," who have bought the bulk of the tickets over the last few years. They did away with the kiddie park, and brought in a Howard Stern-wannabe PA announcer (who's a rock station DJ in his other life), and have almost made a place "not" to take your kids. The attendance has tanked, except for the Open Cup game with the Burn. I've only been to one game this year, for most of the above reasons.

I think the stadium is a good idea, but the jury's still out on the training center, IMO. It seems like a good idea, but...

[FootyMundo]

$15 is not an outrageous price. MN charges $12 for general admission and some games VIP seating costs $20. And anyone who markets to just one segment is an idiot.

Sorry, but I'm gonna say it again. Atlanta just isn't a sports town. They love themselves some college football and some Nascar. And everything else? Piss poor support at best. And don't bother attacking MN. I'm not from here and I really could care less. I'm merely calling a spade, a spade.

[Chris_Bailey]

Damn, i pay 10 bucks a ticket per game.

[Mikey mouse]

Battery tickets are $6, $8, $10, and $12. Parking is $3 bucks though. Still, I think is great price to see professional football in a Soccer Specific Stadium. $15 bucks is a bit step for the family crowd your looking at 60 buck plus concesions for a family of four.

mikey

[Easybake15]

Originally posted by FootyMundo


MN plays at least that far from its core base of soccer hotbed suburbs and they draw much, much better than Atlanta. At least to my knowledge they do. Often in excess of 4,000. Sometimes in excess of 5,000. And for one time events like scrimages against Chivas or a game with the Earthquakes they'll draw more than 8,000 paid and have the bleaches away from the grandstand half full - meaning there's probably over 10,000 in attendance. And no, I'm not proposing MN get a team. I'm merely using them as an example to show that location is not necessarily and excuse for attendances. MN is a solid A-League draw and they play in the absolute sticks. North and east of Minneapolis - with all the soccer hotbed suburbs generally being West and South of Minneapolis.

I remember when I was there for USA Cup and the Wizards came to play the Thunder there. It was and is a gorgeous A-League stadium - perfect size, great pitch, nice surrounding facilities and all. It's just nowhere near anything, which was the reason they were able to build all those (50+?) fields for the complex

[notebook]

Originally posted by FootyMundo
Sorry, but I'm gonna say it again. Atlanta just isn't a sports town. They love themselves some college football and some Nascar. And everything else? Piss poor support at best. And don't bother attacking MN. I'm not from here and I really could care less. I'm merely calling a spade, a spade.

Atlanta has teams in all four major professional leagues (i.e. - NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL). Somebody certainly must be supporting something. I doubt Atlanta would be near the top of a MLS expansion list, but I am curious to see how the Silverbacks do with their new owner.

Playing in the "soccer suburbs" strikes me as a nice counterprogramming idea with all the other teams playing in the city. Especially given the suburban sprawl around Atlanta.

[DavidP]

Originally posted by FootyMundo
$15 is not an outrageous price. MN charges $12 for general admission and some games VIP seating costs $20. And anyone who markets to just one segment is an idiot.

Sorry, but I'm gonna say it again. Atlanta just isn't a sports town. They love themselves some college football and some Nascar. And everything else? Piss poor support at best. And don't bother attacking MN. I'm not from here and I really could care less. I'm merely calling a spade, a spade.

The Braves draw at least 3 million every year, and the Falcons have sold over 40,000 season tickets for this season to date. It's not our fault that the majority of Atlantans are now Yank transplants that can't turn loose of their former hometown affiliations. A bad NFL/NBA town isn't necessarily a bad MLS town.

I won't dare knock MN. The Twins are a perfect example of Butt Selig's idiotic running (and ruining) of baseball. Contract a team that had a serious run at the playoffs last year, and now are in first place (and on a very low budget at that)? S-T-U-P-I-D. Can you say "stupid," boys and girls?

But you're right, I believe the 'Backs has shot themselves in the head, not the foot, with this one. Contrary to what the "serious football supporters" (yeah right; where were you BEFORE WC '94, when all we had was the USISL?) think, the 'Backs may have done themselves in.

[DavidP]

Originally posted by FootyMundo
$15 is not an outrageous price. MN charges $12 for general admission and some games VIP seating costs $20. And anyone who markets to just one segment is an idiot.



It is when you have to drive 35 miles one way to listen to a Howard Stern wannabe, and sit from the 35 to the endzone, because they blocked off the entire center section for all 50 season ticket holders.

[eric515]

Originally posted by FootyMundo


MN plays at least that far from its core base of soccer hotbed suburbs and they draw much, much better than Atlanta. At least to my knowledge they do. Often in excess of 4,000. Sometimes in excess of 5,000. And for one time events like scrimages against Chivas or a game with the Earthquakes they'll draw more than 8,000 paid and have the bleaches away from the grandstand half full - meaning there's probably over 10,000 in attendance. And no, I'm not proposing MN get a team. I'm merely using them as an example to show that location is not necessarily and excuse for attendances. MN is a solid A-League draw and they play in the absolute sticks. North and east of Minneapolis - with all the soccer hotbed suburbs generally being West and South of Minneapolis.

Yes, but you don't have to drive on I-285 to a bad part of town to get there...You are talking about driving out to the sticks (i.e. Not alot of traffic) I am talking about driving into Atlanta...and not a great part of the Metro Area either!!

[splinterhead]

I know it has been mentioned before, but what about Birmingham? What is going on there?

[Bayernfan]

Yes, the tix are a rip-off at 15 dollars, but what's even worse is that the stadium and the atmosphere is terrible. It's a miserable high school football stadium with concrete blocks for seating. Only four years ago, the tix were 8 dollars. To me, this was about the right price to put on the Backs experience. 15 dollars, however, is a foolish decision that management made over the past off-season, along with targeting the male 20-something crowd with Southside Steve (yeaah cuum awn) and abandoning the family.

[CeltTexan]

Houston was one of the original MLS franchises back in Spet. of '95...then FIFA mandated that no top level league can have matches on Astroturf. Thus Houston's club was moved to Tampa Bay. MLS has always had a hard on for Houston, its just we don't have a big money investor now
Robertson Stadium is a beautiful soccer venue, JB at ESPN even said so as it looks good on TV.
Our new Houston Texans have posted on their web site that their new indoor grass Reliant Stadium--"meets MLS standards for play"
So that's a good sign. But I've never held my breath on MLS and my Hurricanes filled that outdoor niche.

[DavidP]

Originally posted by splinterhead
I know it has been mentioned before, but what about Birmingham? What is going on there?

I haven't heard a thing. They would be good for an A-League team, if they could play at Samford or UAB, and get good advertising. I don't think they'd be a big enough market for MLS.