hey guys im a first time poster in this section so i need some help. im a ct native, and i live 15 minutes from this field. i will be at the game no doubt. i was wondering if anyone has info about things like where the usa would be practicing and things like that...i would love the oppurtunity to see the guys play...or just see them in general. i would love to do some field work for BS.com. thanks for any info shared guys its appreciated!! forza inter
Are we still wearing red, even though that's what T&T will be in? White? Blue? Will there even be 20K at this one?
Disturbing to think that the east coast fans feel there will only be 25,000 at a match this late into qualifying. Ok, so it's only T&T, but a critical match none-the-less and the stadium's capacity is only 40,000. It would be a success if the thing sold out and you held T&T supporters to 30% of the crowd (proximity to NYC means there could be a sizable T&T contingent of fans there), or 12,000 T&T supporters - max. That actually seems like too many T&T supporters, but doable and still assure us some kind of home field advantage. It's time US Soccer considers resting all east coast cities from Qualifiers - just for awhile....
I could be low-balling it a bit, but it's a midweek game, an unattractive opponent, and the game hasn't really been heavily marketed--plus a lot of people are looking past it to the Mexico game just 2 weeks later (including a lot of out-of-town fans who would otherwise be there but are saving their money for Columbus). Fixed. And I'm assuming you're not including Columbus as an East Coast city (it's not, but it's close enough that a lot of people would consider it one). Foxboro and RFK have always done very well for weekend games, they just don't do well midweek...Hartford, I'm sure, is the same.
No, Columbus is a midwestern town if anything. It just seems that the sheer amount of people on the east coast should bring us a few more supporters, but the consensus seems to think maybe 30k, and obviously there will be a T&T presence in the crowd, so what are we doing scheduling in a stadium like this if it can't even sell out with T&T supporters? Columbus, Portland (OR) and Salt Lake City are looking more like places of the future. Schedule a match against a non Spanish speaking opponent at the Home Depot Center in LA and let's see what happens.
I'm wearing red, but wear whatever you want; it's a free country for the moment. As was said just below: "... it's a midweek game, an unattractive opponent, and the game hasn't really been heavily marketed--plus a lot of people are looking past it to the Mexico game just 2 weeks later (including a lot of out-of-town fans who would otherwise be there but are saving their money for Columbus)..." FWIW, T&T didn't bring that many supporters to their qualifier in Foxboro several years ago, probably no more than 5,000, if even that. I'll predict something about 17,000. The Magpie
They had a press conference at the stadium today attended by Coach Arena. Mostly boilerplate, but I did hear two bits of interest: -The team will be staying at the Crown Plaza hotel downtown -Only 15,000 tix sold so far
Yeah. Do college football fans change their color when they play another similiar team (michigan v. penn state, ohio state v. wisconsin)???
Looks as though I've managed to arrange a last minute business trip to New England next week. Does anyone know whether anybody will be selling tix to Sam's Army section at the SA tailgate next week? Otherwise, I'll purchase a regular ticket at the gate on the day of the game.
15,000. That's sad. Maybe the casual soccer fan is waiting to go to the qualifier in Boston? How far apart are the two cities? But that's a discussion for another thread.
Only 15,000 sold so far... (heavy sigh)... I'm afraid this could be the first and last visit to CT for the USMNT for quite a while. Too bad, I thought it was a perfect venue... 38,000 capacity for soccer, "regulation" size field, easy drive from both Boston and NYC... guess I was wrong.
Both Boston and NYC are about 2 hours away. I'm sure putting the Panama qualie in Foxboro did not help.
I agree with this sentiment, but not how you got there. This game was never going to be a big draw - anywhere.
Weeknight games like this (yes I know it was a FIFA date) against "inferior" opponents turn off casual fans. I'm getting out of work early & leaving NYC with two pals at 4pm to head to Hartford, but many other friends told me they would have made the trip had the match been scheduled on a Saturday.
Can almost guarantee that whatever the crowd is for next Wednesday's game will probably be just about (if not higher) than what we're going to have here at the Boro for Panama. Another mid-week game, against an unattractive opponent, after the US has (hopefully) already qualified. I was asked by Revs management my opinion about them going after the Panama game and I said it was a bad idea. They chose not to listen. Hopefully they prove me wrong.
Make that 15,042. I bought 42 tickets yesterday for a bus trip from Albany. Why anyone from Columbus is crizicizing this game is beyond me. Big deal, you can sellout Mexico, on a Saturday no less. 15K is about what they put in the building for Grenada and Jamaica combined. Andy is right this is a tough sell. Another factor keeping the counts down (at least from my perspective trying to sell a bus trip) is High School Soccer. In NYS, so I presume the rest of the northeast, this is the first week that school soccer is beginning. You know, tryouts, two-a-days. Between having to practice at night or late afternoon and again early Thursday morning is keeping the numbers down as the kids (and their coaches) are foregoing the trip if they are more than an hour away.
Dude, that wasn't criticism of the bloody venue. I expected it to be higher myself. The 'sad' part is a commentary on where the game rates on the priority list of people. We only had 11k for JAM. I personally think it should have gone to DC or LA. Oh, and I'm driving to the match at Hartford. I'd criticize USSF if they put the Panama match in Cleveland too.
Not to mention this will be the 5th time we have played Panama in 14 months, and it will be Panama's 8th game in the U.S. since October 2004. All the makings of a box office flop. If this game were a movie, the studio would send it straight to DVD.
The fact is, the USMNT ticket buying public has become much more sophisticated - especially in the east coast MLS areas. Meaningless mid-week school night game in November vs Jamaica? Who the ******** cares? Meaningless mid-week school night game in October vs Panama? Who the ******** cares? At this point, I consider anything over 10k for Panama to be a rousing success. And if it is, it will likely be because Panama is playing for that fourth spot and their fans show up - because you ain't gonna see much in the way of support for the USMNT at that game. I really consider the Panama in Foxboro game to be a complete travesty. That game - played between the final two weeks of the MLS campaign - was tailor made for a non-MLS market. Send it to brand new 13k seat Pae-Tec Park in Rochester. Send it to wonderful 5k seat Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston or 7,200 seat SAS Stadium in Cary. 68,000 seat Gillette Stadium in Foxboro? WTF? ---- As to the T&T game. I'm disappointed by the Ticket sales. But apparently even the expatriots from the Caribbean can't be arsed anymore. The monster crowds of Jamaicans and Trinidadians we saw 6 to 8 or more years ago are gone. Apparently it's set in that these games are usually losses and all too frequently massacres. It's one thing to show up to root on your homeland against the U.S. when the party is likely to end in a tie or even a win. It's a much harder sell when a tie is no more likely than a 7-0 ass-kicking loss. It's pretty hard to get energized for that. The growing success of the U.S. - especially in CONCACAF (what was it, 31 games without a loss in the confederation before the game in Azteca?) has sapped away much of the fervor and demand for tickets from the various immigrant communities. We're in a transitional state with the ethnic crowds. In another 10 years, everyone likes a winner, they'll be showing up to root on the United States. The last massive presence I saw of Caribbean fans was back in 1997 at RFK Stadium (Jamaica). The 2000-2001 triple of Barbados, Trinidad, and Jamaica at Foxboro Stadium never saw more than a few thousand "away" fans. And even the Panama support at RFK last October was relatively weak.
In the interest of planning activities, I just got back to Hartford from a summer in Italy, and it looks like the pre-game festivities have grown on Pratt Street. Apparently now there are live bands and a shuttle to and from the game (good for those of us who don't want to worry about driving or pay $12 to park). This is all from the ads Vaughn's has been running in a local newspaper under the headline "Hooligans Wanted!" Take what you will from that, but even if attendance at the game won't be too impressive, the pre-game party should be packed. It does say festivities start at 5pm though, but of course it will be open all afternoon for us.