Attendance Minimums should be required

Discussion in 'CONCACAF Champions Cup' started by seaoctopus, Jul 27, 2011.

  1. seaoctopus

    seaoctopus Member

    Apr 25, 2011
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I am watching the recaps of the San Francisco - Sounders match and it occurred to me that CONCACAF should have attendance minimums for these games. I think there were about 50 people in the stands for a 20K stadium or what. Half of the crowd were Seattle supporters. Could have held this match in the parking lot...
     
  2. Nico Limmat

    Nico Limmat Member+

    Oct 24, 1999
    Dubai, UAE
    Club:
    Grasshopper Club Zürich
    Nat'l Team:
    Switzerland
    Sounds like something the AFC would do for it's Champions League. In the ACL access is granted based on competitiveness, professionalism, marketability, and financial status of a league and its clubs.

    Domestic league attendance is in there somewhere in the criteria, but the other factors have kept out Syria who can draw 30-40K in Homs and Aleppo during the group stage.

    Anyway, CONCACAF doesn't have the depth for any kind of criteria.
     
  3. nfiniti

    nfiniti Member

    Jun 30, 2007
    Rutherford
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    Panama
    San Fran's situation was bad logistics.

    Their home stadium was unfit because Panama's national Sports Institution decided to put up a roof just now (government-owned stadium, not team owned).. right when the local league starts, and right when SF has to play an international game... idiots to the 10th degree.

    that stadium holds 8,000 and would have been at least 50% full, but since they had to switch to Rommel stadium (which holds 30,000+), which is at least 45 minutes from SF's stadium, to that add in traffic time, most did not make the trip ...

    also, in my opinion, there wasn't enough publicity regarding the game..
     
  4. JG

    JG Member+

    Jun 27, 1999
    They drew 725 in their normal stadium for Cruz Azul last year.
     
  5. chapka

    chapka Member+

    May 18, 2004
    Haverford, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Or, here's a radical idea, why not base the matchups on which teams can win games on the field instead of who has more fans in the stands?

    Don't the richer, better supported teams already have plenty of advantages without shutting the less well supported teams out of the tournament completely?
     
  6. YukataNinja

    YukataNinja New Member

    Dec 4, 2007
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    From a supporter at that game, he said there was a big storm that day, see http://www.weareecs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=13710&p=270296#p270296. In 2009 they had a much larger crowd.

    What really should be mandated is using the home stadium. I have traveled to Panama and El Salvador now and both times the game was moved to the national stadium and the atmosphere greatly suffered. And the field conditions at the national stadiums were still terrible, I don't think playing at the team's home stadiums would have resulted in any worse play from conditions.
     
  7. chapka

    chapka Member+

    May 18, 2004
    Haverford, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Most of the CONCACAF stadium requirements are pretty minimal, and without them the game really can't take place. Hot water in the locker rooms; lights bright enough that the game is visible on a TV broadcast; power and phone lines for the broadcast trucks. Somewhere for the journalists, and the visiting team's staff, to sit other than in the middle of the home crowd.

    IIRC, the first year of the competition, before they started cracking down on the stadium rules, there was one game that was almost unwatchable on the broadcast because the stadium lights weren't up to TV standards, so you could barely make out the players.
     
  8. Ganapper

    Ganapper Member

    Apr 5, 2009
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't see any way to enforce this that doesn't leave out a good portion of teams.
     

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