Thoughts? No one thought we'd be anything more than a drop in the bucket but we have the record for season ticket holders and our team looks like it could compete for the playoffs in year 1.
Hate to say it, but the history of sports fandom in Atlanta points toward no. As good as Atlanta has done so far, they're still behind Seattle at this point. I'd like to be proven wrong. The Falcons this season aside, there isn't a lot of history of success for professional teams in Atlanta. If they can become a winner, that'll go a long way. The fact that it's a new team in a comparatively new league could help as well. Transplants who grew up supporting other teams in other leagues may be more willing to make Atlanta United their team because they didn't have a soccer team growing up (raises hand).
If we're talking about purely season average attendance, we'd have to beat Seattle's all time best of 44,247. From what the club has released on attendance, they'll be capping it at 40k with a few possible exceptions (my bet would be the openers for both stadiums, and maybe a big ticket team like LA or rival like Orlando). Assuming 55k for the first game at Bobby Dowd and 71k for the Benz opener, perfect case scenario of 40k for the other 15 home games we're looking at an average of 42.7k. We'd have to open the full stadium for two more games (let's just assume we get 55k for the NYCFC game and 60k for the LA game) to put us above the all time average at 44,764. Certainly doable, but a lot of things have to go right. If we're talking about number of fans in general and market penetration, it might be a hard sell like Mach1 said seeing Atlanta's history with current/past teams (especially if they don't start doing so well in the standings).
Pragmatic answer is "no," if only because the measuring stick is pretty far. The telling sign will be how many ST holders renew even if the season is a humbling one. Plus I'm pleased with how things have evolved while keeping my expectations modest. All I wanted at the beginning was 20k. Essentially filling the lower bowl. That we're now poised to break 30k... Amazing! Is the potential there? Possibly. One thing I'd be curious to see is exactly what the capacity will be with the upper deck closed off. Reason being - Once you open up the upper deck it's pretty much all or nothing, and that might dramatically alter the gameday experience. For instance, if the conventional MLS configuration for MBS caps out at about 40k and we (dare to dream!) consistently cap out at 37k, then I'd rather they keep that configuration then risk opening it up too often in a chase for the higher number. Think about that for a second: Even disregarding the naysayers comments about how bad Atlanta has been as a sports market, the mere concept of consistently piling 30k+ into a stadium for MLS should be considered shout-from-the-top-of-Stone-Mtn. awesome! Especially if we provide the atmosphere to go with it. Thus - My dream is to be a notch better than Orlando attendance-wise and become the eastern counterpart to Seattle with regard to MLS experience. MBS is tailor made to make that happen, and if we get it right this first year we can keep fan enthusiasm high and then there is a great deal of potential to make that happen. If we do then I'd be over the moon. But that means not only being there but truly getting the fans involved. Standing and cheering, singing and chanting, bringing tifos, and, most importantly, doing it EVRY TIME, WIN OR LOSE! If we make this about us as much as the team, it's possible.
Having been part of the Atlanta sports community for the past thirty years, my feeling is that we need to win a lot of games this first season or interest will melt away. The core will always remain but in order for AU to be a "thing" they'll need to generate actual excitement on the pitch. Looks like they're doing a good job at providing the players to make that come true. We'll see.
What he said. The most important thing is to win. Win everything. People from all over love the Patriots, the Crimson Tide, the Yankees, and list can go on and on. I don't want to hear it if you don't like one of those teams. Point is simple. If the team wins a lot of games the first few years and it looks and feels like real soccer culture then it will be hugh.
I don't think Atlanta is behind Seattle in their respective stages as a MLS club and I think that's the only fair way to look at it. AUFC 27k to 30k STH is above the Sounders in their first season 4 weeks before kick-off. If the team is exciting and the out of town ST numbers continue to be unbelievably high I think they have a chance to be right at the top of MLS in 5 years.
The fans can do nothing about the product on the field. And, TBH, the organization can only do so much initially. But the gameday/stadium experience is heavily influenced by these groups. If the fans and the organization make the game fun to attend no matter the score, that will pay off in keeping fans through the tough stretches.
Sorry to drop this in here, but didn't see a really good other thread related to fans visiting. I am coming out from LA to hit a game in Orlando on 4/29 and then your game against DC on 4/30 (home I got those dates right). Regardless, flying into ATL mid Sunday morning and have a hotel across from Bobby Dodd. To save money, taking subway up from the airport to Georgia Tech Area- I think it is North Station, then walk across the freeway to stadium/hotel area. Reverse the process on Monday morning to fly back to LA. How long of a walk from the subway to Tech? Got a roller bag also. What is the area like around the subway stop- one map showed kind of shopping/restaurant district? Looking forward to the game at Bobby Dodd, got into the empty stadium years ago (maybe 10 years) . Much changed? How do you think it will play for soccer? Once I hit Atlanta this year and Minnesota and LAFC next year, will have been to every team in the league and 1 or 2 stadiums for each. I try to hit the older or original stadium first, come back to the newer place second. (thats why I am hitting Orlando) Will come back and check your dome maybe when Miami or DC finally get their places...
Shouldn't be too bad of a walk if you're pulling a wheeled suitcase. I'm not too familiar with hanging out in that part of Atlanta - there's a shopping/eating area now up the line at a place called Atlantic Station which is very contemporary Outdoor Mall, if you know what I mean. Not great "atmosphere", but it's convenient to where you'll be and full of restaurants, etc. Bobby Dodd has a reputation among my gridiron friends as having terrible sight-lines. I've only been once, and that was twenty five years ago at least. Who knows how the footie will play out there? The best that can be said is that it will be open air and real grass, so there's that. Congratulations on hitting all the stadiums in the league!
To be fair, most Atlanta teams have historically been God awful. There's a difference between teams having highs and lows in winning and historically always being a whipping boy in every league. I believe if we put a winning team out there; we'll have winning attendance. However, if we put a dud that gets stomped on by everyone and ignored by the higher ups, I expect the fanbase to do the same.
BDS is actually really good for football save for two things: 1) It's very tight, so the gridiron players on the bench restrict near-sideline views. It's possible this may come into play with the wider footie field but hopefully nowhere near as badly. 2) The atrocious over-reach of the north end zone expansion is not only architecturally clumsy but the configuration means the upper deck of that section has poor acoustics, with the uppermost seats feeling really far away for what is otherwise a smallish stadium. They'd have been far better if they simply made a small two-tier stand that mirrored the east side, IMO. At the absolute least fans will be really close to the action, which should be great, and, assuming a crowd of about 30k, if they've kept the fans from the upper west and upper north sections it should feel like a raucous setting. I will say this - If you end up in the east side or north side sections be sure to wear sun block, shades and a hat for any day games because Mr. Sun can be quite brutal on those sections. Also, seating in the semi-historic lower west stand will feel very tight because it's old-school bleacher spacing there. Indeed. Very cool feat.
The walk from the North Ave station to the stadium isn't bad at all, maybe a half a mile so ~10 minutes. Its a fairly safe area of Atlanta with Tech right there. I'm guessing you got a room at the Hampton as it's the only hotel on that side of the connector in that part of town. Gunner correct me if I'm wrong but there's not to much in the immediate area right there. Personally I'd take an Uber to the Centennial Park area, the Colony Square area at 14th and Peachtree, or Atlantic Square like the good Dr. said up on 17th.
I heard that about 20 more people joined TL after the game. That brings total membership to around 500 with 6 local chapters in 3 States.
My south and west side knowledge of the Marta lines are limited. I'd either park at the airport (the park and ride lot is $9) or if you want free parking go to either the College Park station which is just north of the airport or the Holmes station on the East-West line out near the 285-20 intersection. They both have free parking but I'm not sure of the safety of your car in either. I'd imagine the College Park would be a little safer than Holmes due to it's proximity to the airport. Or you could drive up to the Dunwoody or North Springs stations on the north side and ride in with us!
Won't be done until later this summer. In the meantime you can go see the Mediocre Wall in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Atlanta United surpasses 40k tickets sold for opener Club President Darren Eales said the team is on pace to sell out the stadium, which has a capacity of 55,000. “We are going to go for it and look to sell it out,” he said. http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-u...ckets-sold-for-opener/i7Mtbbv921TXbJmtA5oUvO/