The MLS Stadium Thread

Discussion in 'MLS: News & Analysis' started by fairfax4dc, May 20, 2016.

  1. Egbert Sousé

    Egbert Sousé Member

    NYCFC
    May 25, 2013
    nyc
    Club:
    New York City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He did mention the Phillies.......:whistling:
     
  2. Paul Berry

    Paul Berry Member+

    Notts County and NYCFC
    United States
    Apr 18, 2015
    Nr Kingston NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Staten Island Yankees have luxury boxes.
     
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  3. Fighting Illini

    Fighting Illini Member+

    Feb 6, 2014
    Chicago
    Minor league baseball teams increasingly do have luxury boxes actually.

    Here's the new AAA stadium in Albuquerque:
    [​IMG]

    And here's the new-ish one in Memphis:
    [​IMG]

    Sports, like any other industry, is a pretty insular little club that spends a lot of time with each other. A groupthink develops. Premium seating is the current hotness.
     
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  4. sitruc

    sitruc Member+

    Jul 25, 2006
    Virginia
    Some college baseball venues have premium seating and boxes.
     
  5. I Touchdown There

    Med
    United States
    Jun 15, 2017
    It would be interesting to sit down and do the math. After the last TV deal I think the gap has closed tremendously with regards to what is bringing in the most revenue.

    And even if butts in seats was still the #1 driver, those luxury boxes are butts in seats that drive greater revenue than regular seats. So really, you're arguing against yourself.

    I would be that when the next TV deal rolls around, this entire conversation is rendered moot.

    Everybody wants that business model, as it is causing revenues to soar. And not just in North America, European soccer is moving further in that direction than American sports are moving in the European direction. Tottenham is currently constructing what is both literally and in spirit an NFL stadium.

    Your argument is ass backwards in every sense. Chicago fans are watching tumbleweeds in empty stadiums, which makes the user experience worse. Your solution to that is to remove high revenue luxury boxes to add more empty seats.

    You've come up with a solution to lose out on potential lucrative revenues, while making the user experience even worse. Amazing.

    As far as pricing out regular joes...what do you think is going to happen to ticket prices when you remove high revenue luxury boxes? That revenue needs to be recouped somehow, and its going to be recouped by drastically raising ticket prices everywhere else.

    Having the revenues to invest in academies, coaches, scouts and players are what will drive long term growth. It really is that simple. Your argument works in a utopian fantasy land where the game belongs to the fans and leagues are run as altruistic charities. That viewpoint might have help up in the 1800's up through the 1930's or 40's. But that isn't the world we live in.
     
  6. I Touchdown There

    Med
    United States
    Jun 15, 2017
    What part of MINOR league baseball didn't you understand?
     
  7. Yoshou

    Yoshou Fan of the CCL Champ

    May 12, 2009
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Recently built or remodelled MiLB stadiums frequently have luxury boxes. This is particularly true of AAA..
     
  8. I Touchdown There

    Med
    United States
    Jun 15, 2017
    Well then that only emphasizes my point. Survival, even for leagues that don't exist in the day to day consciousness of the average US sports fans, need these kinds of revenue streams to grow and thrive.
     
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  9. Fighting Illini

    Fighting Illini Member+

    Feb 6, 2014
    Chicago
    #1259 Fighting Illini, Apr 19, 2018
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2018
    No, my solution is to create more seats while lowering average ticket prices in places where demand exceeds supply (the Fire has its own set of problems). As to the extent premium seating can or can't fit into that in an MLS context, I take no position. My earlier point about luxury boxes was simply that they crowd out what could be better and more numerous regular seats and thus make the "maximum" number of viable seats that can fit into a given venue smaller. Given that Barcelona puts 90k in the Nou Camp every week, that's not a theoretical barrier that MLS is anywhere near bumping up against.


    I think folks in Germany, where the Bundesliga has the highest average attendance of any soccer league in the world and ticket prices half as expensive as the EPL, might very well disagree.

    Or Argentinians, where they have twenty-something professional teams in Greater Buenos Aires alone, and seven larger than 40,000 seats in an area no bigger than ten miles square.

    I completely understand the way that MLS fans, especially those here, have this view that if every possible penny isn't immediately gobbled up by the MLS ownership class that the sport of soccer in America dies tomorrow. That was actually rather true in 2002, and even now it is a far more fledgling sport here than in the examples I gave. So I get it, and I try to remind myself that my utter revulsion at US sports owners exists in a context that doesn't quite fit MLS.

    But investments are being made right now with a view toward a much larger and richer future for the sport in this country. And to the extent those investments reflect a view in which sports are increasingly distant from the rank-and-file supporter in favor of other forms of monetization I think that's 1. morally objectionable on its face, but also 2. a poor fit for the culture of soccer as a sport and 3. a questionable long-term strategy for a league whose task is making new fans as opposed to ever-greater exploitation of the fan support they already have a la the Big Four.

    We both want long term growth and financial stability for MLS. I question whether copycatting the Big Four's business tactics is in fact the best way there, over both the short and long terms, with a healthy recognition of how much success the league has had doing it their way so far.
     
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  10. jaykoz3

    jaykoz3 Member+

    Dec 25, 2010
    Conshohocken, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Bundesliga might be tops in attendance, but they are lagging behind in revenue. Half of the Top 20 soccer clubs in terms of revenue are EPL teams: https://www.si.com/soccer/2018/01/2...eals-which-club-earned-most-money-last-season

    It should also be noted that German FA allows for standing sections, which tend to be very inexpensive tickets. England does not allow standing sections, and their stadiums are all seaters which contributes to the higher ticket prices. Dortmunds Yellow Wall holds 26K fans, that's more then a quarter of their stadiums capacity. The Avg ticket price in the Wall is roughly $17.

    Here's an older article that speaks to the Bundesliga's setup and low ticket prices:
    https://www.pastemagazine.com/artic...imer-why-are-bundesliga-ticket-prices-so.html

    From the article: This model, of course, has its disadvantages (though, in some cases, these limitations have actually proven to be positive). For starters, lower ticket prices mean significantly lower match day revenue. Indeed, in the same Guardian article, Seifert confirmed that in 2010, match day revenue for the Bundesliga was approximately €350 million (almost $400 million) less than the Premier League. $400 million isn’t exactly an inconsequential figure.

    Fans here in the states want the game to grow. They want MLS's quality of play to improve, more emphasis on player development, etc. Those things don't come cheap.
     
  11. Dead Fingers

    Dead Fingers Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jan 22, 2004
    St. Paul, Minnesota
    Club:
    Minnesota United FC
  12. Namrog The Just

    Namrog The Just Member+

    L.A. Galaxy
    United States
    Jul 2, 2007
    Baltimore County, Maryland
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think we can all agree that allowing people of modest means to attend sporting events is very distasteful and should be curtailed.
     
  13. Burr

    Burr Member+

    Boca Juniors
    Argentina
    Jul 8, 2014
    Tampa, FL
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    With corporations no longer able to just write off their luxury boxes because of tax changes I wonder if they might no longer be so crucial to stadium revenue.
     
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  14. Len

    Len Member+

    Club: Dallas Tornado
    Jan 18, 1999
    Everywhere and Nowhere.....I'm the wind, baby.
    Well, I know I don't want to attend a sporting event surrounded by a bunch of people like me.
     
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  15. Namrog The Just

    Namrog The Just Member+

    L.A. Galaxy
    United States
    Jul 2, 2007
    Baltimore County, Maryland
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You are far too hard on yourself my good man. You just need to make a few subtle modifications and you'll be fine. First, I recommend focusing upon your game day garments. By way of assuming the proper mien for such a social activity, might I suggest starting with something along these lines:

    [​IMG]


    It will mark you as a gentleman of refined taste and comportment. Indeed, it is my preferred attire when attend sporting events. But please do not trouble yourself with the drudgery of obtaining the aforementioned habiliments on your own. Simply have your valet make a visit to your tailor, and you will soon enough be right as rain.
     
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  16. morrissey

    morrissey Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 18, 2000
    West Los Angeles, Calif
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    LAFC Open House from this Saturday Morning:

    IMG_1766.jpg
    IMG_1800.jpg
    IMG_1823.jpg
    IMG_1830.jpg
    IMG_1835.jpg
    IMG_1801.jpg
    IMG_1804.jpg
    IMG_1805.jpg
    IMG_1815.jpg

    James
     

    Attached Files:

  17. Honore de Ballsac

    Oct 28, 2005
    France.
    Just a heads up to those unaware, there's a whole Minn United fan group with this shtick. which is awesome.
     
  18. Dead Fingers

    Dead Fingers Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jan 22, 2004
    St. Paul, Minnesota
    Club:
    Minnesota United FC
    https://twitter.com/opuloons?lang=en
     
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  19. mbar

    mbar Member+

    Apr 30, 1999
    Los Angeles, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm kind of surprised more people didn't turnout for the open house/ game viewing.
    I mean, according to them, they are the greatest most well supported team in history and their stadium is literally in every single person's backyard so its hard not to be at the stadium...

    Crowd seems paltry.
     
  20. Honore de Ballsac

    Oct 28, 2005
    France.
    Meant to include your pic of fan section behind goal. I'm sure this is detailed elsewhere in this thread and in the stadium hype, but are those seats with safe standing area bars in front of them? Or are they butt pads to mark your spot and lean on or something?
     
  21. morrissey

    morrissey Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 18, 2000
    West Los Angeles, Calif
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It was also an 8:30 opening for an event in Los Angeles on a Saturday morning.

    I had fun as i went to places I will never get to go again - Directors Lounge, Skyboxes, Field Level Boxes, Locker Room, Players Tunnel, etc.

    James
     
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  22. Len

    Len Member+

    Club: Dallas Tornado
    Jan 18, 1999
    Everywhere and Nowhere.....I'm the wind, baby.
    The vest is a bit loud for my taste; otherwise, yes.....I like it.
     
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  23. mbar

    mbar Member+

    Apr 30, 1999
    Los Angeles, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Did you guys chant "********!!!" every time the Impact goalie kicked the ball? Did any of your supporters groups drunkenly punch each other?

    Those are the most memorable things your fans did the last time they got together in LA.
     
  24. firefan2001

    firefan2001 Member+

    Dec 27, 2000
    Oswego, Illinois
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

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