USLVerified account @USL 10m10 minutes ago Watch live as Fresno is unveiled as the newest #USL club. #USL2Fresno
They've been pulling in thousands for years. Didn't @kenntomasch mention they were largely free entry? It's time to put up or shut up. Can Fresno make the jump to pro soccer?
Matches were free until a few years ago, but they have charged for tickets ($10-$15) for the last few seasons, and attendance actually went UP. Yes, those prices were cheaper than most USL tickets, but it's still a good sign for the new team that they could sell around 4,000 tickets per match for mostly amateur-level players (we have a few players who have played at a pro level) and still make around $10 per person. The team will play at Chukchansi Park, which will likely be a tad big at around 13,000 seats (it's very unlikely the new, soccer-specific stadium will seat even 10,000 unless they can get that many in the door every game this season). That said, the new leadership has every intention to try to fill it. And, unlike most Fuego matches in the past, the park will be modified from baseball to accommodate a regulation soccer field (they said they made a deal with the city/Grizzlies for stadium modifications, but I'm not sure if that means just the field itself or whether there will be any tweaking of the seating as well). I think even averaging 6,000 per match this coming season would be a success, but I also think everyone is shooting for much more than that.
Fresno has never had anything this close to a top level pro team before: the Grizzlies and Bulldog Football/Basketball are both almost there, but AAA baseball teams are still overshadowed by their major league partners and don't usually have their own following or a national audience (although the Grizzlies have done a great job of branding the team as Fresno's own), and the Bulldogs, while garnering a national audience, are still amateurs. It might be decades before Fresno can support a top-tier pro team (short of soccer starting promotion/regulation, fat chance of that though), so hopefully the city will rally around this team and make them their own! Can't wait to see you out there!
I think the city can rally around this.. Its a big step above the Fuego. I grew up on Bulldog football and basketball just like everybody else in town. Although the basketball program is getting its act together its sad how the football team has went into the depths of hell. Jeff Tedford is back in the fold so we'll see. Would love to see Fresno step it up sports wise
Fresno Fuego FC @FresnoFuego 23h23 hours ago NEWS: Club awarded 2017 Franchise of the Year by @USLPDL More http://www.fresnofuego.com/news_article/show/865083?referrer_id=2942509 …
Yallop in the news in Fresno. New kit revealed. http://www.fresnobee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/marek-warszawski/article198923944.html
Foxes practicing. First match on Saturday! http://www.fresnobee.com/sports/soccer/article197722089.html