I'll tell you that my spend was much more significant that. 4 midfield seats (moved to midfield preferred), parking, we ate in the stadium every single game, the wife and I were good for 3-4 drinks between us and our team store spend was through the roof. As as percentage of my entertainment budget, DCU is not necessarily making their value proposition at the moment. Now, we eat/feed the kids before we leave the house or snack them in car and mostly avoid the team store. If you go back and look at the STM solicitation there are host of things at least tacitly promised that they haven't followed through on, combined with SG shit, this TV deal that have continued to leave a poor taste in my mouth. After adding 3 games to my plan, making FAM hard to redeem and raising prices 10% last year, I don't have much stomach for giving them much more money next year than I presently am right now. My Caps STM experience is much better than my DCU experience right now. Nearly everything I've gotten from DCU for FAM, I got from the Caps or got more just based on my on going spend with the team, which considering that the Caps just won a title vs DCU who hasn't won shit in years is getting a bit galling. There's a big difference in the experience when you have an owner in Leonsis who can actually afford to own a winning team compared to Levien and Kaplan who are just gliding the lilly hoping to make a buck off of us.
I bought a half season plan in 1996 but after buying tickets to most other matches I went to a full season plan in 1997. Then I had a full season plan last year, 2018. They pissed me off so bad that this year, only because of my brother, we bought a 4 game pack. My Dad and brother pay for 2 of the 3 seats. So after 21 years they lost me as a source of revenue. As I have said I am still a fan and watch matches but this ownership group and their lack of respect for STH have made their bed.
Unless something extremely drastic happens, I will not be a season-ticket-holder next year for the first time in United's history. I think they had like 9 players signed when I bought my first set.
As long as lost fans are replaced by new ones they don't care. This was the same FO that tried to push Barra/DU out the door. They don't mind if the old guard fans don't come back, they probably hope they don't. There was a way that Flo Sports could have been rolled out properly but once they got the first check they weren't interested in the customer service side of things. Simple things like testing to make sure the system actually works before the season starts would have avoided the first game disaster. Flo Sports is giving DC something like $13M over 4 years. It would make some sense to invest a couple hundred bucks to ensure that the official team bar has the infrastructure in place to stream the games. Instead you have fans going to bars getting told they aren't streaming because it is too much for their systems to handle. But hey, they got paid so they don't care.
Oh we are all aware of the short sighted nature of this FO. The problem is that fans are not coming to replace me. They are not coming to replace Dave Jarvy and old member of LA Norte. Too often fans at AF are dressed as grey/black seats. So you may have a $13 million check but soon you will not have a product to sell because no one will want to buy the product.
They have a lot riding on this season which is seemingly headed south. Out current first place standing is fools gold and the team in its current form won't be competing for the MLS cup like they imagined.
Since nobody can watch the games, I'm not sure how important the product on the field actually is. I think the Flo deal might get taught in sports management classes in 50 years as a case example on how to kill a major league sports team. It's really that bad.
We will never see the data but I'd love to know the viewership numbers and how they compare to last season.
I realized on Saturday that the only time I actually hear Dave and Devon anymore is when I am in the men's room during the run of play.
Well, that might be part of the equation. It's entirely possible that DC United (and MLS in general) might have considered that the ratings were so abysmal that they didn't have much to lose by going with Flo. If nobody's watching anyway, hell, cash the check and run.
Not only have we slipped to second place, but Philadelphia has one game in hand on us, NYRB & Atlanta United have 2 games in hand on us and NYCFC has FOUR games in hand on us.
I guess I'm wondering...why do so many of you feel disillusioned with the club? I personally enjoy the viewing experience at Audi Field much more than RFK. It's definitely not what LAFC or Minnesota have, but I think it's a really nice place to watch a match. The product on the field is significantly better too. We'll see how this season works out. Maybe it could all come crashing down. There have definitely been some major debacles over the last few years. Personally, I don't watch the team away from home as often because sometimes I just don't feel like setting up the VPN. At least issues with the supporters groups have improved considerably, and the major architect of those issues is long gone.
I'm disillusioned with the club because they don't have any vision for how they want to acquire players, develop players, and play the game. There doesn't seem to be much vision into who they acquire (see Stieber who is not a high workrate guy -- Acosta has worked out, but we found him only because the agent of our actual target pushed him onto DCU. Initially, Acosta was not a high workrate guy so kudos to Ben). Ben runs tactics that teams on a tight budget run. Additionally, Ben's tactics confuse me. Mixing a high press with a low block stretches out the midfield and yields the midfield to our opposition. Most importantly, I want to see attacking soccer. I'm seriously considering canceling my tickets after this season.
I'm disillusioned almost fully by the FO. The men/women running this club are an embarrassment. I have many times called them real estate developers and that is how the act. They make decisions against the grain of the bulk of the fan-base. They show no real understanding of how to run a sports franchise. A Ted Leonsis, Jerry Jones, or a Mark Cuban make smart business decisions. They will on occasion make a decision based upon the bottom line. However they are always knowing and understanding that you cannot make decisions as if you owned a widget factory. You have to understand who and what your customer base is. How that customer base is your best source of new customers. I have not brought a "new" fan or a part time fan to a DC United game in 8-9 years. No one wants to go. No matter how bright ans shiny so may suggest AF is.
That would make for an interesting imaginary financial circle-jerk. 1. MLS buys Flo using Garberbucks. 2. MLS/Flo pays DCU its annual contractual installments in Garberbucks. 3. DCU buys shiny new deck chair players using those same Garberbucks. 4. MLS gets its Garberbucks back. 5. <Is the MLS/Flo contract with DCU still in effect?> Y/N Yes--- Return to Step 2. No --- END
Well they have moved into Cincy as well. I think there is no doubt MLS would like to jettison ESPN+ and leave it with USL games. What will be interesting is when the Fox and ESPN broadcast contracts come up for renewal. Will those "partners" just walk away? if they do, then either Flo or YouTube TV will become the MLS "exclusive provider."