John Walker

All of Walker's prior experience is with small market teams. So kind of fits the idea of trying to get the max out of a team that functions like a small market team. Said all the right things about re-engaging with the fanbase, but we'll see.

 

the resume looks legit.

 

The resume does look solid, for pro basketball and ticket.com company types. However, pro outdoor soccer is still a sport that must be marketed and "sold" as a spectator sport. Recall that association football has been very popular in the U.S. For decades now, but MLS as a spectator sport, there is still a tremendous need for a MLS front office and owners to grow the sport at youth, pro and international levels. This man appears to be another ticket sales leader/revenue stream business man but what does he know about cultivating our youth academy or does he speak Spanish for example, I figured this would be very important for Brener. Or does he even follow leagues from overseas? These topics and growing the following of Dynamo football is what me n my buddies want to hear about as our club moves forward.
I'm gonna call Brian Ching! Ha!

 

Don't think he'll have anything to do with the Youth Academy. That will continue to report up through Jordan, who is now a direct report to Brener.

 

I'm fine with the guy just being in charge of Operations.. not team rosters and stuff like that. Now we can blame Jordan if team is shit

 

I haven’t had time to review the full resume and any views of him from prior jobs but regardless of his soccer acumen, if he can’t solve the riddle of how to create value to be a STH and deliver competent and adequate customer service and experience, it won’t matter how good he is with ticket technology and sales techniques.

The Dynamo seven year history in BBVA Compass Stadium shows that when the season ticket base erodes, you can’t sell enough single game or group seats to fill up the stadium consistently or more than 2-3 times a year (like Zlatan). And I don’t sense we are ever spending Rooney money

 

Add to that the fact that Brener said that the Dynamo will continue to follow the business plan:
Creating young talented players
Spending money when appropriate.

I just don't really get any sense that there will be a large budget for player salaries, or to compete with the big boys.

It is going to be very hard for him to figure out how to fill those seats if the team continues to perform in the lower third of the league.

If the ticket technology and sales techniques begin to target single game purchasers by undercutting what a STH would pay, then there will be even more defections.

Easiest way to improve is to improve performance and develop a cohesive team that fights for each other.

 

Check.
Got that.
Just going by our low budget, minor league baseball team approach in our MLS way of being. Our market, Houston! Can be the league leader in combining paid pro older players with our elite youth product. So does this man know how to combine siginings from pro leagues in our region with development of our academy elites. And this both Dash AND Dynamo! The NBA Grizzlies a'int the gold standard on draft picks n youth pro signings brother.

 

something that stood out to me about the press release and brenners comments were multiple references to walkers skill at "efficiencies", "return on investment", "revenue collection","CRM implementation", etc. Sounds like to me this guy is a spread sheet warrior focused on the bottom line first, second and third. I don't anticipate any extra money being spent anywhere (especially in the fan experience arena) but hope im wrong

 

If he came from outside the sports world, I'd agree. He's got 30 years in sports, though. Those terms that you mention are terms that are always going to be important based on the nature of the investment group - private equity guys. However, Walker looks like a guy who was hired to basically sell tickets and reconnect with the fanbase.

 

Yes, I mean reality is if you can't win then even the greatest genius in the world can't sell tickets. The Memphis Grizzlies have seen attendance decline in each of the past 3 years. Wouldn't put that on Walker, they've had a host of issues that have driven fans away.

That having been said, I break the fanbase down into two groups: 1) those that don't show up because the team isn't winning, 2) those that have stopped showing up because of stuff done by the front office.

Put me in that latter group. I'm a native Chicagoan and lifelong fan of a bunch of teams that have mostly been garbage in my life. I still am a fan and watch when I can. I can get past the Dynamo not winning every year. However, the team has pissed me off in many other ways that made it absurd for me to own season tickets anymore. If Walker can get things back to where there's value in being a season ticket holder and reconnect with the fans to where that sense of community that used to exist is back, then people like me will come back regardless of the record. He can't control the on-the-field part, so that second part has to be his focus and what he is judged on.

 

The first group is the real problem a team that constantly performs poorly (loses) is going to have the biggest effect on people buying tickets or renewing season tickets. That is something that he has no control over as you say.

But

If there are really a bunch of people not renewing because of a feeling that they are not being treated well, how do you fix that? The two have to be interrelated. You can put up with the second one if the team is winning, but not if those are reversed.

The business model appears to be using those alphabet things that MLS has (TAM, AM, Whatever) to actually fund the team and use as little of the money from the owners wallet as possible. Trying to find bargain basement players in the Americas, and supplementing them with players that are close to their sell by date. At least when Dom ran the team you knew that the club would be getting some help in the summer transfer for a push to the playoffs.

In my opinion unless the team improves, any other stuff from the FO to reconnect wont work. The very first item on his agenda is to connect with supporters groups. How about connecting with the folks who actually pay full freight. Those are the ones who are feeling let down, disaffected and taken for granted, and they as a group provide more season ticket income than any other group.

But in the end, it won't matter what they do on the business side to reconnect unless they improve the product.

It all started going downhill when they dumped the DG's

 

The one thing I didn't hear him say which I would have liked to have heard is amid all the different groups he said he was going to talk to, he didn't mention former season ticket holders. That would be one of my first, try to get a better sense of why people have left.

Your point on connection between winning and discontent is a fair one. I can only speak for myself, but I'm pretty sure I would have dumped my tickets either way. When I first moved back to Houston and picked up season tickets, it felt like a club. There was intimacy, a great overall experience, etc. Over time, for me anyway it started to feel very corporate. I no longer felt like part of the family, I felt like a dollar sign.

 

I like that fact that he is in charge of one thing and one thing only and the Jordan is responsible for the roster top to bottom.

If we fail on the field, Jordan is the guy we get to point the finger at.

If our marketing, ST holders drop, etc, we get to point the finger at Walker.

Looks like there is a separation of accountability here that leaves no room from blaming the other. Which for us is perfect. Do your job or you are out.

I think in the past we could point the finger at Jordan, who could point the finger at Canetti, who could point it the other way for how the team is performing. I just want the team to make an effort to not look like a shit show on the road and be a wall at home. Build up the academy with solid players that will don the badge with pride and play for the city because it's where they are from! Stop selling us bullshit and take accountability for their mistakes. How hard is it to call a spade a spade in the fact that you made a misjudgement on the direction of the team and now you are trying to fix it.....

 

If you perused the analysis I did re payroll vs table finish, you see that even in this lousy year we're already significantly outperforming a pitiful payroll. That might give some hope but to me it's a sign the orange is already pretty well squeezed. Pun intended. So a small market penny pincher might be more a status quo hire.

There are two inherent issues with the current approach, from a business perspective. One, you have competing teams that are spending the money and have players who capture the imagination and ticket dollars. Two, they have never tapped into a good team bad team rain shine fan experience vibe. The former you either spend the money or not. The latter, he doesn't show any particular strength in. You can't "social media" us into a "show up every game and sing" kind of team. That takes work and probably some money.

I wonder what happened with a shirt sponsor this year and they do mention that experience. And per that announcement you can now get a sleeve sponsor but you have to get the shirt one to sell the sleeve one. Already behind the curve.

Organizationally, I assume "president" is now an insider owner type position and they basically got rid of that as a two-gig job and elevated veep type people to basically be president of their side. So there's a president of the business and a GM. So leading the business is kind of downgraded into a full time job. I do think this takes away some of Jordan and Cabrera's insulation from accountability. No president is going to the owners to run interference. The GM is responsible for soccer to the owner, period. But if the owner knows he's not spending much is he going to be as ruthless.

 

More from Walker
“Different audiences will come to matches for different reasons. We need to find the best mix of things that touch on a lot of different audiences. Some of that will be around the game experience, some of it will be around the competitiveness on the pitch, some of it may be through the use of technology, some of it might be all about drinking a beer and having a good time. All of those things have to be put in play to appeal to multiple audiences in order to pack the house.”

I spend just under $2000 for my seat to experience competitiveness on the pitch as do just about everyone sitting around me that does not have their company name on the seat.

Technology is about 1/2 of 1% in drawing me to the game. And I can drink a beer and have a good time far cheaper at Pitch 25.

 

That doesn't mean the wifi has to suck as much as it does at times. LOL

 

I think the problem is they need to be rationing it. Just have better wifi for those of us who pay more for our seats. Kinda like an elite wifi.

It could be called DynamoVIPWifi.

That would really PO Webb

 

I also liked that Brener actually said "Jordan will report directly to me." Before it seemed like Brener was just kinda sitting on the sideline and never gave the impression that he was really in charge.

 

I smell monetization. We'll add $100 to the ST and you'll get your better breed of wifi. Can't have you sharing paltry wifi with the unwashed.

 

I think the org chart stuff simplifies taking action, if they are so inclined. But are they? Otherwise you just moved lines on a paper. Yeah, he reports to me, but I know I am giving him no money to work with, can't bitch about that. Except we may slightly punch over weight but look what NYRB did with their payroll. Hmm. Maybe we should expect more.

Walker to me sounds like a new businessperson to try and squeeze the orange For a Few Dollars More. I think we see from experience, particularly with this "brain trust," the competitive model is crocked. The league has moved on since 2006 and to be real it was a bit of magic those players aligning for a few years under a hard cap. I don't think we've worked out a machine with championship in it since. It's plucky by definition. We're from a top 4 city with other teams that spend money. Treated like a small market team for years, the Astros were playing to road fans. Plucky is not going to sell tickets.

But, one way of looking at this is that's now exclusively Jordan's problem, reporting to Brener about it if ownership ever gets fed up enough. Walker washes his hands of the matter and his job is to work the bottom line.

 

One way Walker may improve things is advising the Dynamo sales staff to refrain from political commentary on their twitter accounts. You insult roughly half of your potential customers with tweets like the below.

http://mobile.twitter.com/JayAdelberg/status/1059130734730993670

 

Scene - Dynamo Front Office
Time - 0900 Monday Morning
Event - All Hands Meeting

Walker: Ok guys we need to have a brainstorming session to figure out how to fill the stadium
Employee 1: We tried the Honduran angle, got some good players but no ticket sales
Employee 2: Tried the Mexican angle too, but that Landin guy kinda blew it for us, then we loaned out Cubo for the first six months of his contract and that didn't get us any more ticket sales either
Employee 3: We tried pushing the Pride thing with the Dash and sales dropped off so we didn't use it for the Dynamo, but ticket sales still went down.
Employee 4: Tried the Faith and Family thing a while back, got a few more tickets sales, but then the Pride thing kinda messed that up
Employee 5: We put a million into improving the concessions last year, but the only real result was that a beer and a snack cost more than the cheapest ticket.
Employee 6: Shaming doesn't work either, we had our social media folks encourage sales to start shaming people not buying tickets for Open Cup, that really upset some folks.
Employee 7: I got nothing, how about just putting money into getting the best possible players we can, mebee even a few million on a recognizable name from the Premier League - that Rooney signing and the Zlatan signings were great
Walker: Not my department, now lets continue brainstorming - don't be afraid to throw anything out no matter how stupid it sound
Employee 2: Bring back the Dynamo Girls
Employee 5: Snuggies night when it gets cold (of course we'd have to be in the playoffs cause it don't get cold til the end of November
Employee 7: A bouncy house area for the kids
Employee 8: Ok this may sound strange but it could work. Lets say we average 10k seats a game (cause we know that's all it really is). That leave 12k seats unfilled. Offer each seat for $10 that's $120,000 a game. Now here's the deal - every seat has a number right like section 104 row g seat 22. All the seats in the stadium go into a drawing and each game you draw 3 seats. 1st prize is $15000, 2nd prize is $10000, and 3rd prize is $5000. You got butts in seats and you net $90k - thats over $1 million after payouts.
Walker: Naaa - If we don't field a winning team I don't think we could even bribe people to come