There was extensive local coverage of the team being saved, the new ownership, new stadium plans, etc. But day to day coverage is more limited, on a par with the Clippers rather than the Blue Jackets or OSU.
I honestly think it's a "both ways" problem. It is quite CLEAR that the Crew is loved and wanted. Going forward though, just because they saved the club doesn't mean the new ownership has a clean slate and the trust. They've got to earn it, show that they are what the club/fans NEED as the owners. On that same token the fans have to be willing to allow the new ownership to find its feet and HELP steer things while not being quick to roll eyes and do the "same ol same ol" dance.
Completely agree with this, although I don't think there has been any "same ol, same ol" stuff going on. I just don't think the Crew, because of past indifference, is in the forefront of the minds of the market. That will take a while to change. Regardless of what other people say about Columbus, this is a vibrant city with a variety of entertainment options vying for the public interest and dollars. Ownership is working to make the Crew games a priority beyond the core supporters but that won't happen overnight.
Maybe it is the homer in me talking, but I (and a lot of others around Seattle) think there *is* something special about how the Sounders ownership group has operated... They have invested heavily in success, and smartly, so many of those investments have paid off. So far Blank has done the same in Atlanta, but sure... lets see where they are at the 5 year and 10 year mark. So far Cincinnati is running on shiny toy fumes, and while their USL successes bodes well (plus they are kind of that perfect mid-sized market sweet spot, IMO) only time will tell if they can maintain their enthusiasm... Because I don't think they have "Blank Dollars" to spend.
For me the key is whether you could transplant Blank and his entire front office apparatus to Colorado…have him open his check book...and simply by virtue of his vision and skills and plans sell out that stadium within three years…I'd even give him the ability to relocate the stadium to an ideal spot in Denver…still not sure this stuff is portable…I'm a big supporter of Red Bull ownership of our team but I'd bail in a second if that magic wand was out there and go with the wielder… If Blank is such a fanbase and team building savant why aren't the Falcons America's Team…why don't NFL fans say if only we had Arthur Blank our franchise would take off…don't get me wrong the Falcons appear to be a well run successful franchise…Blank and his team have done a good job…but nothing out of the ordinary…great new stadium…reasonably successful on the field…made the Super Bowl one season but again nothing that has other fanbases drooling… Seattle ownership anticipated downsizing Quest/Century Link to 20k+…even contemplated a name change to give the MLS team a fresh start…they had no idea a fresh start wasn't needed that Seattle was ready to make soccer history...
I think that those were “reasonable assumptions and precautions” when Seattle entered the league... and thankfully the fanbase stepped up and disabused them of the things they got wrong during the launch... but I don’t think they have ever lacked the commitment to investment... not just onesy-twosy in odd DP players here and there... but in scouting, coaching, player development, not to mention significant investment in fan engagement... Something that they *did* get right from day one.
To me, the question is in the mass numbers of loud engaged supporters that seemingly materialized out of nowhere for Atlanta, Seattle, and to a lesser extent LAFC. Seattle had below average USL attendance, Atlanta didn't really support the SIlverbacks too much either. Suddenly they have MLS teams and there are "die hard" supporters singing and dancing and attending every single game like their lives depended on it. What the heck were they doing before MLS came to town? Where'd they come from? The same with LAFC - these people shunned MLS and the Galaxy (a team that has clearly shown ambition, and had great success on the field) until a team opened up in downtown, and suddenly they also have thousands of singing and dancing hardcores? What's the secret??
By my math: 2018 Crew attendance: 12,447 2019 Crew avg attendance: 13,809 % increase: 10.9% The fact is, a lot of Crew fans are fair weather fans. 10k go no matter what. Others will not. Attendance will generally suck in March/April and improve from there. It will take time. MLS did us no favors with the schedule: 6 home games in March/April & 2 in early May. Both in terms of weather & a short time in charge for the owners. Still, the # will go up steadily. If we are not +20% or better by year's end I will eat my scarf.
In Seattle's case, watching the Seahawks, Mariners, Sonics, and UW teams. The team also benefited from a very down period in Seattle sports. The Sonics had just left, the Mariners had returned to form and were on the way down and had just finished a 61W-101L season, Mike Holmgren had just been fired as Seahawks head coach after a 4W-12L season, UW football had just finished a winless season. The lone bright spot was UW basketball, which made March madness that season after going 26W-9L. However, the big thing was that the Sounders were tied to the Seahawks business operations and Seahawks CEO, Tod Leiweke, was 100% behind the Sounders and pushed them as if they were near equals to the Seahawks. Having the Seahawks business operations behind the Sounders was huge. It gave them access to sponsors that most MLS teams wouldn't have had access to, they had a ready-made database full of sports fans that they could market to, and there were existing connections with the local media that the Sounders didn't need to build. Basically, the Sounders had a plug and play business operations ready to go, they just needed to avoid screwing things up.
On Atlanta a few things. It is probably easier in a market like Atlanta than it is in a market like New York. Denver could be a good set up for somebody like Blank. They aggressively market in Atlanta. I traveled down from DC to see a match and was shocked that all the buses int eh city, all the rental bikes, etc were all covered in Atlanta advertising. I only saw something similar for DC united the month of Audi Field Opening and the Rooney signing. AND, Atlanta doesn't just aggressively market through advertising. Talk Sports Radio in Atlanta treats Atlanta United below SEC football and the Falcons but above the Hawks and all other teams. You can listen to a top 10 moments in Atlanta sports at the end of 2018 and almost all of them are talking about Atlanta United. I think all of that is partially due to Blank's abilities and connections in the city. and how he set up the organization to operate. If Home Depot was founded in Denver and he founded an expansion MLS team there, I imagine he would have had similar results although on a bit smaller scale given the Denver metro is half the size of Atlanta's metro.
Yeah, but I read from many sources that Sounders fans don't have a large overlap with Seahawks fans... Having said that, it does seem that Seahawk fans accepted the Sounders as a legit venture. Patriots fans would loudly boo the few times the Revolution were mentioned during their games. Why the big difference?
I'd disagree with there not being a large overlap in fans. What I think you're talking about is "season ticket holders". However, from what I understand, Seahawks season ticket holders were given the opportunity to get Sounders season tickets at a steep discount for the inaugural season. I know of more than a few Sounders STH that got their tickets that way, however, those people were generally not the Seahawks STH. The Sounders were, understandably, not overly strict on making sure the people taking advantage of the discount were actually the Seahawks STH. I don't know of numbers or anything like that, but at one point the Sounders said that something like less than 100 Sounders STH were also Seahawks STH, but as I noted, that doesn't mean they didn't get their season tickets through a Seahwaks STH. Of course, that was a decade ago, so how many of those people are still STH is definitely a good question. I'm also not sure the Seahawks fans accept the Sounders as a legit venture.. They just don't care because it doesn't really impact them. For the most part the games are on alternate weekends and on the rare occasion there is a conflict, it is the Sounders that get the shaft with NFL lines and the Sounders lines are washed off before the Seahawks game.
I don't agree with this. Have you actually attended a game in Atlanta? Maybe they haven't done anything out of the ordinary for a top tier sports team but they have as far as other MLS teams are concerned. Atlanta is plastered with United. You can't miss it. The stadium is United's stadium during the games. This is not ordinary for any MLS team that shares or has shared a stadium with an NFL team. From what I have seen it is even more so than Seattle. I don't think there is anything ordinary by MLS standards what Blank has done with AU.
http://www.espn.com/nhl/attendance Here are some NHL numbers. Most interesting nugget - the team with the lowest percentage of capacity still sells 75.2% of available seating. NBA: http://www.espn.com/nba/attendance/_/year/2018 Lowest: 76.9% And of course the Kings of the world NFL: http://www.espn.com/nfl/attendance/_/sort/homePct Lowest: 74.4% And then we have MLS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Soccer_attendance Lowest: 73.8% Thus, the impression is that MLS teams have by far the most empty seats of the top American leagues, but it simply isn't true.
There is also MLB and their insane amount of home games: http://www.espn.com/mlb/attendance/_/year/2018/sort/homePct Miami with an astonishingly low 26.7%.
Was referencing the Falcons with that comment…making the point that the same guy hasn't been able to turn his football team into one of the top 2 franchises in the NFL…a respected guy for sure but not seen in that arena as some kind of unique visionary…leading to the thought that his breakout soccer success may be more about Atlanta than FC.
Chargers averaged 25,406, not including the London games. A 121.4% above capacity would put the capacity of the stadium at 27,000 (27,000 x 121.364 = 32,768), so Chargers % of capacity should be 94.1%. Still pretty good, but not sellout every game, so it's not just the Galaxy that can't sellout every game.
It's quite a bit harder to do that in the NFL... The Patriots are the only franchise that has been able to do it and that is largely on the back of Tom Brady.
Yes, and you wouldn't have to relocate the stadium (because, despite what conventional wisdom believes, stadium location is not the issue in Denver). Remember, the Rapids are just 3 years removed from selling out all but two games post-Howard announcement. And that's with the current poorly run marketing division and a KSE that doesn't care to promote at all. A team in Commerce City run like blank runs ATL United wouldn't need three years to get to a regular sellout level.
I also get 5 phone calls a month from galaxy phone reps. They advertise during Laker games, I really can't imagine what else they can possibly do. And yet nobody cares. It seems soccer is sold through hardcores, and for whatever reasons it's much easier to get hardcores for a new team. Either that or it's literally "put a team in downtown and make profit. LAFC: downtown(ish), Seattle: downtown(ish), Atlanta: downtown.