I'll buy the first two season tickets. Driving to Houston 17 times a year to watch players that didn't care got really old. Bring soccer to Austin and I'll be there for every game.
Can you imagine if the Leicester City FC investors one day said F---k these fans in Leicester. We are moving to Bath.
No I cannot. However, for some perspective, the EPL TV rights deal is insane money. Like NFL or NCAA Tournament level deals in the billions. So the owner could literally seal the stadium and turn all fans away and yet still pull in a profit. MLS teams cannot do this and must have fans turn up year after year. They rely on ticket revenue to float the boat.
Next round of expansion - BTW, if anyone thinks expansion isn’t just a money grab for owners addicted to the fees, I’ll show you Detroit’s Ford Field as their proposed stadium as Exhibit A - meets none of the criteria the league is purportedly looking for. Detroit and Cincinnati aren’t exactly growing markets. I think they just picked the biggest net worth owner applications to extract the biggest expansion fee from http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/11/29/four-finalist-cities-named-next-two-mls-expansion-teams?amp
fully expect Miami Vice coming on Monday: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/soccer/20180124_ap_86035719e7ec4419a110e6697b13984c.html
Miami is the worst pro sports town in our nation. And this is for the established leagues where even when Miami is having a good run of form, their locals will often not turn up for a multitude of reasons. For pro outdoor soccer the fact their new team is in MLS and not feature a Messi, Miami locals will really find all sorts of reasons to turn up their nose. Perhaps the early years the city will get behind their new team with the new stadium but then what after that.
Stadium is also in/near a bad neighborhood and no parking. Terrible sports town, even with a decent Marlins team they couldn’t draw.
Correct. This is specifically what is known about Miami. In a town that is packed with baseball lifers and with a team that has won two World Series championships, their Marlins FO would still have a tough time getting fans to attend home games. This for MLB level baseball. MLS in Miami/Ft. Lauder dale has failed once. Here's to it not failing once again.
Because the Marlins ownership from Huizenga through to Luria has treated the fans terribly. There is no reason to support them as a franchise. The Dolphins and Heat have always drawn well, and Miami ranks tenth in overall viewership for MLS without a team.
Drawing well for a gridiron team in the Southern U.S. is standard. So yes Miami pulls well for the two pro gridiron teams there the Hurricanes and Dolphins. And the Heat are now pulling well but in the 80's and 90's not so much. I was not informed on the poor leadership of the Marlins and the disconnect from Owner to fan base. Sad as the sport of baseball is so strong in the diverse South Florida market. Well then this IS GOOD NEWS! I mean when the Fusion were a very good team, Miami folks would bitch and moan all the time on our boards about driving up a highway about 20 miles to enjoy live outdoor pro soccer with a winning team. As a market that has already lost their MLS team, that fan base must go all in this go around. Well done is much better than well said.
Florida as a state is well known for its professional sports attendance issues. A league which already has attendance issues, MLS, moving there should be interesting. I'm not holding my breath.
Several things. One, the Heat have actually always drawn well, including during the 80's and 90's, averaging near sellouts at the Miami Arena. The Panthers drew well before they moved to Sunrise too, selling out all but two home games in their last two years in Downtown. Dan Lebatard had a really good rant on the Marlins, it is worth a listen. The Fusion were a very poorly located team. Location and accessibility matter, and the Fusion had neither.
If one is from the Southern United States, then one knows that our cites are spread out and getting in a car for a drive that is less than 45 minutes is nothing, dude, c'mon maing, Ft. Lauderdale is what 22 miles up an interstate from Dade County and downtown Miami. Us in Houston had fans and hinchas drive in from Woodlands, Sugar Land, Katy and even Austin to get to Robertson Stadium. This is all 30 miles to 50 miles to more one way. Then U of H is in what we call the 3rd Ward. Fukin' nightmare part of our town, certainly at night. And our soccer loving public killed it with average attendance facing all that. Again, Miami sports fans better get behind this Becky brand and keep at it for decades to come.
This is interesting, LAFC is copying the Dynamo from 2016 in having some matches exclusively “televised” on a streaming service (ha!! Dynamo couldn’t get anyone to put the 2 games on TV). It’s paired up with a jersey sponsorship but it means that for about half the games you will need a YouTubeTV subscription at $35 per month. I suppose that you can watch in Spanish for free but this is quite odd http://www.lafc.com/youtube-tv-faq
I know the Washington Post isn't a reliable news source for some of you, but I thought this was interesting..... Major League Soccer and Liga MX discussing champions match - sources http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-le...ga-mx-planning-annual-champions-match-sources
Oliver Luck and I spoke of this same type of encounter back in 2007. Eventually that MLS should have the overall points winner play the Liga MX points winner each Summer. I suggested this to him as a North American version of the the English FA with their Community Shield that puts the English FA Cup Winners versus the Prem. league champions in August.
I know the Dynamo now have all of the eligible games to be televised locally on free TV the Kube 57 but for a $100k they could stream all the games locally for free http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2017/03/20/Franchises/FC-Dallas.aspx
D.C. United and MLS announced the venues and times for United’s Home Away from Home matches on Saturday, March 17 and Saturday, April 14. United will face Western Conference finalists the Houston Dynamo at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, MD, on Saturday, March 17 at 1:30 PM ET. The Black-and-Red will then host the Columbus Crew SC at the United States Naval Academy’s Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, MD, on Saturday, April 14 at 7 PM ET. https://www.dcunited.com/post/2018/02/01/united-announce-venues-times-march-17-and-april-14-matches
What I saw it is going to be a worthless glorified friendly played at the MLS club's stadium ... patently against competitive integrity. Needs to be home & home tie to be serious.
I wanted this to be held like you speak of. Certainly now that the InterAmericas Cup is no longer played. It was home n away. DCU won this once.
new National training center... Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes directed a group of 35 people down a passageway Monday, serving as the unofficial tour guide for a $75 million structure. On his left, he pointed toward a cryotherapy room, designed to accelerate muscle recovery. On his right, there was a hypobaric chamber, a room with adjustable altitude. After a step backward, he explained the benefits of another space with motion analysis. And on it went. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mls/sporting-kc/article198537254.html#storylink=cpy
Precourt found an option, has chosen to focus on building a new soccer stadium at McKalla Place. BREAKING: Precourt to focus on McKalla Place as potential stadium site https://t.co/RtQOQduRBs #MLS2ATX #SaveTheCrew pic.twitter.com/mevHDdoGO0— Austin Statesman (@statesman) March 8, 2018 And with the under-utilized city site not being parkland, it has momentum building with Austin city council. CM Kathie Tovo expected to author a resolution Friday for the March 22 city meeting to have staff work with Precourt to explore McKalla. Mayor Adler and Council members Pool, Kitchen and Renteria are expected to co-sponsor https://t.co/moIWj0RtXa pic.twitter.com/DK37nsOz4b— Jason Jarrett (@jasondjarrett) March 9, 2018 Mayor Steve @MayorAdler touts McKalla Place to the @statesman and says 'it's under-utilized city-owned tract easily accessible to public transport. Near the Domain ... it is shaping up as an exciting place. let's see if it works.' @mls2atx @MLSinAustin @MLS— Kevin Lyttle (@klyttlesports) March 9, 2018