Sunday 16 June 2019

Discussion in 'MLS: News & Analysis' started by Stuart95, Jun 16, 2019.

  1. Stuart95

    Stuart95 Member+

    Mar 11, 2012
    NoVA
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Happy Father's Day to all

    Happy birthday, Crew: Celebrating 25 years of Black & Gold excellence
    https://www.massivereport.com/2019/6/15/18680161/columbus-crew-sc-25th-anniversary-mls-2019

    View from the End Line: A Tale of Two MLS Cities
    https://www.themaneland.com/2019/6/16/18656543/view-from-the-end-line-a-tale-of-two-mls-cities

    Atlanta United: Ezequiel Barco sale must come at right time
    https://mlsmultiplex.com/2019/06/15/atlanta-united-ezequiel-barco-sale-must-come-right-time/

    Sporting KC captain Matt Besler writes message to fans amid struggles
    https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019...att-besler-writes-message-fans-amid-struggles
     
  2. GunnerJacket

    GunnerJacket Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 18, 2003
    Gainesville, GA
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    TOAzer repped this.
  3. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    There's an obvious explanation that would explain why he's seen no evidence of support for Austin FC on his recent trip to Austin yet they claim large numbers of ticket reservations. It would also account for the fact they are still selling deposits and don't have anything about a waiting list on their website.
     
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  4. TOAzer

    TOAzer Member+

    The Man With No Club
    May 29, 2016
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    With Austin the ball is with Pre's Court. Interesting times are coming to the Phatter Prince of the Blind Pig Pub.
     
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  5. wingman2468

    wingman2468 Member

    Austin FC
    United States
    May 25, 2018
    There are billboards, and Merch selling at a few brick and mortar locations, but the most obvious reason why someone from out of town is not seeing stuff around Austin is because the team doesn't play for another year and a half. still a long way out. I have a friend I grew up playing soccer with, and he still has his reservations.

    Edit:Merch options are very sparse too.
     
  6. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Well, Orlando had advertising because they had tickets to sell today. They had an operational minor league club and the MLS team was going to just start playing. Austin is 2-3 years from the first kick. Blanketing the market with advertising is probably just a money sink at this point if you know you've got 10-20k ready-made soccer nuts ready to jump on season ticket deposits. If you blanket the market and end up telling most of the people thanks, but no thanks, you really have screwed things up.

    If the deposits had started off slower, I'm sure they would've made the rounds of local radio/tv/newspaper, but with some restraint.

    And we can guess that deposits on 30k seats is likely 7-10k individual deposits. It's not 3% of Austin (with the author finally admitting the population is over two million), but somwhere around 1/3rd to 1/2 of 1%. There's a big difference between 1 out of 30 people and 1 out of 300.
     
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  7. tomásbernal

    tomásbernal Member+

    Sep 4, 2007
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's not obvious to me, unless you're saying they're blatantly lying (wouldn't disbelieve that).
     
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  8. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    Yes, that would be the obvious explanation that accounts for the known facts. If people who sign up today aren't assured of getting the right to buy tickets but instead are put on a waiting list, their website should say so. If they really did effectively sell out their stadium for year 1 on day 1 of reservations, then they are running afoul of the various consumer laws Don Gagliardi referred to. Or maybe they have doubts about the validity of substantial numbers of the reservations and in good faith think they still have tickets to sell.

    Any business would be happy to hear from potential customers but they ought to be honest about whether or not they still have seats to sell.
     
  9. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    As they have only been taking deposits, they probably couldn't answer that question if they wanted to.
     
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  10. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    Well, yes they could. If they did actually receive deposits for 30K seats on day one, they should have by day 2 mentioned that fact and that people signing up then are likely to not get seats for 2021. The fact they haven't said anything like that casts doubt on the claim they sold deposits for 30K season tickets.
     
  11. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    They've sold deposits. The people that have paid deposits have reserved up to 30k seats. I doubt anyone expects a 100% conversion rate.

    I don't think anyone knows that they're "sold out" or not. Including the team. When they start converting deposits to season tickets, then all will be clear.
     
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  12. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    Other teams have converted deposits to actual sales at rates above 95%. Unless they know there was something screwy with the 30K number, assuming 33%+ of deposits are fake seems questionable. Or it makes sense if they do know something odd happened on day 1.
     
  13. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    If you've got an axe to grind against PSV, I'm guessing you'll find something nefarious and wrong, or at least smells bad in each and everything the organization does.

    Cheers.
     
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  14. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    If we take them at their word for first day sales, then their subsequent actions look questionable, indeed illegal. If we assume their day 2+ actions are aboveboard, then it casts doubt on their initial claim. They were only selling deposits on full season tickets but the 30K seats sold claim maybe did refer only to that many tickets out of 340K season inventory. They've declined to clarify and didn't explicitly claim to have sold deposits for 30K full season ticket packages. So perhaps our initial impression that they were claiming just that was incorrect.
     
  15. TheJoeGreene

    TheJoeGreene Member+

    Aug 19, 2012
    The Lubbock Texas
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Again, I lose any sense of sympathy for Crew fans with every post they make and we really need the ability to put mods on ignore when it's not the section they're moderating.
     
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  16. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    Why? I haven't violated any terms of service. This whole discussion was prompted by a story put out by Austin FC. Their words and actions don't seem to be in alignment and it's perfectly reasonable to wonder why.
     
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  17. Yoshou

    Yoshou Fan of the CCL Champ

    May 12, 2009
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #17 Yoshou, Jun 17, 2019
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2019
    The only reason anyone is questioning their words and actions is because they are owned by Precourt. If this were any other team, the prevailing comments would be positive and commenting about how great it was that they had so many seats reserved. There would certainly be comments from people wondering what their conversion rate would be and the like, but there wouldn't be comments accusing them of doing something nefarious.
     
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  18. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Seriously. If you want PSV and Austin become sympathetic to the rest of the league, you and the other Crew fans should continue to be first in line to pick apart any and everything to do with Austin FC.

    This board has a pretty good track record at muckraking anything bad that happens in MLS, but it's generally best to let those that are mostly neutral to carry the flag for a while. You may (or may not) think you're neutral in all things PSV, but after the last couple years you'll have to excuse the rest of us in our fatigue of Crew fans in MLS N&A harping on PSV and all things Austin.

    If there's something wrong, misleading, or nefarious going on here, it will come out. I'm just recommending that you let someone else take lead. Your schadenfreude won't taste any less sweet.

    By continuing with your one-sided narrative you really do make Austin (and PSV) more sympathetic. Frankly, you won. You got much, much better ownership and you're getting a spectacular new stadium. Enjoy the win, be a gracious winner.

    If you're seeing words and actions not in alignment in Austin it's because you're convincing yourself of that. Marketing is not "the word of God" stuff. I doubt it's even admissible evidence. Anyone being mislead and being harmed by anything to do with the announcement in question is someone looking to be hurt and outraged.
     
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  19. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    That's sort of the point. While I'm well aware of PSV lying about various things over the years, a neutral person who gives them the benefit of the doubt should have the same questions about their claims.

    It's a good look for MLS if Austin really did sell deposits on 30K full season tickets the first day they went on sale. It's not a good look for MLS if they are offering tickets for sale that they don't plan to deliver. Obviously they won't be able to squeeze 30K people into the 20.5K stadium. If 10K of the tickets requested fall through, then Austin is bailed out. But their sales claim becomes 20K rather than 30K and no longer a record. Selling 20K full season seats the day they go on sale would be a great achievement if it happens. But PSV had to step on themselves and overclaim something.

    I notice they still haven't said what their "record" sales actually were and what the previous record was. That seems like the sort of thing they'd be happy to spill to a friendly reporter like Bils or someone from mlssoccer.com. Meanwhile they haven't put anything on their website about new depositors going on a waiting list, indeed they are saying today's purchasers will get tickets. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
     
  20. wingman2468

    wingman2468 Member

    Austin FC
    United States
    May 25, 2018
    They did send out notifications on social media saying if you don’t get seats for 2021 due to their position in line, they would be waitlisted for future seat opportunity.
     
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  21. wingman2468

    wingman2468 Member

    Austin FC
    United States
    May 25, 2018
    The record was for season ticket deposits sold in one day. Not season tickets. The record stands regardless of conversion rate.
     
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  22. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    Why not post it on the website where people sign up? Are they planning to charge the cards of people who get wait listed? They ought to make that clear too.
     
  23. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    #23 AndyMead, Jun 18, 2019
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2019
    You should call them and offer them your advice. I'm guessing they'd be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.


    Inquiries: tickets@austinfc.com

    Please call 512-572-8932 or email memberships@austinfc.com if you have other questions about placing a deposit. You can also use the chat function on our website.
     
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  24. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    Really, they need my advice to operate on the up and up? Let's not define basic business competency down so as to include Precourt.
     
  25. Yoshou

    Yoshou Fan of the CCL Champ

    May 12, 2009
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Considering the $50 was just to reserve their spot in line, I'd imagine they've already been charged. If people don't end up getting tickets, they will then have the option to either get a refund of their $50, or remain on the wait list.
     
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