Well, since he doesn't seem to want a club, and the Sounders owners are busy getting the men going...at too-big for WPS Qwest Field...
Since WPS is such a small investment compared to MLS I'm kind of surprised Allen didn't buy both at once AS LONG AS somebody big in soccer in that area let him know that Seattle is a good market for WPS so it would be a good idea to do both. The MLS expansion fee is $40 million and a WPS team is $3 to $4 million I'm guessing. So what's the difference between $40 million and $43 million to a mega billionaire like Allen?
Money isn't the only issue. You've got to have a heart for the sport. Allen doesn't really 'do soccer,' rather the club is run by owners Joe Roth and Adrian Hanauer. BTW, Allen is battling cancer right now and not much else is on his menu.
I count 29 people in the cross-side stands in that Vancouver - Seattle game. They only show the other side quickly but there is no more than 1k at that game. I'd love to believe it but can't find a photo of them showing a crowd anywhere near that for a league game?
Lots of good 2009 action shots here, but not too much of the stands. http://picasaweb.google.com/VancouverWhitecapsFC
I think Seattle would be a great location for a WPS team. I know lots of soccer fans in the area who would buy season tickets in a heart beat.
Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I thought that at one time Vancouver counted the number of tickets sold rather than fans in seats. That meant that season ticket holders were counted whether they showed up for the women's games or not. Also, for double-headers they counted the total attendance. That has changed in recent years and a count of 1000 to 1500 is probably accurate. As for whether they ever had a legitimate crowd of over 3000 I'm rather inclined to believe they did but you have to remember that the team was virtually the Canadian NT at that time.
Back to Vancouver, for a moment: The Canadian game in particular could also get a boost. Lenarduzzi said the longer WPS season and strong competition within the league can only help the eight Canadians who play in the new league prepare for international competition. Christine Latham, Kelly Parker, Karina LeBlanc and Melissa Tancredi are the other Canadians in WPS. Lenarduzzi said future expansion into the league is always possible, but not until the Whitecaps perfect the MLS operation. “Before we get two teams that require a significant investment, we want to make sure we get one right before we jump into the other,” he said. “It’s probably useful to sit back and see how [WPS] evolves and what kind of investment would be required to participate.” The Whitecaps men’s and women’s teams both lose money, but with the men starting play in MLS in two years, Lenarduzzi hopes it will require “less of an investment” by owner Greg Kerfoot. http://www.vancouversun.com/story_print.html?id=1601185&sponsor= I can't find any numbers, but it appears that 2004-2006 the Whitecaps women were winning championships and drawing nice crowds. The crwods are still good but not great 2007-present as the club isn't as strong.
I see. I wonder how many of these matches were doubleheaders. Vancouver certainly draws well, no doubt. I am just wondering about some of these numbers, particularly when we start seeing a number like 5,000 pop up. We all know what typical W-League crowds are like. It's great that Vancouver has been doing so well, though. Vancouver in 2011 is pretty doubtful to me, as Lenarduzi has been persistent that the MLS squad needs to get off the ground first. Is StarFire unattractive for WPS Seattle? It's one of the most logical options, right (temporarily disregarding the plethora of other factors)?
Starfire is an option, once it has expanded seating. That could happen this year, as Sounders FC want that done for the USOC matches they play there. It would be a nice 6-8k venue, though parking is bad and public transportation is spotty at night. Another option could be the proposed new stadium for high school football in Seattle that would be built after Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center is torn down.
Previous posters are correct in that the W-League isn't well advertised here. I'm interested in the games and attending, but have had a heck of a time finding out information. They don't appear to have a website aside from the USL one. Games start in May, and they play at Starfire. http://www.uslsoccer.com/teams/2010/22380.html#SCHEDULE
Sounders Women: http://www.tacomafc.com/SoundersWomen/ They are owned by Tacoma Tide Sports. If we ever got WPS pretty sure the club would head south to Tacoma.
According to the league they want to add two West Coast teams next year In consideration are Seattle although Tacoma sound better, San Diego, and Los Angeles.
W-League tickets available at www.SoundersWomen.com http://www.examiner.com/x-413-Seatt...ague-tickets-available-at-wwwSoundersWomencom
I don't have a link, but I can add a second voice to the statement; I also remember reading that little tidbit somewhere not long after the Sol folded, though I forget if it was in an 'official' WPS release or from one of the more respected bloggers....
Yeah, Antonucci stated the west coast was the primary candidate for teams as there is only one. You look at Seattle, the mens match the other night had 36,000 fans. I'm not saying every single one of these would go to a womens game but there has to be a good small chunk that would at least try it out. Los angeles, Vancouver, and Portland I think were also places that could field a team.
For what it's worth, I was talking with a senior Freedom staffer on Saturday, who said they were very close to finding a new ownership team for the Sol, but it was just that there wasn't enough time left to make it happen soon enough to keep the 2010 season on schedule.
http://www.equalizersoccer.com/webpages/blog.aspx?postid=5f02bc6e-3dc9-4457-aaae-137c4cfbda2d brand new article, LA has interest from a few partners while seattle and san diego seem to be the front runners for teams in 2011
The AUX! Emerald City Supporters form a subgroup to support Sounders Women http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-...xillary-The-Aux-is-pulling-for-Sounders-Women
Someone told me that the Sounders have 32K season tickets and that's more than the Seahawks or Mariners??!?!? Is that true?!??!? If so, that's absolutely unreal!! I never knew that Seattle was such a huge soccer town especially considering the quality of MLS is pretty bad. A WPS Seattle team should easily lead the league in attendance even if they only get a small portion of those fans.
32k season tickets is true. That's way more than the Mariners and way less than the Seahawks, but still far and away the best in MLS.
Yeah but the soccer is so bad I just change the channel after a few minutes. Even the hosts of the local soccer radio show, The Saturday Soccer Report, said they saw the Sounders home opener and the quality of play was awful. WPS is different because you're comparing it to the best women's soccer in the world like the women's World Cup and WPS is pretty much at that level while MLS isn't anywhere close to men's World Cup level.