MLS explores playing indoors to shift schedule

I take it as a compliment Blatter coming down on MLS on this issue. To me it means he has high hopes for Soccer in America, high expectations. Perhaps FIFA can see something we don't yet undestand, like a great potential

 

I think MLS should shift to the the fall/spring calender, so that MLS can get the best players and more MLS players are more fit for the national team.

 

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, it's happening now in Norway for Stabæk IF (Telenor Arena). Stabæk plays indoors all season long.

Personally I think MLS has done a good job reducing its fixtures during WCQ dates . . . as good as FMF, Brazil, etc.

Maybe MLS can move to taking WCQ dates off completely and possibly stretching the season from the beginning of March to first week of December. I really like the Spring to Fall schedule and don;t see a need to play Dec-Feb.

That said however, I kinda like the whole Fall/Spring season idea mentioned above, basically following the FMF model. Each season allows for one match against each team and a playoff system. There would be plenty of time to fit in international friendlies when AC Milan, Chelsea, ManU or whomever comes barnstorming the US and Canada markets too.

 

Why would no one go to the games?

 

Three games is not a full slate. It's only one more than Mexico played over the weekend, one of which was ironically re-scheduled from earlier in the season to allow players to spend more time with the national team.

I agree with the others who say if MLS plays, they shouldn't play the same time as the national team. I have no idea why Chivas didn't play Sunday instead of Saturday. I understand stadium control and planning is an issue for some teams, but that game seemingly could have been movbed a day instead of going H2H with the MNT.

 

What good is having slightly better players when no one would come watch them?

 

Have you been outside in Toronto, Chicago, New England or Denver in winter? If you had you would not be asking that question.

 

you are the only one here that actualy made any sense, the others are OVERLY DRAMATIC AND ready to jump................ Blatter

 

So that's why Garber is talkig about adding roofs and heating.

 

He's talking about adding roof's over the fans and heating for the fields themselves. Which still would not be sufficient. The fans who did come would still be freezing their asses off. And that doesn't take into account the casual fans who would not come out at all in cold weather. Remember just because the field isn't snowed in doesn't mean people will still bundle up, drive through sleet and snow to come sit and feeze in the stands. And Garber said that, as he understands that winter won't work. His response was as clear as day when he politely told Blatter he's a moron and to "piss off."

 

Everyone knows Garber is just saying something to placate Sepp. Who's going to pay for these new heating systems and roofs in Toronto, NE and Chicago? Is Columbus going to get an infaltable dome? KC in January is not so much fun, so if Sepp has the extra cash laying about he should call the Cerner gang now before they start building their new park.

Fuggedabowdit!

 

Blatter was just thinking out ahead of the rest of us. He sees a future where global warming has made the northern US & southern Canada suitable for playing throughout the winter.

Seriously, Blatter was taxing his limited brain years ago when he came out with his design proposal for women's football uniforms.

 

Never say never.

 

Why not? It'll never happen as long as weather conditions are what they are in Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Denver, and Toronto during the winter. And that won't change for at least 50+ years thanks to global warming being so damn slow

 

who the hell is talking about winter anyway? it's fall/spring

The league would take a break for Nov,Dec, Jan

 

It's not "fall/spring" it's "fall-spring". Blatter would like the US on the European schedule. Most Euro leagues don't take Nov-Jan off. Oh and Feb is still damn cold in most of those northern/high altitude cities I listed anyway

And of course this ignores the other reasons not to go to the fall-spring schedule that Garber is well aware of (NFL, NCAA FB, NCAA BB, NBA, NHL, and probably most importantly... EPL and other Euro leagues being on TV in the US during the fall-spring.) Why would they possibly want to give the spring-fall season up which they have largely to themselves for a big chunk of the season?

 

So instead of taking Dec, Jan, and Feb, off they would take Nov, Dec, and Jan off? At least in Denver I'd rather go out for a playoff game in Nov. than for mid-season games in Feb. but if that's all we're talking about aren't we already on this schedule but instead of breaking in the middle of the season we break at the end of the season?

 

Your location says "Tampa/Kracow," so hopefully this explanation will make sense to you.

Tampa is a warm climate. In the winter, it never really gets cold--even in the winter, the average day is around 50 degrees F.

Krakow is a cold climate. The average January and February day there gets to be around 20 degrees F, and on occasion it gets much colder. There are plenty of cities in MLS that have climates similar to Krakow or colder.

Officially, Poland is one of the coldest countries that plays a "fall to spring" schedule. The Polish schedule this year runs from July 31 to May 15--but the winter break runs for more than two months, from December 12 to February 27. In other words, the summer break and the winter break are exactly the same length, so from a FIFA perspective, it would make no difference whether the Ekstraklassa played a Premier League-type schedule with a two and a half month winter break or an MLS-type schedule with a two-and-a-half month World Cup break.

And it's worth pointing out that, despite years of soccer tradition and an "international" soccer schedule, the Ekstraklassa still draws fewer than half the fans, on average, that Major League Soccer draws; the league averages around 7,000 fans a game, and this year's worst-attended MLS team, FC Dallas, would be the sixth best-attended team in the Ekstraklassa.

 

so why is everyone scared that attendance will drop? either you support your team or not.

 

You're working pretty hard at being a douche.

 

First because MLS is still dependent on people who are "casual fans" to get the attendance number we currently see. There are only a few thousand "hardcore" fans that root for each team and would come out no matter what. The rest are folks who come out much less regularly, and they'll be turned off to going in the freezing cold, wind, rain, sleet and snow of winter. Those casual fans stop coming out, the attendance will drop to the level that teams will have to fold, and potentially the league.

Second I don't think you appreciate just how cold it gets in many MLS cities in winter.

 

I support my team. I would go to games in the winter.

The reason people are afraid of attendance dropping is that if the attendance drops too far, the team, and eventually the league, will fold. And then there won't be a team to be a fan of.

 

See i don't get it...no wonder NFL fans laugh at soccer fans...

a NFL fan can sit and watch 2 hours of football during winter, but a MLS fan can't because they are scared of the snow?

That's all everone is talking about?