I actually disagree. Chivas is much more suited to their present location than they are to San Diego. What SD needs is an expansion team. Now to make that happen the ownership group(s) down here. Be it the Flash, Boca or both need to put their money where their ideas are and get in on the 20th team before its too late.
Soccer in the US and indeed everywhere, will be different in 15 years time. Just as today soccer is different than in 1995. MLS may not exist in 2025 or it may be one of the world's very top leagues, both on the field of play and in the stands and the streets. Either way, if there isn't an ownership group to put in a bid for an MLS expansion now, is there a group that could put together a viable NASL, USL or other pro/semi pro team? Start building a fanbase and team now. Afterall, Seattle were in the USL for years, Toronto had the Lynx, Vancouver and Portland are coming from that level and are likely to bring big support to MLS. Not long ago there were only eight teams in MLS and the quality wasn't great. Now the numbers have grown rapidly and IMO so has the quality. In a few years MLS could have two divisions or the conferences could have getting on for the same number of teams as baseball and the NFL. San Diego hasn't missed the boat, just missed the first couple of boats, but in a few years time could well be in the top level of American soccer. Be that MLS as it is today or whatever evolves from MLS.
Problem is the Boca ownership talks big about wanting a stadium but they have no idea how to fund it beyond I suspect begging for public money, which always goes over well.
This article pretty much sums up where San Diego is in terms of getting a MLS team... http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/aug/03/piecing-the-puzzle-of-mls-expansion-picture-here/
I was a big Steamers/Storm fan when I was a little kid. I HATED the Sockers. HATED. That team won everything, always. I would love to see them in MLS just to fly down to sunny SD once a year, stomp their teeth in, and then get wasted on the beach. "Sockers??" Really?! They were well supported though.
Why are they more suited here? They don't even have their own stadium and are competing with fans for the Galaxy. The whole Chivas USA is a marketing ploy to get Hispanic fans and fans of the original Chivas in MLS. They don't represent anything here in LA. Relocating and rebranding would be ideal.
Well first off I'm not a fan of stealing other market's teams, even if Chivas is the "second" team in LA. Second, like it or not Chivas is owned by Chivas and is a "Mexican" themed team. That won't change if they were to move unless new ownership was found... which if it were found would beg the question, why wouldn't they just want an expansion team to begin with rather than buying someone else's sloppy seconds?
I used to live in SD and I agree that SD is mostly transplants, but I think that would have less of an effect on soccer than baseball and football. Lets face it ... how many people that have moved to San Diego s brought their love of another MLS team with them? MLS didn't exist 20 years ago and was on life support 10 years ago. So maybe some of the most recent transplants have loyalties elsewhere but even that is probably a small number considering how few cities in the US have thriving MLS fanbases. I also think the San Diego demographic is obviously soccer friendly as those tv rating numbers show. Young, progressive, diverse with expendable income. I have to say though that I'm not sure if the Chivas idea would be a home run. SD has a huge Mexican population of the "Baja" variety who are not usually known to be huge soccer lovers. Tijuana is the land of Erik Morales, Antonio Margarito and probably at least a dozen MLB players.
I don't know where these oversimplifications come from, but I see them repeated over and over as if they are fact. You're assuming most Mexicans in San Diego are from Baja, do you know for sure? Tijuana isn't even made up of a majority of Baja Mexicans Tijuana and Mexicans in San Diego love soccer in substantial numbers, I don't know how you can say that they don't. They don't bring the numbers in the same way as LA, Houston, Chicago or Phoenix does, but those places have bigger populations and more Mexicans than San Diego does. Just because baseball has a niche in Baja doesn't mean that the people there reject everything else. I'm not sure the Chivas idea would be home run either, but for reasons being that regardless whether your a Chivas , Mexican soccer, MLS, or plain regular old soccer-starved fan, it's inescapable to think of the MLS version as anything other than a cringing-inducing gimmick.
I'm not saying soccer isn't big in the SD Mexican community, it is ... Im just saying I've lived and worked in a handful of US cities with large hispanic populations including South SD and working on the border in Otay Mesa. Being a fluent Spanish speaking gringo I always like to chat with hispanic people about soccer to sort of bridge my cultural gap. I got more blank stares on the topic there than other places. I know it's anecdotal ... just my opinion. My guess would be that Chivas would have a lot less potential in SD than LA.
Even though they're playing second-fiddle to the Galaxy and even with the whole "Hispanic-team" marketing orientation (which drives away a lot of fans) Chivas still draws a decent crowd to its games. With proper re-branding and marketing, the team could push itself up into the top 5 for ticket sales in MLS. Chivas' problem isn't that it competes with the Galaxy for the LA soccer fanbase- the problem is that its ownership has taken a marketing and branding approach that limits the team's ability to pick up fans outside of the Hispanic demographic. Fixing that has nothing to do with where the team is physically located. LA is a big enough market to easily support two succesful and popular soccer teams. If anything, having two teams in the same area increases exposure for both of them, because both teams will be spending advertising dollars in the same market. That's why the Red Bulls aren't opposed to having another team in the NYC area. If the ownership were to re-brand Chivas to Los Angeles FC or some other name with wide appeal and downplay its ties to the Mexican team, you'd see more success for the team.
Goats seems a little minor-leaguish, IMO. And I think only hiring American NT eligible players goes too far in the opposite direction (and is probably illegal, to boot). I think going with a more general LA/California branding is a better idea than trying to tie the team too closely to one particular group/demographic. The whole idea of marketing to, say, Hispanics or soccer moms or urban hipsters or whatever is short-sighted. The best way to get people to come to your games is to field a competitive and exciting soccer team.
LA may be big enough to support two soccer teams, but the fans just aren't there. The Galaxy are in first place and were dominating the league a couple of months ago with America's star player and the top leading goal scorer in MLS and we still couldn't fill Home Depot Center. The Galaxy just has too many teams to compete with in the first place. LA is mainly Lakers and Dodgers city. Then comes the Angels and Ducks. Having two teams is already splitting the small fanbase LA draws to MLS. We may have the soccer fans here in LA, but if having US's most recognizable player, the top goal scorer, and lighting the league on fire doesn't fill up the stadium, then rebranding a second soccer team in LA isn't going to do it. Chivas needs to pull a "San Jose-Houston" and just relocate, rebrand and start over. The Galaxy needs to become the marquee MLS team in LA. As it is right now, HDC hardly ever fills up and we only have two sections that make noise during the game.
The HDC seats, what, 27,000? And the Galaxy average 20,000+ a game? Only Seattle, Philly and Toronto average more this year (and Philly's numbers are a little high because of the new and shiny factor). The Galaxy don't seem to have any problems selling tickets and they are one of the most valuable teams in MLS. Chivas averages about 14K a game. So if you add up the two teams, you're talking close to Sounders numbers for soccer ticket buyers in LA. That's hardly a small fan base, especially by MLS standards. I think that's the point you're missing- LA is at least as good a soccer market as Seattle, and that's with one team that has done a terrible job of marketing itself to potential fans. Given the size of the market and the area's demographics, if Chivas re-branded and changed its marketing, there's no reason to believe that it couldn't draw Galaxy numbers to its games. I'm not convinced Chivas has a good enough case to get MLS to agree to let it re-locate to San Diego. MLS should not let teams move just because their owners have done a poor job of exploiting the market they're currently in.
I live in LA and visited Seattle and went to a Sounders game. The two markets are totally different and treat their teams totally different. For one, they promote the team at local bars, liquor stores, and billboards. They have posters on buses and bus stops, and they even have a Sounders/Seahawks dedicated store in one of their malls. Any sports store in Seattle has a grip of Sounders gear in all sizes to things like key chains, stickers, and magnets. I wish LA had something remotely close to that. I only find Beckham jerseys or XXL Galaxy shirts in the discount sections in most sports stores around here. I hate to feed the Sounders fans ego's, but it was a way more intense atmosphere with almost the whole stadium standing the entire game. LA games have a lot of empty seats with two smaller separate sections standing and chanting. I think LA has a great market, don't get me wrong, I love the team, but I think Chivas could help another soccer deserving city more than it helps the LA. Just my opinion.
It exists in LA because their owners, who originally wanted the team in SD, decided the LA market and it's SSS were a better fit than Qualcomm and the SD market. Which is why I find it highly suspect when people say they'd come back to SD. They already had the chance once and turned it down. And they've done fairly well for themselves with a minimal of effort up in LA.
I've often wondered what the long term strategy is for CUSA. I really thought when they came into the league they would really push the envelope with DP signings, name coaches and players and its been anything but. If anything they seem to be one of the low profile teams in the league now where ownership doesnt do much. I thought they would pursue their own stadium in a different part of LA but that doessnt seem to be happening either. I often wonder if they arent waiting for the right offer to sell the team or something. Its a bit odd.