Wizards sell 700 season tix after beating Man U USA Today All MLS teams should try this poly to attract season ticket holders, what ever works..
ok. so the article isn't exactly clear. they sold 700 season tickets for the remainder of the 2010 season? they sold 700 season ticket deposits for 2011? because if it is the latter, not to rain on anybody's parade because 700 in one post game is good, but the Timbers have already sold 7,000 STH deposits and Whitecaps have already sold 13,000 STH deposits for 2011. so in that context 700 is not that big a deal. plus we have no idea how many STH there already are for this 2010 season? some pretty poor reporting and clarification.
The title of the article is misleading. It was the first day season ticket holders could buy seats for the new stadium. It's a coincidence that they sold 700 tickets after they beat Man U.
ok. so if this was just the first day that 2011 STH deposits were available and 700 is the number of 2011 STH deposits they sold that really isn't that good. back in 2009 once Vancouver was announced to have won a MLS expansion team they sold out a block of 5,000 STH deposits in the first 48 hours. now if this 700 is new fans who do not already have STs for 2010 then it is a bit better, assuming KCW has a decent number of 2010 STHs but still nothing all that earth shattering. wake me up when they get to 12,000 STH like the Union have for their similarly sized stadium.
Those are NEW season tickets for the 2011 season. Doesn't include renewals at all. NEW season tickets went on sale at 8am this morning, and over 700 have been sold since then.
Not earth shattering but probably better response than they've ever had here for an opening day for putting your deposit down. Usually they get better response with the final invoice ones that show you need to pay. I'm pretty sure last year I never even made my deposit, just paid the balance in full at one point. The team's been crap most of the year - this friendly really did turn into a good bit of business and PR. A lot of buzz about the Wizards in KC today and people kicking themselves that they didn't go. Radio, newspapers, blogs etc. Having the new stadium to pimp just helps generate excitement from the STH base and new fans. This was needed to help generate some pride in the team. Yeah friendlies are meaningless, but DC fans still remember their beat down of Celtic as a good thing. Nothing negative here.
ah. see. more clarification. now if we only knew how many current STHs they have that these 700 are being added too. again. not to be mr skeptic or anything. 700 in 12 hours is not bad at all. but given that Vancouver sold 5,000 in 48 hours i can't say i'm blown away. if they can get over 12,000 STH (between old and new) for 2011 then i will be really impressed.
There's a BIG difference between an expansion team opening up season tickets sales for the first time and an existing franchise opening up season ticket sales for another season (even with a new stadium).
Why are you comparing the two? One is a whole new team. One is a team that always struggled with attendance. Ugh. There is no getting through to this guy.
Just watched the highlights of that game, and it seemed like an odd vibe. About 75 percent of the crowd appeared to be wearing ManU gear, yet the crowd response to the Wizards goals was much bigger than for the ManU goal. It even seemed like some of the red-clad spectators were cheering after the Arnaud goal. What gives?
This is great stuff. Goes to show how while these friendlies are totally "meaningless" in terms of any competitive standpoint, how important they can be from the PR/marketing/(dollar) angle, i.e., still very important for a fledgling, growing league like MLS. Sounds like a great day in KC all in all. Coming off this game and their 4 point road trip to Columbus and Colorado, the Wizards are poised to have a strong 2nd half. As to the debate of whether this compares to Vancouver selling 12,000 sth's or not, as said before, there is no comparison. Vancouver is an expansion franchise and will have large crowds from the get go, and hopefully will be able to sustain it, at least for a while. KC, as one of the MLS original franchises, and rarely a huge attendance getter per se, will be battling for every STH they can get, new stadium or no. Sounds like the Man U game was a help but the first article was probably a little misleading; since this was the first day they were selling STH's, they were going to sell a bunch anyway, if not 700, then probably close to it.
At a pace of 700 every 12 hours that would be 2800 in a 48 hour period. Yes, it would fall short of 5,000, but it is pretty remarkable in this market.
you know these aren't new teams right? you know they already exist, have season ticket holders and are currently playing games just like KCW? they are "expansion" teams in name only. they are really just being "promoted" more than they are an "expansion" team like the Union. as a matter of fact they are at a bigger disadvantage than KCW. KCW has the benefit of being an already established top flight product, it has had years to build its brand as a top level team while the others have not. in reality all three teams are in about the same position in their local markets. each is an established team, each with a few thousand dedicated supporters and STHs currently for 2010 and each needing to expand their STH base for 2011 by a significant amount to fill either a new stadium or to fill a new stadium in a new league. look, 700 ST is 700 ST it isn't anything to sneeze at. but it isn't like some super fantastic stunning achievement. and there is still over a year to go so there is plenty of time for KCW and POR and VAN to all sell more. PHI didn't reach their 12,000 STH limit until the season had already started iirc. slow and steady wins the race. 700 is a nice jump start but there is along way to go still to get to the goal i am sure OnGoal has of 12,000 or so for 2011 STHs.