Rebranding of the Freedom

Discussion in 'Washington Freedom' started by newsouth, Jan 17, 2011.

  1. Mookie141

    Mookie141 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 10, 2008
    Mooktown
    Club:
    Sky Blue FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    I see he's breeding little MagicJacks. I can't wait to see the new unis! He did want to play matches in DC..........interesting. Nice find!
     
  2. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    where's the reference to and comparison of fans? they've just been practicing for a few weeks. they haven't even built up a fan base to make any comparisons yet!

    agreed.
     
  3. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    One more question. Are you Janet Rayfield? :)
     
  4. nick p

    nick p Member+

    Jul 11, 2009
    Baltimore Maryland
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Florida Atlantic announced on Tuesday ticket pricing for magicJack home games, which will take place at the school’s soccer stadium. Season ticket packages begin at just $75 for general admission and reserved seating season tickets can be bought for just $120. That is nine WPS games for $120.
     
  5. newsouth

    newsouth Member

    Nov 20, 2010
    Club:
    Santos FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    oh...and dan haters please hold your composure on the cheap tickets. sahlen is giving out the best seats in the house for 17$ with a hot dog and soda per game included.
     
  6. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Already posted that info on Post #41.
     
  7. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    wow!!

    skyblue ex gm made it clear that there's not much more that can be cut in this league. they're running on very lean budgets. the suggestion was that the only thing that would make the league viable is more income - mainly attendance income.

    sahlen and borislow don't seem to agree. or they are brandishing loss leaders here.
     
  8. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I'll be in South Florida in about 6 weeks. Looking forward to going to the game and seeing exactly what MagicJack is all about.
     
  9. hykos1045

    hykos1045 Member

    May 10, 2010
    Club:
    Philadelphia Independence
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And, you could argue that but if you charge half price and triple your attendance, you get 50% more attendance income. My point is, all those empty seats are free. Might as well sell them for something, and it's all profit if you can reach break even point. Ideally the money is going to be in higher attendance/volume, not raised prices.

    So let's do an analysis of a team that averages $20 tickets and 3,000 people last year. They're grossing 60k/game. If tickets were increased to $34, I predict no more than 1,000 people would attend. That's 34k. If tickets are $12, I predict 4,200 would attend. That's gross of 50k/game and maybe they can save the other $10k on advertising to break even... or generate a little more sponsorship interest in a team that actually has built a marketable fan base.
     
  10. newsouth

    newsouth Member

    Nov 20, 2010
    Club:
    Santos FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    dan should have played in the stadium miami fc plays in just for this season if he is selling packages this low, could forget the football lines for one season. at least he'd have the seating for 4000+. And there is still no info on increased seating.

    obviously letting his corp name and own the team ala the red bulls is a tax write off.

    rochester fans seemed amp about the flash. i wouldnt be surprise if the flash match or surpass boston in attendance. i'm betting they will get a crazy number like 7000 or something when abby's newjacks show up.
     
  11. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    might work for sahlen - there might be enough people who like soccer in his community.

    not for borislow - he doesn't have any place to put those extra people.
     
  12. ciudadcentral

    ciudadcentral New Member

    May 27, 2005
    Chi - ca - go!
    Just to set the record straight, EH was a disaster of a coach. There was a complete disconnect between the players CRS signed, the lineups, the on-field strategy, and the results. A train wreck. Honestly, if you just threw all those gals into a locker room and let them figure it out amongst themselves, you would have seen better results. No chemistry whatsoever in the 2 years they competed on the field. None. It was painful to watch.
     
  13. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I agree with the coach assessment 100%.
    That's why I can't figure why Emma Hayes keeps getting hired as a technical director or consultant or whatever. She couldn't even consult herself in Chicago.
    What do these people see in her?
     
  14. ForeverLOST108

    ForeverLOST108 Member+

    Jan 23, 2010
    Orlando
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'd say more like year and a half ;) Lots of positives changes in Chicago once Namazi came in.

    I mean, Chicago possessed the ball last season better than anyone else. Heck, if you even go and look at the post game quotes even when Chicago and FCGP played FCGP always felt outplayed and out-possessed by Chicago. Problem was they couldn't finish. Which was in part because Emma Hayes brought in all the same type of players.
     
  15. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Another great investigative work by Jeff Kassouf. Jeff, keep on doing what your doing. You are a big source (other then a twitter here and there) of what's going on in this league. I for one appreciate the information you give us.

    http://www.equalizersoccer.com/2011...n-florida-and-another-atlanta-soccer-complex/

    Am I understanding that article from the Sun-Sentinel right? The league wants $20,000 per game from each team to cover operating cost???
    What does required game-day costs mean?
    That can't be right.
     
  16. FCGoldPrideGM

    FCGoldPrideGM New Member

    Nov 19, 2009
    Club:
    FC Gold Pride
    I guess Dan didn't realize you have to pay for player worker's comp, referees and stats, all done at the league level & then a cost pass through. Although $20k/game seems like a big number, his may be higher because of the 1st year Worker's Comp collateral. I am not sure why he is complaining - by getting a pass on TV, he saves a boat load by not having to get the stadium TV ready. Over the years, teams have invested a lot of money on that front.

    Maybe he should just blame Puma.

    IMHO, Of course, with the limited press WPS teams get, it is always a great idea to air your dirty laundry instead of gettting the locals excited about your team that just moved into the neighborhood. Not a great piece to showcase your team...that's the type of press I tried to stay away from.

    Agreed, Nice work Kassouf on the report.
     
  17. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    $20,000/game doesn't sound exhorbitant to me. but i know squat.
     
  18. ciudadcentral

    ciudadcentral New Member

    May 27, 2005
    Chi - ca - go!
    Last year, EH was 2/4/1 and ON was 5/7/5. I wouldn't expect a replacement coach to be able to work miracles. The point is: there was a disconnect between the CEO, the GM, the head coach and the players. They had trouble winning games - but they seemed to play better when there were national team call-ups! Go figure. They probably could have thrown CRS unis on Shek's team and done much better. Better chemistry and results at least.

    It's too bad. My advice: go to some games ... enjoy it while you can!
     
  19. wokeupfuzzy

    wokeupfuzzy Member

    Apr 24, 2010
    I'm trying very hard to understand this guy, but I doubt that the league failed to mention these costs to him.

    In that video posted earlier in this thread, he almost seemed out of it - like he was on something or was seriously sleep deprived. A real space cadet.
     
  20. hykos1045

    hykos1045 Member

    May 10, 2010
    Club:
    Philadelphia Independence
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If your gate revenues are going to struggle, 20k is a big chunk of change. Perhaps the owners should be up in arms, though about paying the fee and then not having a website that's up to date with the team locations and how to buy tickets for next week's games. Hope Solo already publicly aired that complaint. And since it takes 45 sec to load each WPS page, compared to 9 seconds on any typical site, I would like the reload to have some new information at least from time to time. And if the MagicTalk's parent paid for a rights to a team, why don't they have any advertisement presence on Freedom's team site, unless they haven't done their own due diligence? The logo and stadium contract should have been done by December so that they could pre-sell season tickets.

    Is WPS run by the team owners now? If so, they would be the ones that care enough to be in touch with the teams' stakeholders but they appear to be in over their heads with the important details, or are sitting on their accounts instead of investing more cash in their team's futures. It's evident that WPS could use a visible acting commish and marketing director, even if it's not a full-time position.
     
  21. AMBreakers

    AMBreakers Member

    Boston Breakers, Boston Univ. Women's Soccer, Norwich City, Charleston Battery
    Jun 21, 2010
    Connecticut
    Club:
    Boston Breakers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Oh Danny Boy, the fans the fans are calling

    From DC to Florida, and down the mountainside

    The Freedom are gone, and all the roses falling

    Tis you must save the team and we must bide....
     
  22. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I didn't realize that high of a cost for game-day expense.

    No wonder the Red Stars couldn't afford this.
    $20,000 per home game to the league, and I don't know, but I'm guessing $40-$50,000 per game for the use of Toyota Park. Player salary, staff salary + other expenses we don't know about = all hanging on 3-4,000 attendance, and I'm guessing many of them were comped.
    And this guy may not even get 1500 in attendance per game.

    How can any team afford this type of expense and stay afloat on less then at least 5,000 PAYED per game and a sponsor or two???

    Maybe this guy IS good for the league. Maybe with his persistence on whittling down cost, they can find a happy medium where this league can keep operating for another year or two.
     
  23. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
  24. Morris20

    Morris20 Member

    Jul 4, 2000
    Upper 90 of nowhere
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    I was with him until I read his next post about how thrilled he was that Ellis and Ape are coming on as Technical Directors or whatever. Evidently he's not familiar with their work and histories.
     
  25. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I agree.
     

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