Rochester Lancers not returning for 2014-2015

The Lancers control the whole story line and are slowly revealing pieces through the Rochester D and C as they see fit to keep the public engaged in their narrative.

Regardless of what the motivations were when the story began on August 2nd (genuine issues or PR stunt), just over two weeks later it feels like a managed media event and that might be a larger issue for the Lancers going forward.

 

Agreed. And without a doubt, seeing an "ad" from Soccer Sam along with an article yesterday doesn't help with the PR stunt feel -- whether it's true or not. You're dealing with the emotions of fans, players and coaches, so it should be taken seriously with every effort expended to avoid things going public until it's finalized -- i.e. talking to people who could possibly save the franchise first.

I've felt for Rife, maybe more than anyone else, during this whole ordeal. He has been quite visible in the community, and now he gets caught in this messy PR situation. And, of course, he moved his family here. I suppose some businesses claim they're closing and then some miracle happens, so it's not totally unparalleled, but it's an odd situation at best. If it wasn't a PR stunt it was very poorly handled, and if it was, it certainly won't help to recruit players and coaches.

If Rife does walk, that would make it four coaches in four seasons. That would be very telling. Hopefully, with whatever arrangement happens, Miller will be given real control and he can create stability on and off the field. We'll see if SS can really give up control if he remains in the scene.

 

From what I reading here sounds to me Rife was not in for a stunt like this. As though he wasn't told up front this was going to happen.

 

Thats because it wasn't a "publicity stunt"....rochesterian80/rocsoccerfan your a smart guy.
Setting up a WWE type stunt and writing a story line is something Sam is all about, but not this time... your not going to encourage ticket sales to a community that didn't think enough of your product to buy tickets the first 3 seasons buy pulling a silly "indoor soccer isn't fun anymore so I don't wanna field a team anymore, but now the legend Dougie is running the show with my blessing" stunt.
Anyone could see after the first season the club couldn't sell "real $$" tickets, and sponsors eventually catch on, just like there starting to with the Rhino's.
I wish Doug all the best, but the odds are stacked against him....let him have a decent season and then find a new venue to play in because long term the BCA is just gonna be too expensive.

 

I don't understand the Rhinos reference? The Lancers rent the BCA and play 10 games a year. The Rhinos operate the team and Sahlen's Stadium. When you sponsor the Rhinos you have the you have the opportunity to reach Rhinos fans plus all of these events as well - Western New York Flash, Rochester Rattlers, USWNT, Concerts, Drum Corps World Championship, Rochester City School soccer & football games, Section Five Football Playoffs and NACKA Kickball. All of these options have been added in the past three years. It seems like an easy choice for a sponsor.

 

Side note *
Lancer Avg attendance for 2013-14 season 5,675 per game
Rhino's Avg attendance for 2014 5,367 per game

 

Time will tell. Bare in mind, part of whatever this was has been an effort to get people to buy season tickets before September to save the team. That is how they are trying to encourage ticket sales. And, would the Lancers get an ounce of attention now without all of this? No. And was it odd Sam took out an ad in the newspaper this past weekend? Yes. I'm not saying it's certain, but the latest twist makes the situation even more odd. Obviously, we may never know the truth, but whatever position he takes or doesn't take in terms of ownership will give us a good hint. And his advertisement left the door open to maintaining some ownership.

 

I'll beat SoccerFrank to the punch. Both teams post optimistic ticket numbers. Both teams -- neither get along -- do so at a similar level. If only they could work together things could be a bit different.

 

Thanks

 

Wouldn't it have been a little more simple to have a "SAVE our LANCERS special ticket drive" ? .....instead of telling people "we're done, I'm retired from the business of soccer......we'll be giving out refunds on Monday ..... oh, sorry , we'll hold refunds off till September, if you'd still like to buy a ticket

The attention they got out of it is that all negative.....no one will buy a ticket when you just announced you'll be giving refunds next month.
When a furniture store announces a "going out of business sale" they sell everything on the floor at final prices, no refunds or returns. When a sports team announces they won't be returning, people don't rush out to buy tickets, at least anyone that hasn't been drinking.
So Doug steps in to find some investors,etc to save the team as part of the "stunt" ? ....the Lancers don't have millions of fans attuned to their every story line like the WWE.....most people/fans don't pay that close attention to the radio shows,D&C or internet boards , 95% or more think the Lancer are finished. So the remaining 5% that got free tickets or heavily discounted tickets are wondering if they can still in get in free if they do field a team ?
Hey maybe Sam will continue the story line and take the old "Vince McMan" character and run onto the arena floor and body slam or pile drive the refs when they have a dispute over a 3 point goal ?

 

I understand the cynicism but it's possible that Soccer Sam was tired and frustrated and reluctantly announced he was done, but is having some misgivings.

 

Very well put. The ad in the paper is certainly a flag. Typically placing a print ad requires at least a little planning and lead time. And their communication strategy seemed well thought out this past weekend.

I agree with all that this makes little sense. But he is indeed someone that says any publicity is good publicity, right or wrong. And, exactly as you said, there's time for this to all come together.

And, to Soccer Frank's point, if the Lancers aren't really selling any tickets anyway, what do they have to lose? You can't argue that they don't sell any tickets, then at the same time argue they're risking losing lots of ticket sales. It's August. I doubt phones are ringing off the hook. Most of their sponsors are his business colleagues. Obviously, the real risk is it annoys diehards, and even there, I think the Lancers bread and butter is casual families.

The other thing that made little sense was how his staff -- located in the Salvatore's office -- just continued on (despite their boss being done) as did their soccer camps. All sorts of oddities to at least raise the question.

Whatever the case may be, we'll see the Lancers this fall.

 

Pepsi - that was a good post and makes sense. But in my mind I can't see how folding the franchise and not telling the coach it was a hoax is good business sense. Its counter intuitive. I know you say bad publicity is better than no publicity but it makes zero sense.

Would Sam claim people had food poisoning from his Pizza restaurant just to get in the D&C.....no. The whole thing is a weird situation, which means its perfectly normal on Planet Indoor-Soccer

 

It literally takes less than a day to make that happen.

 

I think this is a very important point to understanding what is going on here with the Lancers.

Their bread and butter ticket buyers are casual families who will attend indoor soccer games as a recreational activity when it's conducive to their schedule. These families aren't following the whole story line that Pepsi Addict comprehensively outlined in his post. They're getting one or two hits from this news cycle to raise their urgency to buy tickets during what I would imagine to be a slow time of the year for the Lancers.

Well played once again by SS, but I'm hoping for the day when signing Marco Terminesi will be the only type of media event this team needs.

 

It does take less than a day to make this happen when Salvatore's already has that spot in the paper reserved. I think every Sunday. Once again the Lancers staff come onto the boards to defend what people already know, that this was a planned media event to draw attention to the team. Maybe Allen Iverson will play for Doug Miller this year?

 

If this was a publicity stunt it was a really dumb one that has been poorly executed.

Just announcing the team is folding will stick in people's minds for years. Even if the team is still around in 10 years there will be people that say," What they're still around? I read they folded years ago."

And second there hasn't been any kind of organized sales drive. In fact, if someone was going to get tickets they probably decided to hold off and see what happens first.

 

I'm wondering if anyone on here has even attempted to purchase Lancer tickets within the last 3 weeks????

Just a little trivia if any ROC folks know what Soccer Sam's pro wrestling name was many moons ago?.....I'm pretty sure he mentioned once he used to wrestle in the regional circuit.

We need "The Great Guru of American Soccer" Kenn T to chime in and shine some sense into this whole Sam/Lancers/WWE style publicity stunt some are saying is going on in Former Soccer Town USA......where are you Kenn?...lol....please step in and be the voice of good sense

 

Don't you know that no one on here "buys" tickets. These are just the "experts".

I do agree with NSL that Sam "folding" the team will last a long time in the memory of the general public.
Most sports fans in Baltimore still ask "are they still around" when I talk about the Blast and the original Blast folded in 1992.

 

Interesting twist this afternoon with the Lancers. Season tickets went on-sale, which is a good sign. The one question I have is if you look at the seating map on the website (http://www.rochesterlancers.com/tickets.php) and multiple the regular ticket price times the 10 home game it equals the same price as the season ticket price. This is the first time I have seen a save the team campaign where season tickets have no discount. The jersey would be nice but there is no guarantee that you get one and last year every body was entered to win the car. No benefit from being a season ticket holder. Originally it was only season ticket holders would be entered but that changed the night of the home opener.

Before I go and purchase mine there are a few questions I have not seen answered - Are "Golden Ticket" purchases being honored? The value of those tickets keep diminishing. What kind of team will be in the field? Who will coach? There needs to be more than a rah, rah facebook post to get your tickets.

 

Thats a very odd way of setting a marketplace for tickets. In fact, I can't remember any team doing that at any level in hockey or soccer in North America. In fact it would actually stifle season ticket sales. The Golden Ticket would not be a very wise investment at all, if the team shuts down and re-opens from week to week, buying a lifetime ticket is meaningless.