Miami Stadium News (Including Howler Article, and New Developments at Marlins Park Site)

Hey, no argument from me there... the one good thing about the NASL is that its decentralized structure has allowed some class owners to establish themselves amidst the scumbaggery of the league itself...and these owners, at least temporarily, are providing real teams to real fans. TBR are a happy example, and long may they live.

I'm also sympathetic to the argument that NASL is a useful laboratory to allow good ownership groups to prove their bona fides before eventually moving to MLS or being integrated into the USL when NASL collapses --- in this sense, the NASL, after it's gone, may well have done US soccer some ultimate good.

But it's hard to forget the fact that the league itself is being run by chancers and schemers trying to suck all they can out of their marks before they close up shop and leave the suckers holding the bag. There can be no better proof than the utterly unserious Potemkin club called Miami FC. These crooks don't come in for nearly enough condemnation.

 

Yeah Miami FC will wither and die now just as the Silverbacks are going to. You can't have a successful NASL team in town with MLS next door. Even the vaunted Cosmos are in permanent limbo thanks to the addition of NYCFC...

 

Using google earth, I measured roughly a 500 x 500 ft area (measuring from the sidewalk on 17th Ave to very close to the Marlin overhang)

I'm no stadium architect, but it looks like they could fit a 20-25K stadium on the site. My concern would be for future expansion.

All the newer stadiums seem to have some expansion potential built in. But this site will be maxed out from the get-go

 

If/when they need to expand, they'll just inherit and reconfigure slightly the MLB structure, as the Marlins are sure to leave town once they start getting out-drawn at the gate and overshadowed by Beckham and Claure's super-club.

 

Well, given that the least popular MLB team (Tampa Bay) at the gate doubles the annual attendance of the top MLS team (Seattle), I doubt that that will be the case.

 

With 64 more games I would expect they would! Now if you look at the average or median gate...

Not that the Marlins are going anywhere or that Miami MLS is guaranteed to crush it.

 

Something tells me he isn't familiar with how many games MLB teams play.

 

Who? Me? Or the idiot -- any idiot -- with his head so far up his *** that he can't figure out that MLB attendance dwarfs attendance in any other pro league.

Hell. The Marlins get more butts in seat per year than frickin' Barcelona, FFS.

 

Which is why the Marlins (and Rays for that matter) are widely perceived as a model sports franchise worth more than Barcelona and there is no angst about their attendance in baseball circles whatsoever.

Again not supporting the premise of the post that brought this on, but total attendance means poop when comparing sports with such disparate schedules.

The Sounders probably humble the attendance of the worst NFL teams by that rationale. Doesn't mean those NFL teams aren't still making way more bank.

 

They're certainly more than, say Colorado or C'bus...

I see.

But comparing average attendance is ... not poop... it's all roses and chocolate and hipster artisan bacon.

In other words, it cuts both ways.

 

Sure it does. I just don't see what's terribly more impressive about the same 20,000 or fewer crowd going to baseball games 81 times versus Barcelona selling out all their home games (which are like a third of fourth as many games), especially when you factor in the ticket prices. It's not like 1.6 million unique people have been to a Marlins game each year, thus indicating some huge groundswell of support.

 

What percentage of revenue are ticket sales for the Marlins and FC Barcelona?

Those businesses are successful (and yes they sell a lot of tickets each year) because they earn a very significant amount of revenue from sponsors and television partners.

 

MLB's revenue was over $9 billion last year. More than double the EPL and most soccer leagues combined. Almost all of that was from television. Mostly due to the lucrative local cable deals teams are making. Baseball might not play nationally anymore(look at the putrid all-star game rating), but each market watches their hometown team and that is why baseball is making bank.

The Tampa Bay Rays repeat 14k 81 times and draw 1.1 million fans with much lower ticket prices. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers play 8 home games and draw 477k fans with much higher ticket prices.

Comparing attendance between different sports is just silly because of the different models.

 

I remember a few years ago the ownership of the Quakes making a comment that they would have more money to spend on the team because of the increase in TV money their baseball team, the Oakland A's, were making.

 

That's cute.

That's exactly what I was saying, and yet somehow I'm not familiar with how many games MLB teams play? Maybe you can try and make up your mind before posting? Just a thought...

 

While I would never wish bad tidings on any MLS franchise* or its stadium plans, Miami getting tacked down and Minnesota being given every last extra chance after the July 1st "deadline" is kinda tough to watch for those of us who want Sacramento to get off the ground.

* LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo exempted from this offer. All rights reserved.

 

Then don't watch?



I watch for the same reason people slow down to see car accidents.

 

I've been waiting for MLS's first Fenway-like stadium. To make space, the field will be trapezoid shaped and the north goal will be on top of a 30 ft wall.

...or the goal could be cut into the wall, indoor style with no touchline and all the wall-deflections still in play. So many possibilities.

 

They could develop some half-court rules like Football did

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/20/sports/ncaafootball/20wrigley.html

 

Not a fan of this, since this opens up Beckham to political pressure for the U to come into the Orange Bowl site. If that is the condition, MLS would be well served walking away. They're saying no Miami football now, that will change once this goes to the county commission.

MLS is not in the business of building football stadiums for private NCAA division 1 major programs. Let Al Golden and company raise the money for their own stadium.

 

Well the new soccer stadium will be built with Becks and Claure's money so they are not obligated to make Miami University happy unless the Hurricanes happen to bring something significant to the table. The plans should not be to build anything as big as the old Orange Bowl but rather to build the nicest SSS they can afford. One would think that Div I college football would have been able to get a new stadium on its own years ago without having to leech onto Becks and co.

 

Problem is with the space they have, I'm expecting the max capacity to be a lot closer to 20k than 30k, which means they'll be stuck in a cramped stadium for years while attendances continue to grow in the league.

 

I see the point and it is a valid one--on the other hand it will make demand for a limited number of tickets quite high (assuming the team finds success on the field.)

 

FYP.

By the way, I'm not really sure if Oxford, Ohio is the best spot for an expansion. Just go straight to nearby Cincinnati. They've got everything there: youth soccer hotbed, they could use the Bengals stadium, there's a bunch of immigrants. Just last month a friend of mine was there and he saw a pick up game and at least half the players had, like, foreign accents. The only thing they're missing is an SSS and a willing ownership group.

#idiotsatMLSHQ #makeithappenDon #rememberingthegoodolddaysofexpansionthtreads