Panama match site rumor

I think it's good to spread the love and the NW is hosting Gold Cup matches, but the NW should always get at least 1 qualifier. I think other MLS cities should be considered as well prior to cities like Charlotte.

 

unless there is a complete meltdown, Panama shapes up as one of the rare opportunities to play a qualifier on US soil that truly won't matter in terms of qualification. the game should be at a place like the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles (err Carson), where we would generally choose not to play a serious qualifier.

rather than after the Gold Cup, they should wait until after Hartford, or even possibly after Columbus and Guatemala, and the choice of venue should be different depending on whether we have or haven't clinched by that point.

 

Logistics may require more time.

In the days of the old Foxboro Stadium, I advocated for it being the site for all home games -- not just because USMNT never lost there but because I lived a half-hour away. Now, however, I think spreading the sites around is great, and I'm sure MLS execs like it too because they can crunch all the attendence numbers, play in local media, etc. to help figure out how to better promote their product and where to think about expanding. Of course with Panama, there's not as much of an ex-pat issue to consider in terms of the crowd.

 

Rare? You mean like the Jamaica game in Columbus, Ohio last fall? You know, the game that nobody came to.

 

i'm not sure i follow your point.
and think that it supports mine.
care to elaborate?

 

I don't consider 2 out of 9 to be particularly "rare."

 

well, taking the one case you've noted, it's happened once in how many years? with a second one now likely on the horizon. you can insert a different word in place of "rare" if you like, but it certainly hasn't been commonplace and we should be so lucky if we've always clinched before we get to our last home qualifier in each round (or that we can do it 1-2 months beforehand, as would be at least minimally necessary for planning purposes).

also, to go back to columbus last year, i wonder if there might have been a better crowd if it had been played in one of those places that don't usually get to host a game.

 

it matters to the people who get to go to the game (perhaps why Andy would like to see it in NC and i'd like to see it in Cal).

 

No, that wasn't my point. My point is that meaningless WCQs are particularly rare. I attribute the crap attendance to be partly due to oversaturation, but mostly due to the fact that the game was meaningless.

It's really hard to see an attendance north of 10,000 for the Panama game regardless of where it is played.

 

This could be true.

If they were smart and things are locked up, they'd bill it as some kind of qualification party or something.

 

The more I think about it, the more I'd like to see the game at Blackbaud. I might even trek down for that, Charleston is an awesome town and I have a hot friend who goes to school there.

 

It was also a miserable night in Columbus, after torrential rains all day and bad weather leading up to the game. The 10,000 or so that were there were the die-hards. I was there, and it was just wet and nasty right until game time. There was even a power-outage at the stadium an hour before the start. There were hardly any walk-up or sales from the locals leading up to the game, and I didn't blame them for not coming out.

The other reasons were part of why attendance was low, but for anyone curious to see a game, or bring the kids to see the US team, if they didn't buy a ticket at least a week in advance, they passed on the game.......

Weather was a big factor.......

 

The big problem is with timing. The Wednesday between the last two weeks of the MLS season doesn't really open itself up to exploitation.

At the very least, they need to stay away from MLS markets - unless they move an MLS match and make it a doubleheader.

 

I think if Charlotte was the choice for the qualifier, it would continue the trend in the qualifiers we have seen so far to spread out the footprint of international soccer in the US. With the experiences of Birmingham and SLC, I understand the approach.
I am biased in Charlotte's favor, because I am from there, but it would be a good pick, if the qualifier is scheduled before the NFL season starts. The US women have played there before, and the College Cup had success at Davidson and later downtown.
The local press would be all over the game with coverage, and how hosting the game reflects Charlotte's growing international stature. We are Charlotte USA after all, not Charlotte, NC in the minds of the Charlotte Convention and Visitors Board. The lack of other events in the city during that time will produce respectable attendance figures.
I bet the game would be played in BofA (Carolina Panthers), but I would love to see the game in Memorial Stadium. The Charlotte Eagles played there during their brief A-League stint. It seats 28k, and although very old, still is used for huge high school football games. Great atmosphere. It is located next to downtown, and near East Charlotte where a lot of hispanics reside. I bet the game will be in BofA though if it happens.
In conclusion, the crowd would be pro-american and a good size if the game was played before the NFL season began. But once the Panthers begin their Super Bowl '06 run, all attention will be directed towards the Cardiac Cats.

 

Mexico's Atlas and Tecos are playing at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on July 17th. They're expecting around 20,000 for the game.

EDIT:
http://www.azuldeportes.com/index.htm

 

If you're taking photos, shuold we expect shots of some of the more, ahem... buxom fans, and I'm not talking about guys having enjoyed one to many empanadas

The Magpie

 

You're a regular genius, you know that? You're hired!

 

About 3 years ago around 35,000 people showed up at Safeco Field to watch a friendly with Honduras' B-C team. I'm sure you'd go 20,000 plus if you stuck the Panama game in a number of places.

If you're trying to work a number of angles at once, it seems that it makes more sense to put the important games in out of the way places - Salt Lake and Birmingham where the US fans will follow - and stick unimportant games in undersaturated population centers where crowd make-up isn't a concern.

I think Seattle is one of the undersaturated population centers with a world class soccer stadium (that's occasionally used for football). Qwest field was designed with soccer sight lines in mind.

I'll be interested to see what the attendance figures are for the Gold Cup games.

 

They should play it in Rochester, rewarding them for their new stadium. I believe it's going to seat 13K, and they probably would sell it out. And if they only got 10,000, its better than 10,000 in a 70,000 seat stadium.

 

On a beautiful spring weekend afternoon in a town that hadn't seen the USMNT in a who knows how long?

Wednesday night in mid-October is a tougher sale.

North of 10k is a huge success. But I agree that they need to send it somewhere that hasn't seen the MNT in a while.

 

I think the how long was 1994 against Russia in the Kingdome on artificial turf. I believe that's called pent up demand!

The Wednesday part I hadn't considered - but Seattle and the rest of the West Coast can be gorgeous in October depending upon when the rains show up. They usually haven't arrived by then.

 

I'd love the game to be in Charlotte ... It would be close to a sellout I'm sure!

 

At what stadium?

Beautiful E.E. Waddell High School Stadium (where the Eagles play)?

Certainly not Bank of America Stadium.