Mentions looking at possible sites for a SSS in ATL. Says he's in the exploratory stage, http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/2008/02/01/blank_0203.html?imw=Y
i really hope miami and atlanta get teams in the next few expansion slots. that part of the country is sorely lacking teams to root for.
The only problem with those two cities is I constantly hear how they really dont support their teams. I remember watching Braves divisonal series and the attendance was horrible for a playoff game. And don't the dolphins struggle to sell out games as well?
being originally from the south, then moving to the northeast, i can honestly say that people in the south are less receptive to soccer as a sport than elsewhere. In my home town, which is actually quite large, it's impossible to find a game on tv at a bar or anywhere like that.. in fact 2 MLS teams game for an exhibition and practically NO one showed up. I've spent time in Atlanta, and Florida....and though I don't doubt they have the ability to support a team.....the southeast is just not a soccer supporting area compared to other cities.
In fairness to the Braves, when you've won 14 division titles in row, why should you treat divisional playoff games any differently from regular season games? 2007 was the first season in this decade where they did not play to 97% capacity crowds, dropping to 95% capacity to watch the worst team in the league. Basically, the problem is that those cities don't support crappy teams that are under-marketed. Of course, that puts them in a rather exclusive company of "every city."
Let me say that I don't think NFL attendance = MLS attendance. But to be fair, 97% is not good when your talking NFL. If comparing percentage of capacity of home games, Miami is not doing well. 2001 = 14th in the league 2002 = 17 2003 = 18 2004 = 22 2005 = 22 2006 = 21 2007 = 27 Jacksonville is always a bottom 5. That being said, I think you need a team in Miami (after St. Louis of course.) But attendance is ALWAYS going to be a problem in Florida. First, It's hard to draw people away from beautiful weather and great beaches. Second, the younger generations make up a huge portion of MLS attendance. In Florida, the young people are working tourism jobs. Tourism jobs = working nights and weekends. These are when MLS plays. So, in Florida, a smaller percentage of fans are available for games. Like I said, I'd like to see a team in Miami but I think attendance is always going to be a problem. I always wondered why MLS never tied into tourism. Stay at X hotel get 4 tickets to a game. This would help areas like Miami. Good luck - Miami - but please wait until after St. Louis.
That's the first time I've ever heard it implied that a team that is attracting more than 95% capacity is "not doing well." The fact of the matter is that the Miami Dolphins game in and game out and year in and year out fill at stadium with more than 70,000 seats. But if you want to make the claim that they're not doing well because other teams are filling their smaller stadiums to 98% capacity, then be my guest. Jacksonville is also the smallest market in the league outside of Green Bay, which is a somewhat unique case. If you have horrible teams with worse marketing, then yes, it is. It's a big reason why the Galaxy have the worst attendance in the league, isn't it? Link? If they're as badly run as the Fusion, then yes. But every single other team in the league would've bombed as badly as the Fusion if they were run as badly. Personally, I think that people have preconceived notions based on faulty logic and shoehorn the facts to fit those notions.
This argument is getting old and has been debated many times on the boards. If you look at the actual numbers during this decade across the other four major sports, Atlanta's support for its professional teams in on par with the support given in Chicago or Boston. Atlanta also supports its college teams quite well so fan support here is not a problem. You really should watch games more than once every 15 years. That is certainly nothing to base your opinion upon.
While I don't think the major sports attendance figures actually translate to MLS, you cannot act like these statements are not true. Atlanta doesn't support the Big 4 sports very well. Additionally, Atlanta doesn't come close to Chicago or Boston in terms of supporting it's teams. (Based on % of capacity) Braves - 2001-2007 - 16.48 out of 30 teams Falcons - 2001-2007 - 18.86 out of 32 teams Hawks - 02/03-06/07 - 28.6 out of 30 teams Thrashers - 2001 - 2007 (not counting 2005 strike) - 24.67 out of 30 teams - are you kidding me - True the Bears don't get much support, but the Cubs are always a top 5, White Sox middle of the pack, Red Sox top 3, and Patriots are top 8. Despite all of this, I still don't think poor support in the Big 4 necessarily equates to poor support in MLS. But you cannot get around the fact that Atlanta does not support it's major teams.
I almost fell out of my chair after reading that.... But maybe I am missing your angle/slant. Can you please explain that one?
the only thing i'd like to add, that even if Atlanta would be well supported, i think the league really wants rivarlies and away fans, so this would only work in that sense if Miami or another southeastern team was brought in as the same time.
All of the NFL gets great support, but according to ESPN, the Bears Percent of Capacity is 93. So Bears sell 93% of their capacity. For NFL, this is low as it puts the Bears at 29th in the league. Remember, there are many teams regularly selling above official capacity. Here is what I'm going from: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/attendance?sort=home_perc&year=2007
Would that by why they just brought in Seattle which is close to ????? San Jose? Not. They are looking to add TV's viewing market. Philadelphia, Phoenix, Detroit, Atlanta (and sadly farther down the list St. Louis). If Red Bulls have ticked off enough metro New Yorkers, then New York could be thrown in that mix - and yes a nice rivalry is healthy. Internationally though FIFA wants leagues at 18 or less - which means there is a limit and unless we get a promotion/relegation system (which I believe is the long term solution to growing soccer in our country) then a lot of these cities are going to be left out.