Well said - funny - Governers Island? Where - Fort Jay? The Red Bulls have how many season ticket holders? They will probably all want to be there for any kind of Derby match - where are you having an organized match on Governers Island? THere are fields there but Stands - what about security, concessions...never mind! Yea - Parks Department has pull - maybe they can get a permit for some track and field at Icahn - because it aint soccer....like they originally said!
When did you contact those "3 locations" because I am staring at the contact information now on one of their PCs. Maybe this was before we met with them? I was never talking about raw numbers, I just knew that my neighborhood, all my friends, and my school was soccer-mad after the last two (especially the last) World Cups. I also think using MLS as a standard for soccer popularity in the USA is a bad idea. Personally, I believe many fans in this country are soccer savvy and prefer to watch "higher quality" soccer from foreign leagues, therefore avoiding attending and watching MLS/USL games. The support MLS teams get when they acquire a "super-star" or the support the USA national team gets in the same stadiums that host MLS teams leads me to believe that American fans are there, they are just picky eaters. I believe that one can attain a rough estimate of popularity and growth of the sport in this country by observing the size of our Youth Development programs, the attendance of all soccer league games and national team games, as well as (and in my opinion most importantly) the amount of coverage soccer gets on the major networks - which I believe is much higher then it was in 2001 and 2005 respectively. All my opinion Lastly, I know for a fact that city officials from all offices and departments are calling our office every day (I know because I am here) and that Doug visits the city for meetings with city officials at least once a week. Just because he mentioned who he contacted for his "grapple of the apple" does not mean he is not in constant contact with other officials for other reasons. We all know that Hofstra will host the team for its inaugural season, and that exhibition games will be played at different venues within the 5 boroughs. What is still being worked on is the permanent location of the team, i.e. where to build the new stadium. Hope this helps. PS I have not rescinded my offer and I cannot wait to meet you guys, especially metro.
After we were told by Doug Petersen that "WE HAVE BEEN IN TALKS WITH THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS" Thats the thing man - we have been told shit that is not true - if he said that we have yet to been speaking to these sites but we hope to - we would have said OK -and we would have HELPED - because that is what we really want - to help bring a club to the city and help build it into the Cities team as well as help it become a good club! Instead we were told things that were lies. I guess maybe we can be looked at as "just a few fans" but we are more than that and we have contacts - we dont like being lied to like we are non factors! 1. - When the team first came here - it said games will be played all over the place - now its down to friendlies! Misleading from day 1 - thats where a lot of the anger comes in! yes - more than welcome to meet us and join our US section for our viewings! August 12th is the Mexico game! Wed Night! Again - im angry - but I want to see FC turn into what it originally said it plans on! I really do! Just all the lies and misleading - stop treating us like nobodies! We are your fan base and you are alienting us by lying, and ignoring our offers for help! Shit - you went from having kids who go to school with Doug's kids to an employee in a matter of a month! JUST TELL US THE THRUTH - and if you CANT just say - I CANT DISCUSS THAT AT THIS TIME! We know how this all works - we are not stupid - but it seems as though - that is what we are portrayed as! Oh well!
Just to start to close the loop (sorry to digress), but the numbers on either side of a World Cup year are fairly consistent for the same time period with what they are during an actual World Cup. Looking just at the two most recent WCs: From May 30-June 30 Year..GP...Total...Avg.....Median 2001..33..466,038..14,122..12,652 2002..25..325,276..13,011..12,721 2003..28..368,305..13,154..12,604 From June 9 - July 9 Year..GP...Total...Avg.....Median 2005..36..476,221..13,228..11,445 2006..40..527,908..13,198..11,925 2007..36..546,498..15,181..14,811 In the "off" years, the drop from pre to during is less, but the "bounce," if you will, is fairly consistent at around 21-26%. So while some of the effect you see during a World Cup appears to be normal, I can't say that I can explain all of the drop by normal conditions prevailing. I'd like to see another cycle or two, but it does appear that we don't see what we know to be generally increased interest in soccer during a World Cup paying off in increased customers for MLS during the tournament itself. I'll have to check USL next. Carry on.
Again, interesting Kenn, thanks. Long island... that's exactly it. You were claiming earlier that one of the reasons FC NY can become a success is because it's starting in a WC year, when soccer fever is at a high. Yes, people are into soccer during that time, but it doesn't translate to MLS. And I agree with you, I think a big part of the reason is the quality of the product on the field and the atmosphere at the games. When you are swept up in the global excitement of the WC, sitting with 10,000 other fans to watch an MLS game can be a bit of a let down. I think the same would hold true for USL. And great, I hope he's been on the horn with City officials... If you want a little help to try to set up exhibitions in NYC, feel free to have Doug contact me. I'm a lawyer and I represent local government officials and local politicians on various matters. I can probably be helpful. If you're at all interested, shoot me a pm and I'll give you my email address.
My guess is that the interest in the World Cup spurs interest in....the World Cup. But that's just a guess. Here's what USL-1 did during the last World Cup: 2006......G....Total....Avg..Median Pre......45..196,319..4,363..3,369 During...43..184,443..4,289..2,932 Post.....80..403,100..5,039..3,735 Same time period in 2007: 2007......G....Total....Avg..Median Pre......57..239,221..4,197..3,820 During...34..175,075..5,149..4,019 Post.....77..387,290..5,030..4,479 (One reason - Montreal and Rochester had a lot of home games during the "during" period in 2007, and not durnig the "pre" period.) But, again, no real evidence of a big bump while a World Cup is going on. If NYFC is going to rely on general buzz and excitement to take the place of actual marketing and active ticket sales, they're going to be disappointed. But that's true for any team at any time, World Cup year or not. You have to do the work.
I'm afraid that the closest comparison to the world cup in this country is the olympics. No matter how great our swimmers, runners, or speed skaters, and no matter how popular they become during the olympics, it doesn't translate into increasing interest for the sport outside of the olympics. Sadly, to date that's what the World cup has been to soccer in this country, IMO.
"Our goal is to build a home in Queens" http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local..._stadium_site_in_jamaica.html#ixzz0KsX0MUtu&D Nothing dramatic about it. The most interesting thing is that they are looking at a stadium site in Jamaica, and the plan is to be in a new stadium by the 2012 season. They will be at Hofstra for two years, but may be playing exhibitions at sites in NYC. They've got two scouts and are looking at players and should announce a coach soon.
Paul I ran out to get the paper. The news is more of the same but the interviews and the interest is growing! I'm getting more excited about this team as the days go by. Granted that FCNY has taken it's time to roll out but things that come by fast tend to leave just as fast. Personally I want FCNY around for a while, so I'm cool with the speed that they are taking to develop into a full functioning soccer organization in NYC. I'm willing to wait, so we play in Hofstra for a while, big deal, there are worse things in life. The day that they say that they cant come into NYC, then I guess I'll have to decide what do to. For now I'm cool with how this is working out. Concering the SSS, they are probably talking about the Aquaduct Raceway location. Considering that they wont be putting any gambling into Aquaduct anytime soon, this might be where Peterson is talking about. It's not the best location but it certainly isn't the worst.
If Doug Peterson can actually do what he says he wants to do, then it truly is exciting. I would love a stadium in Jamaica; placing a stadium there makes FCNY very accessible to a tremendous number of fans.
Take another look: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica,_Queens 60-90 Days it could very well be, but if you don't try you never succeed.
I'll ask you straight up cosmos, is Aqueduct racetrack in Jamaica Queens? Paul, you're right, I will lighten up.
Did a little snooping around. What about Rufus King Park? Smack dab in the middle of Jamaica. It's big enough, and it's owned by the City of new york and the Parks Dept (unlike Aqueduct, which is owned by NYRA). Only problem is there is a historic house at the southern end of the park. But still, you could probably plop down a 9000 seater north of the house. The park despite its proximity to a huge residential and commercial area, is underutilized. It's also got terrific subway access and is a stone's throw from LIRR Jamaica station. Now that would be exciting.
I don't know how the residents of Jamaica would take to the elimination of a park dedicated to statesman who was in opposition of slavery. If you can tackle that obstacle, maybe by still paying homage to the man and the belief of anti slavery, Rufus King Park would probably make an excellent location. There are those public parking lots across the street which are used by the courts and what not, and the subway and buses are very close. Jamaica (the city center), being a transportation hub is very accessible to everyone, Queens, Manhattan, Long Island etc etc. This area can draw well and would be like a great addition to the community. I'm sure that the Jamaica Ave Merchants would be greatly behind the initiative.
This is an aerial view of the park. If I'm not mistaken, Mary Immaculate Hospital which is directly North of the park has closed down. I'm sure that the Jamaica area merchants will welcome the construction and the related commercial activity associated with a stadium.