No disrespect to the city of the Red Stick, but... I doubt it. It would be the worst climate in the league by far. Hell, I used to lose 8 pounds of fluid just playing slow-pitch softball when I was down there. Oh, and as always, GEAUX Fire!
Maybe a canidate for the PDL or PSL, but not MLS. I think the reason you play games in other markets is to help grow the brand and make people aware of MLS. They may be too far to go to games on a regular basis, but not too far to watch games on tv.
i dont think it would have a chance, with all the current challengers. maybe it's up for future consideration.
I would be willing to bet that if Red Stick could pull out an owner and a stadium they'd be on the list of considerations... If Tulsa and Roch are on the list, why not BR? As for the climate, so what? The players that train down there would be used to it, making home games easier to win due to the away team's lack of heat+humidity stamina...
It's not a bad site for an exhibition game. Baton Rouge on a Sat is reasonable day trip distance from Houston and, of course, New Orleans. This whole Gulf Coast soccer market is probably underserved (then again, that also probably describes a lot of places ).
I'd love to see MLS expand to the Gulf South. Baton Rouge has a population of maybe 350,000. Do they have any fortune 500 companies?
I know for sure that there's a major Exxon/Mobil refining facility in Baton Rouge, but I don't know who are the other major employers (other than the state gov't or LSU). I thought that the metro pop was something around 600,000. At any rate, I hope they get a nice little crowd for this game.
I hope they do well too. New Orleans had 5,000 for the Burn v Olimpia game. Where is the game being played in Baton Rouge? The LSU soccer complex? Its a shame that New Orleans got the Hornets - and looks like an Arena Football team, otherwise Tad Gormley would be a great soccer stadium. (26,500 seats - natural grass) Maybe Tom Benson could talk to Lamar Hunt and get excited.
Good point. I remember the softball games I alluded to earlier being disrupted by bug-infestations occasionally, and more than once a third-base coach giving a sign that was misread because a mosquito slap was taken as a sign (that was in the fast-pitch league, where you actually had signs). That said, if they get a well-supported team in Louisiana or anywhere else, that would be great.
I attended a college baseball game last week in Houston and spent much of my time battling mosquitos. It's a hopeless fight, but it builds character. Anyway, that BRSA site linked above has a link to a pdf (presumably a mailing or something like that?) that says the game's at the LSU Soccer Complex. They also say that they have over 4,000 youth players plus another 1,200 rec players. Slightly OT, but anyone know what the Louisiana Outlaws draw in the PDL? Do they play at LSU? Are they jointly sponsored by the BRSA and the Cajun Soccer Club in Lafayette?
I don't know how well the Outlaws draw, but probably less than 1,000 a game - much less. They play in Lafayette, about 45 minutes from Baton Rouge, and 45 minutes from Lafayette. 2 hours or less from New Orleans. Would do better if they had crawfish in the concession stand. I don't think the youth club sponsors the team either.
bien fait! And here's the game report from the local paper: http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/040603/spo_mls001.shtml They apparently sold out the LSU Soccer Complex at 2,023. The article also provides some background:
I'm guessing they did. That was as full as I've ever seen the LSU soccer complex, and it rained all freaking day long. Thankfully, it let up about 3 hours before kickoff. Plus, LSU had a baseball game at the same time (i.e. parking was a nightmare) Sponsored jointly by: LA Outlaws of Lafayette, LA; LSU Women's Soccer (no men's team), specifically George Foutoupolus; The Fox and Hound pub (where the players made an appearance the night before); and BRSA. Pretty good game. Mostly Fire fans. All the little kids seemed to know Beasley's name, at least. And there were a lot of little kids. Hispanic kids were all about Pablo, who was the only Rapid to sign autographs. Out of the Fire, Beasley signed a ton, Razov a few. Looked like Mapp brought his family in from Mississippi, but he and Whitfield, Kelly Gray, and Capano signed a TON of autographs, too. Ante and Pablo signed for like 5-10 minutes after the game ended before heading back into the locker, but those Fire guys were still signing when I left half an hour after the game ended. Everyone seemed to have a good time. The Shaw Group is the closest thing BR's got to a its own Fortune 500 company.