If this is true, time and improvement might not help in building attendance. I'd like to see Chivas selling out matches as much as any other MLS team, but already have to wonder if they would have been better off in a bigger stadium (like in San Diego) where they could lower the prices and make money back through larger crowds, while also having a place to call their own.
You would be surprised, no matter what the numbers say, LA is more oriental than anything else. But that's not what I meant, I mean cost of living.
I'm guessing that there is indeed some clause like this in the contract, but I'm also surmising that it is not entirely without wiggle room. For example, the Galaxy have in the past offered special deals on tickets, especially for matches of somewhat less intrinsic interest. You could at times, for example, buy four tickets and get vouchers for four hot dogs, sodas, and a free copy of the L.A. Times. I believe I heard over the P.A. on Saturday that the Cinco de Mayo Chivas match would feature a $10 discount for anyone wearing a Mexican national team jersey. So I'm guessing that each team has some leeway for offering special deals, promotions, and the like, even if they can't lower the official face value on tickets -- which they might very well not want to do anyway for fear of alienating current or potential season ticket buyers.
LOL. Ahh, this always makes me laugh. Not to poke fun but let me ask you something. Why can't it be Demarcus "The most recent successful US native to be playing in Europe" Beasley or another American(argentine)like Claudio "Captian America" Reyna? How about Cobi "MLS and National Team Legend" Jones? They're all of legendary satus and I beleive native born United States Citizens? I am willing to bet if anyone of these guys came to play for Chivas USA you would begin to see the sell out crowds or close too. Anyone of these players would be able to represent MLS in an enourmous way and none of them are "white". I'll never understand this assumption from people on these boards that in order to reall represent and better market soccer in the USA you have to be of white skin. Can you explain that to me?
The most important thing Chivas has done so far, is it has energized the opposing teams fans. And I don't mean that lightly. Look at SJ. I"m sure some of those fans had a better time, and will come back again. What about the LA fans? Chivas was a call to arms, and I"m sure this saturday the stadium will be the loudest it has ever been, just because of Chivas. As for hte lack of fans. I think this has occurred for a few reasons. First, it is very gimicky, so Mexicans I think are wary of it. Secondly, a lot of people hate Chivas. Third, people probably think the quality of play sucks. Their team isn't bad at all. I think they are probably better than Real, not saying much, but it's true. But the big thing, is that Chivas still has two allocations to spend if I remember correctly. I don't know why those haven't been used yet, but they should to improve the their team, in order to attract fans. Also, the ticket prices. Damn.
One thing I constantly notice at the HDC is that the expensive seats never fill up.....they are the ones at midfield and probably given away to corporate sponsers. I think Chivas should not give away so many corporate tickets to people who aren't really interested in soccer. They should also reduce the ticket prices incrementally to find out the supply and demand equilibrium.....I'm sure they'll sell more tickets and create the full stadium atmosphere that people might be willing to pay more to experiance again and again. Also they should market more to the local community....people I talked with at a nearby mall near the campus hadn't even heard about when the team was playing but knew about the team. I hope the team is a success and I've enjoyed watching them play as they really play with intensity and passion and are getting better each game. I am really looking forward to next weeks derby.
My understanding was that the $15 million was for infringing on the Galaxy's territorial rights, and had nothing to do with renting the stadium.
They'd probably be just fine at the HDC with some lower ticket prices. How many people in their target market would show up to watch even Guadalajara itself at $50 a ticket...plus parking...plus whatever concessions...16 times a year?
I think this is a key piece of the puzzle. A couple of my friends on my rec league team who are big chivas supporters and were initially fired up about Chivas USA haven't gone to a game yet because the word is kinda out on the street that these are Chivas Gringas or Chivas lite. It's not enough to just put the uniform on anybody and expect sales. They need higher profile players and cheaper ticket prices to build their LA fan base.
No one should lose site of the fact that those $50 seats everyone is talking about are but a small minority of the total seats available. See this link -- http://chivas.usa.mlsnet.com/MLS/cdc/tickets/ . I'm pretty well off, relatively speaking, and soccer is a high entertainment priority for me, but I always buy my season and single tickets as close as I can get to the middle of the upper deck (red zone on the map). The view is the best in the house in my book (I like being back a bit for the perspective and being under the roof is nice during day games), and the price makes them an unbeatable value as far as I'm concerned. While $50 seats are indeed available, not a single person who wanted to attend either of Chivas' home games would have been required to buy a $50 ticket to get a great seat.
It's a reality of life ... just ask Landon Donovan, a white photogenic well-spoken dude with a B-list actress girlfriend. When you see Cobi Jones or Claudio Reyna in social pages, let me know.
Point taken. Nonetheless, even $36 or $42 (plus whatever else for parking and goodies for the kids) is still beyond a reasonable budget for a lot of the Chivas target audience. Most of the quivalent of that market in Houston won't buy many tickets for Mexican games that hit or start going over $30. I'm not suggesting that Southern California must be the same way, but there's probably some price level that promoters for Mexican soccer in the area have found works as the cutoff, no?
This doesn't look good for the goats. If THIS diver can stiff arm you, then you know you're not ready for this league. I hope CDC can reach down and give their fans something to cheer about, cause this photo isn't a rally your fanbase image. Don't look for this image in the ChivaSocio mailer anytime soon.
There's a nice savings on season ticket packages, but if you're on a tight budget and can't be sure which games you can make it to, individual/walkup tickets might be the only option to avoid wasting tickets. Even the corners are almost $30, add in parking and it can get expensive even without a beer or two. On top of this, Vergara paid a premium for what may have been a bad venue decision IF there were clauses in the contract for HDC that forced him to keep the prices close to what the Galaxy charge.
Given the uniqueness of Chivas USA, I really don't no whether to remain optimistic, panic or what. I guess none of us do really. I do know that I'd be very nervous if Real Salt Lake pulled 18+ and 12+ for their first 2 games. But that's a bit of an apples and oranges comparisson.
Well, if there's anything positive, it's that Chivas seems to pull in some extra fans for their road games. At least that's how it looked at San Jose.
Funny.... Cobi Jones still is the most well-known male American soccer player not named Adu. When was the last time the Sports Guy named-checked Landon Donovan? Sachin
Agreed. I said this day 1, they need to change this FAST to stop from alienating another 6,000 fans. See, to Vergara this isn't an issue. In fact in might be one way he's fleecing MLS. If more people buy Chivas Guadalajara jersey's than CDCUSA jerseys it's one less nickel he has to put towards the MLS piggy bank and one more he gets to keep in his own. Vergara has a very unique avenue with which he could bypass many of MLS' regulations. Agreed again. Chivas is a fun team to watch (well aside from Guzan for whom you just want to hide under your chair) and they try to play an exciting style.
Exactly, and you wonder if they're looking to keep it that way. Otherwise, how did Vergara think he'd ever sell 10k sideline seats at $45 and $50 a pop?
FWIW, googling "cobi jones" generated 46,000 hits. Googling "landon donovan" generated 127,000, so I'm not sure you're right.