I could probably do some sort of linear regression and tell you precisely how much each win affects annual attendance, but I’d guess it does to some degree. Some fanbases are also more loyal (gullible? Bored?) than others. I’d tell Ms. Glassman, that as much as building a better team is important, so is re-establishing some trust and affection with the hard core fans.
Nine times out of ten. The Chicago Cubs are the tenth. Ishwara Glassman Chrein has a very big task ahead of her.
Well, she said "I want to win, too!" Isn't that enough for you?!?[emoji53] You, sir, sound like a wallower! [emoji45] Plus, they have snacks at Fire HQ![emoji106] Come on, @Old Man!, we can't have everything at once. Snacks for the office first. Improved fan relations in... some time?[emoji54] Of course, I agree with your statements. I am not sure what she can do from her position to affect change in the fan relationship, but that should always be at the forefront of her decision making.
It’s a lagging indicator in North American sports, traditionally. You can expect a bit of an attendance bump after a winning season, usually, but it’s not the be-all-end-all when it comes to attendance. It’s an important piece of a much larger puzzle.
Yup. The team would be wise to do a root cause analysis as far back as possible and really look at themselves in the mirror.
It’s exactly the type of wisdom that makes me wish some people would never opened their mouth. I know it’s a fluff piece, but she’s been around long enough that we no longer need fluff pieces.
Stolen from Brian Sandalow on Twitter: Through 23 games: 2020 Fire: 5-10-8, 23 points 2021 Fire: 6-12-5, 23 points Georg Heitz got his continuity.
Did all season ticket holders receive their email letters from Ishwara Glassman Chrein? Apparently, a season ticket is a "membership" now. It is actually a pretty nice letter and a pleasant change from Nelson Rodriguez' belittling of long time fans. For those who did not receive it, or are not season ticket holders, here it is: CHICAGO FIRE FC Dear ...., Thank you for your continued support during our historic 25th season in Major League Soccer. We entered this year with a renewed passion to serve our fans and compete for championships, and your unwavering support has been greatly appreciated by all of us here at the Fire. Coming into the 2022 season with a new coaching staff in place, we made a significant investment on the team side of the business to sign several players who we felt would help lead us back into the playoffs and deliver the success that our fans deserve. Players such as global superstar Xherdan Shaqiri, former Bundesliga center back Rafael Czichos, rising Mexican international Jairo Torres and Schaumburg native and USMNT winger Chris Mueller. We've also seen several of our highly talented young players emerge on the big stage and become key contributors for the first team, including Homegrown products Gabriel "Gaga" Slonina and Brian Gutiérrez, Colombian forward Jhon Durán and Argentine midfielder Federico Navarro. And with the addition of Chicago Fire FC II this season, we now have another platform to further develop our young players, providing exciting opportunities for the future. While this season has also been met with its fair share of challenges, we're thankful that you have continued to stick by us, and your support has played a very important role in the team's recent resurgence as one of the hottest teams in MLS. With 11 matches remaining, including five at home, we're feeling energized and optimistic at the prospect of achieving our collective goal of making the playoffs. However, while we remain focused on this season, we must also keep an eye toward 2023 and beyond to remain competitive on and off the field. As we continue to explore ways to strengthen the partnership between the Club and our most loyal supporters, I'm pleased to share that we have officially launched our new Chicago Fire FC Membership program. Through this new membership program, you will receive significant savings off single-match pricing, while receiving access to new competitions and exclusive benefits. Full season memberships will feature 18 Fire matches, including all 17 regular season home matches and one home match in the brand-new Leagues Cup – a month-long World Cup style tournament set to take place in July and August of 2023 with all 47 MLS and Liga MX teams. I'm also excited to share that our 2023 membership program will offer new and exciting perks for full season members. Coming in 2023, the new MLS streaming service on the Apple TV app will be the exclusive destination to watch every single live MLS match, including all CFFC matches, with no blackouts or restrictions. Access to the new MLS streaming service will be included with your full season membership account. Additionally, as a member you will receive discounted rates on parking, concessions, and merchandise. Members will also have access to exclusive priority windows to purchase tickets for additional competitions, such as the MLS Cup Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, international friendlies and more. To celebrate this new program, we will be providing 25 unique prizes during the next 25 days in honor of our 25th season. To kick things off, fans who renew their season ticket memberships by Wednesday, Aug. 3 will have a chance to win free season tickets for the 2023 season. Each day will feature a new prize, culminating in a grand prize winner who will receive free accommodation and travel to an MLS away match in 2023. The earlier you renew, the more chances you will have to win some truly incredible prizes. We're building something special here in Chicago and we're thrilled to be on this journey alongside you. You can find my husband, two kids and I at every home match (the only one missing is the family pup, Henry). Please come say hi, talk about the Club, the city, or anything else you might want to chat about. Ishwara Glassman Chrein President, Business Operations
Over the past N years (where N stands for NRod), from where I sat it seemed like the *core* business of the front office was rejecting the passionate supporters so they'd leave and not return. So now, there's been new blood at the top for most of half a year.....and I don't feel like I've seen *anything* that actually addresses the harm to the fan base from the prior front office. Am I missing something? Am I being unfair? There's some shit that if you don't speak against it, it means you're just fine with it and I have not seen anything that makes me think this "new" club actually cares about increasing support in anything but the tried and true loser-corporate-bullshit kind of ways.
There's a lot of things wrong with the club that are unfair to put on Ishwara, but the meet the team event is one massive issue that has to be placed as something she should've handled a whole lot better. Everything about that event was abysmal for the club and I'm honestly angry that not enough people are pissed about the disrespect they showed to the Chicago Red Stars.
I would say nothing public but maybe some private. That isn’t really good enough since the damage was publicly done. Private apologies are basically useless, privileged information.
So for those of you STH's, did they raise prices for 2023? I've seen people on Twitter saying their seats doubled. Is it true?
I honestly don’t know. I have no idea what I should have paid for this year because I had credit and shit. I’m trying to figure out from others in my section what the tickets actually cost last year.
Well, I don't know how it fares for other sections, only the one that I'm in (which is pricey). My 3 seats in section 209 are costing me $756/seat (so, $2,268). These are the 2nd priciest (club) seats in the stands, I think. The last time I paid for my tickets was 2019 (old stadium), where they were on the half line under the press box (so, not the club seat prices, which were on the other side of the stadium) which cost me $607.50/seat (so, $1,822.50). I was on the list of comped tickets for 2020 (that rolled to 2021) and then rolled it again to this year cuz I wasn't going to sit in a stadium with my kid last year from covid....so it's been a minute since I paid, but I am pretty sure these seats are *up* a price category from my last seats at Toyota Park....so I am thinking these did not go up all that much *this* year...at least certainly not 50%. It's a straight up 20% increase from 3 years ago in terms of what I am paying...but as I said, I think there's a category jump between the two sets of seats.
I, too, had my tickets comped and deferred. At Bridgeview, I moved my season tickets several time over the year, finally opting for the super Skyway deal (something like $150 a season the first year) and kept the cheap seats in the skyway, now I have Club seats. If I renew (and I don't think I can justify it, with the travel), I would opt for where my old seats were at Soldier Field, lower bowl in the corner.
I am pretty sure at this moment the only way I will be a sth next year is if I am able to move to a "worse" seating which for me would be better at SF. Meaning second deck 50 yard line west side first row. Otherwise I am out. For me it simply is not something I want to do to see every game anymore...going downtown. If prices rise...well...makes my decision easier.
Same here. I'm paying like $14/month for my ticket this year. Honestly, I move tickets so much, I don't even know what section my ticket is officially in without looking it up. Probably will stick with my one seat and consider the increase the cost to cover that new apple deal. Will definitely watch more non-fire games next year.
I moved across the aisle and back one row to save a little money but my seats went from $25/game to $34/game. Club level, just under the overhang, about the 40 yard line. However, it is less than the advertised season ticket price for 2022. Mine were deferrals from 2020.
The 2022 advertised prices are MUCH higher than next year's. I just moved to Chicago so I didn't even make it in time to buy season tix this year, but I was originally looking at getting tickets in section 209 and they were something like $64/match. For 2023, these same seats will be $38/match. I've seen people complaining all over Reddit and Twitter about price increases but that must be because of credits or a grandfathering in or whatever (IDK because again, I'm new) but all I know is it's MUCH cheaper for '23 than it would have been for '22.