league viability

Well I hope the league survives, it was bad losing the Mutiny but to hear that MLS went the way of WUSA would be devistating. I really believe that US soccer can make it big in this country, but one always gets nervous when setbacks arise.

 

Well, new investors is a big key. New investors mean more capital for marketing the league, and more marketing means more fans. There is such an untapped market in the U.S., and with the fiascos that are hockey and baseball at the moment, there are plenty of people dying for MLS to give them a reason to cheer. We keep talking about how we need to get people who never liked soccer to watch in order to make the league successful, but what we really need is to garner enough exposure and thus CREDIBILITY to the league so that all of the people i know who can't believe that this is a viable league will change their opinion and show up to games. good luck MLS. I'm cheering, and backing it up with my entertainment dollar, in an effort to help the league.

 

onfineesq, you make a great and important point when you bring up credibility. Do we need the general market to buy into the league? Yes. But more so, we need the people already involved/interested in soccer to become regular supporters of MLS. The teams and league recognize this and are making this effort, though, it will take time. There are plenty of people involved in youth and adult soccer leagues who are still keeping their backs turned away from MLS. The teams can throw all the marketing dollars they want at the general market in the form of advertising, billboards, etc.. but they have seen that their money is much better spent putting it toward grass roots programs with people that are already involved in the sport.

 

There's only one solution...

Credibility can't be bought or created through advertising, it can only be gained by giving a consistent product to the public over a long period of time. The main reason MLS seems more credible today is because it's still here. It's all just baby steps. And when the league gets to point where most people can't remember when it wasn't here, then it will have arrived.

 

Re: There's only one solution...

I see what you are saying, but i guess i didn't make my position really clear. I'm not sayint that credibility can be bought. what i AM saying is that the league has gotten very little exposure in mainstream American culture. More investors and more money can help with the exposure part of the problem, and through that exposure, people will hopefully come to see the product itself and eventually see the product as worthy of consistent support. there are plenty of people in places like myself (DC) who don't even know they have a professional team in town. that's just a tragedy. without people knowing that they have another viable option in town to try out, things will be difficult regardless of the level of play.

 

The fact that MLS has two new investors is proof that it is here to stay. Shrew businessmen like Kroenke and Vegara wouldn't invest in MLS unless they thought they had a pretty good chance to turn a profit in the foreseeable future.

 

With MLS having the fine sponsorship of Milo, "The Official Chocolate Milk of Major League Soccer!", I don't think we have anything to worry about.

 

What I like to see, and haven't read anywhere yet, is the announcement that Kroenke wants the Rapids in their own home in 2006. Think about that date. 2006. Isn't that when the investors agreed to go to during the last round of discussions? Isn't that when the current Disney TV deal runs to?

To put it plain, would Garber and the investors of MLS let this man plan to build a new stadium for 2006 (let alone have Frisco bankroll a Burn home for 2005) if they didn't plan to continue on after that date?

To all those on this site who have worried about the 2006 set deadline, I think we have a real clear answer here. That definitely will not be MLS's last year of operation, unless some major league bad things happen between now and then (and I don't see them happening).

 

OK. I give up.

I've spent the last couple of hours trawling round the internet trying to find out just how MLS is doing but without success. It's probably me being thick, (wouldn't be the first time), but can anyone point me at any financial statistics that indicate how it IS doing financially and whether it's going up or down.

 

It's a private entity. They don't have to tell you if they don't want to tell you.

They don't want to tell you.

 

These "fiascos" still have tremendous glee clubs in the media -- both print and electronic. Compared with soccer in general and MLS in particular, it is simply overwhelming. With that much good cheer inundating the average sports fan, how can they help but enjoy the ride?

Even the Cubs are having a great season.

 

That a long-time insider like Lamar Hunt is sinking more money into the league in the form of the SSS Frisco stadium suggests there are no signs of disaster on the horizon.

 

Anglophone footie fans should do what immigrants have been doing for years: watch Univision and Telemundo. Learn Spanish! You'll get coverage from broadcasters who share the passion and knowledge of futbol. Even in following USM and WNTs, they both cover 'em WAY more than ABC, CBS and NBC.

Back in the day, I used to watch the WC w/ a German neighbor, who didn't understand a word. Good times...

 

Re: Re: There's only one solution...

These people in DC that you mention might just be soccerphobes! I mean, they probably don't know about the existence of Manchester United or when the next World Cup is either. It will be very difficult to get these type of people into MLS. The easier target would be people whose favorite sport to watch is already soccer. How many people in the US fall into this category? 10 million? 15 million? Tough to ballpark but it's up there! And how many of these people watch even 1 MLS game per week? Hardly any. So I think great gains can be made just in this segment of the population....

Also WUSA crashed cuz the salaries were ridiculously high. So MLS just has to be careful about that. Don't become like Major League Baseball...

 

In the UK if you are a private limited company or a public limited company you have to file accounts with the government.

I think the IRS may get a bit sniffy about that sort of thing as well.

 

I don't entirely agree with this. As a youth travel coach, I'd love to see my players go to every single DC United home game and I certainly encourage them to do so. But I personally think the incentives are lacking. A typical promotion for a youth team is usually like a couple bucks off the ticket and maybe a party in the parking lot. That's nice for a one time event, but I feel like they could do more.

How about $10 tix available to the youth leagues? So even cash strapped families could afford to go several times a season. Wouldn't that investment in growing your audience be worth it? To me it seems more valuable than money spent on television or radio ads.