All the attendance numbers are great, but has anyone ever done a study (or is such a thing even possible?) as to the number of minors that attend matches? A guy in his late 20's early 30's might not mind attending a match with cold temps, but mom & dad might think twice about bringing 2 or 3 kids under the age of 10 to the same game. Pehaps I'm picking nits here, but imho its still something to consider.
They’re probably always considering new things, and will consider more around 2026. I’m sure even pro/rel has been brought up on some level of discussion. Actually implementing major new stuff is a different story.
Please don't one of my biggest pleasures in life is enjoying soccer in the summer in new england. If soccer had started as a fall-spring sport I am not sure I ever wouldve got into it
If the winter break is a Leagues Cup with neutral pods, followed by 2-3 full weeks off for the players to recover, I’d be interested in the specifics. Trying to be open minded.
There is financial incentive, which is why this is being discussed. There are enough fair weather teams with decent stadiums as well for the decision makers as well
I wouldn't say the main potential benefits are financial in the sense that the league would directly bring in more revenue by switching the calendar. MLS teams would be better positioned to negotiate and compete in the transfer market, bringing in more talent than it is able to today.
Are people saying that yes, MLS will lose some money because of overall slightly lower attendance, but they’ll make up for that by saving more on transfer fees and salaries by aligning with Yurp’s transfer windows? Could be…it’s an interesting idea.
How much lower would attendance be? If it's 18 teams 2.5 games, and only 1000 fewer per game, that doesn't move the needle. To decline by 5% from this season's attendance it would have to be almost 13,000 fewer people per open (assuming 45 "too cold" opens). That might not even be possible (due to season ticket holders). Adding some more late fall games might even improve attendance in some locations that aren't capped versus summer games (certain MLS teams have a history of attendances going up once school is back in session).
I don't know if it's saving money but they see improving the efficiency of both incoming and outgoing transfers compared to now when so many transfer negotiations, in either direction, are between one team in preseason and one team in midseason. One thing it would reduce is the dilemma of outgoing August transfers of productive young players. If you have a player that's obviously Europe-bound, August is usually the best time to sell for both money and the best opportunities for the player, but it also damages the selling team's product in the short term, giving up a good player right before the playoff run. The MLS team can pass on the transfer to prioritize its playoff hopes, but that can also create a disgruntled player and the offers might not be as good at the next window.
The Revs average attendance this year was over 29K. They got 29K combined for the two games in late March.
I think it's more along the lines of: MLS will be better positioned to compete for playing signings. Thus, they'll be able to bring in better players, which will make the league's level of play increase. This increase in quality of play will then lead to more lucrative media rights deals in the future. It will also drive attendance as league with a higher quality of play can charge higher ticket prices. Sponsorship money should also increase proportionally. It all sounds good on paper and in theory.
The teams with cold weather could schedule home games at dome stadiums in winter like Montreal, Toronto, Minnesota, it wouldn’t be the first time or play some home games in warm cities like Sacramento, Tampa Bay, San Antonio etc, or do not schedule any home games in winter.
Washington DC, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Denver, Kansas City..... Also playing in those domed stadiums actually costs the teams money as they don't control the revenue from them.....
There are some domed college football stadiums. The Carrier Dome (Syracuse) and UNI-Dome (Northern Iowa) are large enough and at least within somewhat reasonable distance from some of the northern MLS cities. Definitely not ideal, but at least worth footnoting in the discussion. EDIT: The UNI-Dome isn't as remote as it may appear. There are direct daily (commuter) flights from Chicago ORD to Waterloo, Iowa (ALO), which is about 15-20 minutes from the UNI-Dome.
I did, Montreal, Toronto, Minnesota (Olympic stadium in Montreal) Toronto blue jays stadium Toronto ( NFL STADIUM Minnesota) etc
The what? It hasn't been called that in years. It's now the JMA Wireless Dome. It's also home to Syracuse Men's and Women's Basketball, and Lacrosse..... which would all take precedent, and also bring in far more money then out of town MLS games......
Guys, MLS is not considering implementing a domed stadium protocol. They are going to survey all of the stakeholders and try to answer the question: is playing a few more winter games a year worth it if they can get a leg up on the big European leagues in the transfer market.
Don't buy it. The lower attendance due to crappy weather would be yearly and constant. The "extra money" from transfers would be sporadic at best, as not every team is a seller at every window. And not every team actually has players people want to buy. There could be an argument that transfers might be smoother to execute because the seasons start and end at the same time as the leagues they're dealing with, but I don't see how it helps financially.
That's just dumb. The Fire are not going to play in f'n Iowa. 1. Not that remote?!? It's almost 300 miles away from Chicago. There are direct flights from ORD to Rio, but that doesn't mean Brazil isn't remote. 2. It's f'n Iowa. Fire fans bitched about Bridgeview, which is a couple hundred yards from the City of Chicago limits (14 miles to "downtown"). No way we fly to f'n Iowa. 3. It's tiny. I doubt the field is wide enough and it has a small seating capacity. 4. It's not even the "nice" part of Iowa. There are bad takes, and there is this one!