MLS stats I'll have to look up. I don't think Miami's stats for MLS are high though. I heard the audio but it doesn't make sense to me. Because of the the points I made earlier and regardless of where I got the links, those are all facts. South Florida has a better TV market. (This equals to better sponsorship money) Kartik actually wrote one of the pieces i quoted. Back at the time of the recording he may have already been in talks with NASL and he has been known to be anti MLS. He's in love with the Tampa ownership I think. We all envy Tampa's ownership. If you guys do get MLS before us I'll be happy for you. I really do wish both city's could get a team because of the rivalry. I'm already enjoy the rivalry now and we only had 1 game so far.
I agree like in today's blog radio episode 9 44:30 Kartik talks about the rivalry etc: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/feuersteinsfire
Damn My SFLA fans believe the hype, embrace it!! WE have to do somehting...articles keepp coming up about MLS in Florida, Im talkin to yo sorry Tampa fans as well, I hope we can get both teams in then the rivalry would really be crazy!! http://www.premiershiptalk.com/2010/04/26/expanding-the-mls-montreal-florida-next/#comment-3753
In my opinion both teams should get a MLS team, because it would suck if only one team went in then their is no rivalry. My idea: Steinbrenner's and FC Tampa Bay and David Beckham and Miami FC.
I'd be perfectly fine with both Tampa and Miami getting a team. This rivalry is too hard to ignore or give up.
All im saying is give Miami number 20!! FC Dallas KC etc. couple of other teams couldnt get what Miami got in 2001 (attendance wise) it took what 3 years to get that average? Give Miami Number 20 and then in 5- 6 years down the road give Tampa and Atlanta next two to creat a Philly Dc NY Rev rivalry like in the north east and like Seattle Vancouver Prtland in the Northwest and Montreal Toronto in the North NOrth.... Give Miami number 20 im sure with Pro soccer here Miami would flourish... Imagine Fusion in 2001 when MLS was truly a BUSH league with wierd ass rules!! and we had 11,000 Imagine what we can do now, Now that there is Champiions league Concacaf and other tournaments Miami MLS can play in... FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP!!!! THe possibilies are endless, give Miami Numero 20 it will not fail!! Get beckham over here and Claure, and hell no to TRAFFIC let them do the player crapt they were meant to do and thats it no teams or nothing Great ownership, beckham, claure another investor and pure advertising till the opening day of Miami MLS would be big... This market would attract great Latin american players, carribean players, central american players, and ofcourse 305 white boys lol... that will only fill up seats!! Then bring on Tampa to MLS and it would just get better from there!! and Atlanta then we have the southeastern rivalry maybe add a Carolina or tennessee heck I would love Puerto Rico to come to MLS that would be great rivalry in the southeast... Garber forget NY and give south florida a team 2013!!
Well whoever gets the 20th spot needs a commited and rich owner, a updated SSS and a thriving fanbase.
Well I know the fanbase now in Miami FC isnt what MLS wants, but I mean I dont understand why they took out Miami in 2001 in the first place, what the hell did they expect the attendance to be? 11,000 and you contract the team? I mean atleast keep the team and then an owner woul dhave came forth in the coming years... I can't believe thay would choose KC, Dallas, etc. over Miami to fold.... looking at tv viewrship now, and the last average attendance of a Miami based MLS team (11,000), and also theway MLS has grown to become more real of a league if Miami had grown with that, Miami would be a different place right now... I dont know what they were thinking? It really grinds my gears, when I see FC Dallas with nobody in the stands..Maybe if they would have stayed they might have had a stadium already, I mean Garber wants a team in NY and teams in NY have been there for many years and still dont have a stadium as well as D.C.!! In Miami there is alot of land out here to build on hell they were going to build a soccer stadium if the Marlins stadium wasn't approve that many people did not want their taxees for bball stadium But hey that what you get when stupid people run the City...
as of today in MLS you need a attendance of 12,000 to break even anything over is a profit for the team
Of course MLS ratings would be low here, they're probably low in Tampa as well. We don't have teams. Who would expect people watch MLS when there is equally as irrelevant, but better quality soccer, in FMF, La Liga, EPL and the Champions League on TV? And I suspect there are a lot of former Fusion and Mutiny fans who are still sour with the league for disbanding our teams, and refuse to watch MLS. The South Florida market does however post high ratings for English language US MNT telecasts. That's a better indicator of potential MLS support than any other run of the mill international game. In the end, even with properly managed(on and off the field) MLS clubs and each with a SSS, I think South Florida and Tampa would probably be middle of the pack in terms of average attendance. Somewhere in the 15-17K range. Not the best, not the worst. But the TV viewership would be good enough to offset it. The NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB aren't stupid. They are in South and Central Florida for a reason. Miami, Tampa and Orlando are pretty much all "big event" towns with lots of other entertainment options. People aren't always going to flock to the stadiums but the TV audience alone is worth having a team in the markets.
I wouldn't think MLS would have any problem if either of our cities averaged 15-17k, especially in an 18-20k seat stadium. I'd take this for the rest of my life over no soccer at all. I've been thinking about Miami as a good possibility to get a relocated team, which would free up an expansion slot for other markets. This would be a great way to reintroduce MLS to the S. Florida market and it would still allow Garber to expand into Tampa, Atlanta or St. Louis. I highly doubt Tampa would get MLS unless it was the Rowdies, so I wouldn't want us to get a relocated team. And if the Strikers are ever reborn then obviously that's who you'd want in MLS down there as well. But we'll just have to wait and see if that ever happens. The other possibility exists for MLS to just fold a team like Houston or Dallas (yaright, the Hunts might have something to say about it?), freeing up more expansion slots. Who the ******** knows. But #20 to Tampa please. We are proving this market is more than ready for prime time soccer.
That's funny, considering we've now been able to hear the goal call on the radio broadcast as well as see the goal on the internet feed and that's pretty much all you can hear is the Tampa fans. Come up here for July 4th when we squash you guys at home. You'll be introduced to what a real supporter section and crowd sounds like
To be pefectly honest, neither Miami / Ft. Lauderdale or Tampa are ready for anything but what they have - NASL. This is a good level for both areas. A fan base of 2000 to 4000 is a realistic goal for now. Unless they can produce Seattle or Toronto like crowds, MLS is looking for "ready made" clubs to move into their slots. The NASL clubs need to prove a sound business plan, inovative marketing AND above all a commitment from the community. Portland and Montreal showed they could draw over 11,000 BEFORE being an MLS club. Idle talk will not bring notice - but proof numbers in finances and attendance will. Fan base support can help facilitate this process.
I'm in total agreement... I really can't argue against this post, except to add that MLS also wants someone ready & willing to ante up $40,000,000 to join their league. I can't speak for Tampa, but, as yet, I don't see anyone here willing to do that individually or as a consortium/partnership. Nor have I heard any buzz by anyone except some fans for MLS. Hopefully that will change. The sooner, the better, IMO.
Toronto in D2 averaged something like 1k. Philadelphia didn't even have D2. Vancouver averages 5-6k. Seattle only averaged 4k in D2. Pretty much boils down to who can get the deepest pocket book on board and providing MLS with a solid business plan. Showing good, solid support for the existing D2 team might be the icing on the cake but it's not the main factor and you seem to have based your argument here on it being just that. Sound business plan, innovative marketing and a commitment from the community in a city like Tampa will get your large crowds by D2 standards. Being able to make the jump to MLS is just a matter of scale. This city is MLS viable, we've all know that for years and years. Saying we are a good fit for NASL would be great if you had any real data to base that on. What is the NASL? What is D2? One city draws 1k, the next 11k. This is a pro soccer town and the team here will be successful, whatever the league or level we play in. What level we ultimately play in will be determined by this ownership group and how much investor money they can attract. That's if they want to be in MLS in the first place, I think they do, but we've already talked about this and we won't know their intentions until the time is right for them to reveal those plans.