This makes three "celebrations" or whatever you call it that MLS will do this year. First the NCSAA convention coupled with the draft. Then the Coopa Carnival Double headers in the preason in Florida Then Soccer Nation for two weeks with the All-Star game being the final act. Could this be a SUM strategy?
If it is, I think it's a damn good one. MLS has stated that it wants to get in touch with the hardcore fans in their remaining markets. I think they've, in general, done that over the past couple of years. Now they need to take the next step, the next logical place to go from MLS Fans is to Soccer people. The place you find soccer people is at soccer conventions.
O the pain. I'll probably go sneak under the velvet rope and watch Ray work DCU silly. Better to have loved and lost than never to love at all? I'm not so sure.
Eventually MLS needs a team in central Florida and another in southern Florida. With Tampa Bay and Orlando together there is simply too many people to ignore. The TV ratings boost of having a team somewhere in central Florida is exactly what MLS needs. So when they have the stadium solution, I'm fairly certain someone will step forward as an investor and MLS will return. There is a ton of youth soccer there--most in the US some say. So the growth audience is there, even if few of them were really courted to become Mutiny fans. South Florida is a different market, but it also is too large to ignore. It's mostly the immigrant population that loves soccer, but the Fusion front office wasn't very successful in converting them to MLS fans. Lockhart was an acceptable stadium, even if it was kind of removed from Miami proper. I think it's future success will ride in getting acceptance within Miami's latin community, something that the next Miami front office needs to be aware of from day one. But, I do think both cities are long range expansion sites. There are too few cities in the southeast below DC and east of Texas that can viably support soccer. Somewhere in North Carolina might provide one, Atlanta GA might, but is has the Braves and hasn't shown to be a good sports city attendance-wise, but the best bets are places like Orlando (Tampa Bay isn't that far away) and Miami. I doubt it will be within the first 3 waves of expansion, but one of them could be MLS' 17th team. At least, I hope it is. -Tron
http://www.ussocceruk.com/modules.p...e=article&sid=189&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 Soccer Nation to prelude All-Star week. A huge international soccer trade show named Soccer Nation will debut in the Anaheim Convention Center, in southern California, from July 18 to 20, extending the prelude to the MLS All-Star game in Los Angeles. Manufacturers, buyers, retailers, coaches, players and fans from all over the country and the world will converge on the state of the art Convention Center for the three day event, which even includes US Futsal's 18th National Championship, with matches held on the same floor as the trade show. "Although regional shows have occurred as a component of an associations¡¦ annual gathering, nothing of this magnitude has developed in the US before," said Bill Hodson, President of the LiveWire Sports Group, the organisers of Soccer Nation. "For comparison, the coaches convention in the mid-west is the closest thing we can compare Soccer Nation to for this industry. "Soccer Nation is designed to be a trade show for soccer the way the PGA merchandise show is to golf. Although the primary focus of the show is on commerce and on accelerating the growth of the industry, we are welcoming the general public to experience and appreciate all the soccer Industry has to offer." Designed to capitalise on the growth of the sport - at all levels - in the US, the timing of Soccer Nation adds spice to what will be a fortnight of high profile events in California. "We like to think of it as the All Star fortnight," added Hodson. "Keep in mind the American public and more specifically the west coast has a very short attention span. Two weeks is a fair way out as people make plans. "If people are exposed to something that takes place two weeks later, we feel that this would be an excellent platform for the Los Angeles Galaxy to promote their new facility, and direct attention to the MLS All-Star activities and events that will take place less than 30 minutes up the road at the new Home Depot Center. "Additionally, sandwiched between the All Star weekend and Soccer Nation is the small matter of Manchester United playing Club America at the LA Coliseum," Hodson continued. "We feel that the show is going to be the first leg of a two week ultimate soccer experience in one of the most tourist friendly locations in the world. The unprecedented size of the Soccer Nation event will in itself be a first for the US, with the show catering for new, regular and long term fans, as well as the multitude of business that will congregate on the Anaheim Convention Center. "It will almost be an overwhelming abundance of soccer," Hodson added. "This is all about celebrating the game and the industry that supports it. "There are many activities to entertain both young and old, from a one-third size synthetic pitch which will have demos, clinics and a beat the goalie contest. Also, a 2400 sq ft inflatable indoor arena, an international pavilion with team and product reps from around the world, and a fireside chat style interview platform which will encourage audience interaction. "Additionally hundreds of exciting booths exhibiting everything from the Soccer Nation. Concurrent to the running of the show, the national futsal championships will provide non-stop live action all of which encompasses over 220,000 square feet of exhibit spacem, the eqivilant of about three full size pitches." With fans and businesses clamouring to buy up space at the event, Soccer Nation may well prove to be a catalyst for the next major step for the trade that surrounds the county's fastest growing major sport.
hooray, hundreds of exciting booths! God knows, an all star game just isn't that exciting, and neither are conventions, so we should spice them up with booths.
This is an absolutely stupid idea First, COMDEX. Second, are you or is anyone you know going to travel to LA for two games a week apart and a convention without any guaranteed track record a week before that? 'Cause I have my doubts about a SoCal audience being able to sustain something like this. And, can we leave Heather Mitts alone?