MLS Miami - Marcelo Claure interview, he wants in!

The questions remain the same (and unanswered). Does he have the money? Garber's talking potentially $100 million. He was relying on FC Barcelona to invest and they left him at the altar. He clearly doesn't have the money to do it alone, which begs the further question can he convince people to invest in the market? Also, where is the team going to play? This goes back to the money question because an SSS would presumably cost another $100 million (or at least $70 mil). I've read about FIU on these boards but does the league really want another team playing in an American football stadium with FieldTurf?

He's obviously still interested, which is good for the fans in the area, but beyond interest it doesn't seem like there's much going on.

 

I just want to know what this break-away group is all about "La Academia" supposedly they don't support D2 - Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, and they would rather watch MLS on t.v. then support local soccer. WTF is up with that....

 

Interesting. Just to play devil's advocate Gillette Stadium was designed "with soccer in mind" (to quote the original press release) and has also held friendlies, Gold Cups, and MLS Cup. But I see what you mean about FIU now that I've read more about it.

Especially in the wake of Seattle, Philadelphia (were the fans were instrumental in getting the team going), Portland, Vancouver, and Montreal. In all those cases there was already a noticeable fanbase for domestic professional soccer. In Philly's case, they didn't have a minor league team to support, but made noise at indoor league games and MLS Cup. I don't think you'll see any more teams like Toronto or Salt Lake, where essentially a rich ownership group ponied up the money with little more than a promise that people would come out. It seems like they've loosened up on the "requirement" to have a stadium so long as you have some kind of fan culture. Sitting at home and complaining on the internet and ignoring your local pro soccer team doesn't seem like the way to go.

 

There was no mention of the team that exists now, the D-2 Ft Lauderdale Strikers. Without Claure confronting that reality the entire interview is of very limited value. Especially since the 3rd thing we were told to do to bring MLS here, support your local team was also never mentioned. Hopefully Claure will talk to someone that will ask about that. Until then, the only thing we can get is that he still wants an MLS team in South Florida.

That interview was the 1st I've heard of this group. I find it very interesting that they just happen to have the name of Claure's team in Bolivia. Remarkable coincidence.

I am not 100% certain that they are the same group of individuals that have been posting against the Strikers on local blogs because Julio, to the best of my knowledge, was not one of them. Perhaps this is just his way, and the way of a few others, to try to keep the MLS flame alive. I hope that that is the case, because it is not the case with some others we've had to deal with recently. They seem to only be dedicated to bringing MLS to South Florida, specifically to Miami-Dade County. They give no indication they are in any way interested in what we have, only in what they want. Sadly,that's all I can get from the interview considering the glaring omissions about the Strikers & Lockhart Stadium.

Kapt Powers observation that I've highlighted & WSW's post ask something we've been asking ourselves for months. These people, or at least some of them, attended the meeting we had with Garber. They heard that man tell us that the primary thing that MLS is interested in seeing in South Florida is the fan support of International friendlies, full CONCACAF Internationals (Gold Cup) and, most importantly, support of your local teams. For whatever reason they'll do everything but that last requirement. They simply can't grasp that they are shooting themselves in the foot by doing that.

Partially it seems to be an understandable mistrust of Traffic Sports & their ability to do what needs to be done to get an MLS team here. Also involved is the move of Miami FC to Ft Lauderdale last year. Then rebranding that team as the Ft Lauderdale Strikers, a team they seem to see as old fashioned and very much of the past, and a past they don't remember because they either weren't here then or were not yet born. They see that as an insult to Miami-Dade & all the good people there. To them, it seems, South Florida ends somewhere not to far north of downtown Miami. Even that oft renamed stadium the Dolphins play in just south of the County line, which was also built for soccer, BTW, is simply too far away from the center of their universe, let alone Lockhart Stadium in that hick town to the north.

So they sit at home & vent their displeasure by posting all kinds of interesting stuff, such as "Strikers sucks", on local blogs denigrating the Strikers, NASL, D2, etc. It's kinda difficult to live with that some people can be so foolish as to do something that directly affects the very thing they, and a good many of the ULTRAs, Flight 19, etc, also want, MLS's return to South Florida, in a negative way. A way so very negative that they could kill any chance of getting what they want.

Again, I do not think that Julio & his associates are part of that scheme. But I do find it very interesting that they have formed a new group. And that the interview in that group's name omitted any mention of the Strikers, their current success, and the fun times that are to be had at Lockhart Stadium that are bringing in @ 5K fans per game, one of the keys to an MLS return.

 

It just continues to baffle me that people can't just look at the facts, and then make logical conclusions. Pro soccer in Miami has never worked. Let's say that again. NEVER. Has a real ring of finality to it, doesn't it?

Anyway, let's put that little nugget aside for moment and focus on the present. Garber, not that long ago mind you, spelled it out for the fans. Look, it's not like it was some big revelation either. The blueprint is there. Some of us have been telling you this for awhile now. Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Montreal. These teams existed in the lower divisions. They turned their organizations into top notch clubs, and they had a solid core fanbase that was rabid and wanted bigger and better things. The money was put in place, stadium situations were prepared and - bamm - they're in MLS. Are the Miami "snobs" completely unable to see how simple the truth of the situation is?

The Strikers are nearly at where all of those other MLS teams were right before they made the jump. No one around here gave Traffic a pass on the putrid mess of a franchise they passed off they last five years. They were bad, no doubt of it. But they hitched their wagon to the tradition and legacy of South Florida's most successful pro soccer franchise, and look what's happened? Despite the nay sayers and critics they are flourishing. All the people who before the season said, eh, no one cares about the Strikers name anymore and it won't make any real difference in the end, where are they now? This brand has returned. Right now it's growing, it's picking up momentum. Traffic has turned this thing around to the point that we now have a significant core fanbase. Lockhart is an old girl, but I dare anyone to dispute the notion that it would be far more cost effective and smart to renovate her a bit then to try and find a site, secure funding somehow (and it would have to be privately), and then build a SSS stadium. Worst case you do this and see how the teams does for 3 or 4 years. If things really exceed expectations and you want to try and build a new stadium, it'll be just that much easier.

All that's missing is the extra deep pockets needed to be the money man behind the team. Does Claure fit the bill? Maybe. If he partnered with Traffic could they do it? Maybe. If he and another investor (Beckham even?) bought the Strikers from Traffic, could they do it? Maybe. But one thing is abundantly clear. To follow the blueprint that's been used successfully by other clubs, and which Garber as much as held up and said, look guys, here's how it works now if you're not in NY, any chance at MLS has to go through the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. No one cares about a handful of guys in 305 with a blog who want to look down their noses at pro soccer in South Florida just because it isn't exactly what they want. Wah!!! Take your ball and go home then. We don't need you. We are Striker Likers. We are legion. And we are also the only way MLS is ever coming back to this area. Just face the truth. Don't take some dopey liberal mindset of, well, we're only like 12 people, but it doesn't matter, we'll make everyone listen and give us what we want. Wake up! Just stop the pseudo political BS and come down to Lockhart and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere, and the only professional soccer available to us! If everyone would just unite (did someone say South Florida United) the dream of MLS would be much closer to reality.

It kills me to realize that if all of the individuals who spent so much time and effort to promote an MLS bid for South Florida, would just instead shift their focus to promoting the Strikers, somewhere down the road you'd end up in the same place anyway. Let's shoot for 5,000+ at Lockhart this year. Next year let's go for 6,000+. If we can do that, we won't be ignored. MLS wants to be here. We just need to prove to them, fair or not because of the Fusion, that it is "safe" for them to come back.

 

Some people just can't handle the truth and it easy to follow others misinformed facts like the first lemming who jumped and all the others who followed instead of learning the facts. The entire argument about attendance where the old Miami Fusions are concerned was nothing more than an elaborate cover up of the truth by the league to justify absorbing the Miami franchise and the covering for one of the league's early investor that operated the Fusion and wanted out because of financial problems.

The league was in a bit of financial trouble and two teams needed to be sacrificed, it was easy for the league that was near to going out of business to eliminate two of it's clubs and Miami was a easy choice because the owner who wanted out due to lack of money to operate the Miami Fusion FC club. After years of no marketing or I should very little marketing, in 2001 the Miami Fusion started to turn around it's franchise and in fact it was Doug Hamilton's business and marketing acumen that resulted in sponsorship agreements for the club topping a record $1 million. While attendance has been an issue for the entire league in th early years, the Miami Fusion through Doug Hamilton increased attendance by 49 percent in 2001. But the ownership lost so much money like the rest of the league clubs in the two previous years that the owner did not see investing in a soccer league at that moment as something beneficial and he wanted out...this ultimately changed the way the league picked future owner operaters.

But the Miami Fusion FC was no worst for attendance than most of the other teams in the league at that time with the exception of only one or two clubs. In fact the same year the Miami Fusion was absorbed by the league, it's attendance was growing from the previous years and in fact increased by 49 percent bettering the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City) at that time. But because the Wizards was backed by one of the league biggest investor in the late Lamar Hunt, absorbing that Kansas City Wizards team was not an option. When people make the argument of how bad a sports town Miami is for soccer, it was better than Kansas City then. The fact Kansas City has turned around that franchise which at the time was also one of the worst soccer market's is a good and encouraging reason to believe that Miami could duplicate the same kind of success with the proper ownership in place. For that very reason I can not buy into the argument that soccer can not work in this South Florida market where we do have the built in soccer educated demographic for success.

Many are asking why is Don Garber insistent about coming back to the Miami market and here is the reason why! The Miami metropolitan area, which includes Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, had a combined population of more than 5.5 million people, ranked seventh largest in the United States, and is the largest metropolitan area in the Southeastern United States. As of 2008, the United Nations estimates that the Miami Urban Agglomeration is the 44th-largest in the world. As of the census of 2000, there were 362,470 people, 134,198 households, and 83,336 families residing in the city. The population density was 10,160.9 per square mile (3,923.5/km2). There were 148,388 housing units at an average density of 4,159.7 per square mile (1,606.2/km2) or a density of 7 units per acre.

As of 2000, in terms of national origin and/or ethnic origin, 34.1% of the populace was Cuban, while 5.6% of the city's population was Nicaraguan, 5.5% of the population was Haitian, 3.3% of the population was Honduran, 1.7% of all residents were Dominican, and 1.6% of the population was Colombian. In 2004, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) ranked Miami first in terms of percentage of residents born outside of the country it is located in (59%), followed by Toronto (50%).

In 2009, there were 158,297 households out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 18.7% have a female head of household with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.25. The age distribution was 21.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.

Miami's explosive population growth has been driven by internal migration from other parts of the country, primarily up until the 1980s, as well as by immigration, primarily from the 1960s to the 1990s. Today, immigration to Miami has slowed significantly and Miami's growth today is attributed greatly to its fast urbanization and high-rise construction, which has increased its inner city neighborhood population densities, such as in Downtown, Brickell, and Edgewater, where one area in Downtown alone saw a 2,069% increase in population in the 2010 Census. Miami is regarded as more of a multicultural mosaic, than it is a melting pot, with residents still maintaining much of, or some of their cultural traits. The overall culture of Miami is heavily influenced by its large population of Hispanics, and Blacks, mainly from the Caribbean islands.

Today, the Miami area has a sizable community of citizens, illegal immigrants, and permanent residents, of Americans, Argentines, , Bahamians, Barbadian, Bolivians, Brazilians, Canadians, Chileans, Chinese, Colombians, Costa Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, Ecuadorans, French, Germans, Greeks, Guatemalans, Guayanese, Haitians, Hondurans, Jamaicans, Koreans, Indians, Italians, Mexicans, Nicaraguans, Panamanians, Peruvians, Russians, Salvadoran, Spanish, Trinidadians and Tobagonians, Turks, South Africans, Venezuelans, and Puerto Ricans.

While commonly thought of as a city mainly of Latino and Black Caribbean immigrants, the Miami area is home to large French, French Canadian, German, Italian, and Russian communities. The communities have grown to a prominent place in Miami and its suburbs, creating ethnic enclave neighborhoods such as Little Buenos Aires, Little Haiti, Little Havana, Little Managua, Little Brazil, Little Moscow, Little San Juan, and Little Tel Aviv.

As for the populations that understand the game, it's here already in Miami and South Florida, and one area of the city of Miami could boast the strong hold of this soccer understanding population. As of 2000, North Bay Village had the second highest percentage of Brazilian residents in the US, with 6% of the US populace (only the borough of East Newark, New Jersey had a higher percentage, at 6.20% of US residents.) It had the eighteenth highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 5.29% of the village's population (tied with Fountainbleau,) and while it had the twenty-third highest percentage of Peruvians, at 2.17% of all residents. North Bay Village's Venezuelan community had the fifth highest percentage of residents, which was at 2.15% of the population.

Also South Florida metropolitan area could boast the 2nd largest Caribbean immigrant population to New York City's metropolitan area. This demographic is also very much passionate about the sport and is also soccer educated being that many of their original nations such as Bahamas, Barbados, Guayana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago which was once a part of the British empire.

So when someone ask why is Don Garber and MLS set on South Florida as oppose to Atlanta or other southeast cities, you could explain the real reason why Miami is more attractive if implemented correctly.

 

Ask how many of those immigrants watch or support MLS?

 

MLS1Fan - While I admire your passion about Miami, and your dedication to looking up some very detailed population and census figures, I am a little baffled by your overall point. It seemed to be that Miami itself was a very viable place for professional soccer in the US. Was that it? If not, ignore the rest of my post. But I'm assuming it was, so indeed if it was, read on!

Your facts and figures are all real swell. But there are a few problems with trying to correlate them to suporting MLS soccer. First, you made the point, and given my experience with the immigration population of South Florida acquired over 35+ years of living here, I agree 100% with the fact that they all maintain a very strong sense of their "home" countries. But here's the problem with that. Most of them are rabid followers of the game, but couldn't care less about MLS or any other pro soccer in this country. They're all still very much connected to their home teams and national sides. They can appreciate club soccer I think, but only at a level of skill and tradition MLS is far, far from attaining.

Secondly, you talked very much about the increase in population in Miami in urban areas. Well, I noticed you didn't add in median income figures for those urban areas. Typically it is going to be lower than in the suburbs, correct? My guess is a good percentage of these urban residents who might actually be interested in a Miami based MLS team, may not be able to afford attending on a regular basis. Pay attention to what happens to the Marlins attendance in downtown Miami once the newness factor of the new stadium there wears off.....

You're points about the Fusion are dead on. As much bashing as South Florida takes for their contraction, it's mostly by people who don't have any clue what the real details of the situation were. But I'll tell you this. A lot of South Floridians, especially after the success seen in the return of the brand this year, many would tell you that if the team they had playing in Lockhart Stadium had just been named the Fort Lauderdale Strikers to begin with, they would not have been contracted in 2001, and they'd still be playing today.

 

They also brought in partners with Front Office experience to do all the things Miami FC couldn't do (judging from the Big Soccer boards, that includes things like answering the phones, returning calls, having merchandise in stock, etc). Having the legacy to build on helps with the relaunch, but only if there's a solid organization to capitalize. Having a Robbie involved as Prez helps - he knows the sports biz and was remembers the old NASL Strikers. You need the former to make the latter work.

 

I agree with you to a point. There does seem to be a change in the organization this year, and I'll be the first to tell you that first convincing Tim Robbie that the Strikers legacy and tradition would be upheld properly, and then secondly actually enticing him to come on board as president, these were huge for the club. South Florida will never ever forget what the Robbie family has meant to this community, both on and off the field. He brings integrity and strength to this organization in a way few, if any, others could in South Florida.

Tim Robbie would never have been part of Miami FC. In an interview with IMS awhile back, Davidson as much as admitted that because Traffic and the other owners who eventually became the TOA did not believe in the direction of the USL, they perhaps didn't spend their money in support of the organization as readily as they are now. His point was, why hemmorage cash in a league that is run by people you don't agree with. So they broke away, founded the NASL, and now are doing things their way.

My expectation, as well as the expectations of all other fans of the NASL and its teams should be, ok, you are where you said you wanted to be all along now. Show me you are committed and are going to work to build these teams and this league. That means marketing. That means attempting to field a quality team. That means working with the community. Traffic has done these things this year. I hope the other NASL teams are doing it as well. If you don't market your team, fans won't come. If you don't provide a good gameday experience, they won't come back. D2 standards being what they are now, this league should have a chance to work to stabilize a foundation for long term success. Either that, or we'll learn once and for all that D2 soccer is just not viable in this country for the foreseeable future.

But anyway, back to the original point. Again, Tim Robbie would not have been invovled in Miami FC. He is involved with the Strikers because he believes in the way the club is connecting to the past to move into the future. And make no mistake whatsoever - what you've seen this season is mostly a direct result of the connection to that Strikers legacy and tradition of the past. If the team had stayed as Miami FC and tried to do all of the things they'e done FO and marketing wise this year, it still would not have had anywhere near the same effect, guaranteed. The brand still has meaning here, and the fact that they are using it in all the right ways is the combination that has made it possible, and if they continue to work at it, can build it even bigger.

 

My beef with MLS1fan's post is that it only gives numbers for Miami & Miami-Dade County. If I remember correctly Garber did refer to the South Florida market during his meeting. That market involves Miami-Dade County plus Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Add those 2 counties and you more than double the population base to draw from for an MLS franchise. Those 2 counties, in fact, have a combined population of 3,000,000, which is larger than the population of Miami-Dade County's 2,500,000. Add all three together, they are the 3 most populous Counties in the State, BTW, and you have the South Florida Metropolitan Area; the largest metro area in the state, the Southeastern USA & the 7th largest in the Country.

Further, this thing extends from the town of Jupiter in norther Palm Beach County to Florida City in southern Miami-Dade County, a distance of approximately 120 miles of unbroken suburbs & urban areas making it a real fun place to drive, but a very, very interesting & fun place to live.

The point of all this is that Mr Claure only discussed Miami & environs. Further, that discussion seemed to indicate that Miami & Miami-Dade alone could support an MLS team. White Star Warrior in his 2nd post asks "how many of those immigrants support MLS". My answer would be that not enough to actually have an MLS team/franchise survive. The other 2 Counties provide the necessary numbers of supporters to have MLS not only survive but to survive & prosper here - I honestly think that they alone can keep the NASL Strikers viable for several years. - but, eventually, all 3 counties must be involved to have any hope of MLS being a workable enterprise.

We've got to get together on this thing or forget about it. That may be difficult for some folks to accept, but I don't see any other way. I only hope that Mr Claure see's it this way, too....

 

That's a great question Rays. I certainly don't know the answer, anyone else out there got any idea? Just off the top of my head I'd venture the guess that he's not in a position to be the main investor in an MLS club, but maybe a partner perhaps?

 

Fusion att:

'98 - 10,284 which was second lowest in the league (3rd lowest was Tampa Bay) and 29% below the league average of 14,311.

'99 - 8,689 which was second lowest in the league (4th lowest was Tampa Bay) and 40% below the league average of 14,282.

'00 - 7,460 which was lowest in the league (3rd lowest was Tampa Bay) and 48% below the league average of 13,756.

'01 - 11,177 which was 4th lowest in the league (2nd lowest was Tampa Bay) and 36% below the league average of 14,961.


So Miami in the bottom two of att in 3 of its 4 years. And yeah you get 40+% growth when you only draw 7K to matches. Miami was never equal to, or above the league average att and always brought it down.

Add that to the fact that Tampa never finished above 4th worst in att ...


Now, what was that conspiracy theory that was touted earlier ? Something about a cover up of the att and it being an excuse ?

Bullshit. Florida, and Miami in particular, didn't support their MLS clubs at the gate. FACT. Miami has a history of being beyond fair weather with its fanbase ... IF they get out and support their teams. Hell, even this year with LeBron and being in the Finals they had empty seats/available seats during the playoff run.

 

I'm not going to argue with you on the demise of the Fusion and the relevance of the attendance numbers you quoted to it happening. I'm sure plenty of others around here will do that.

What I will agree with you on is the notion that at this point, history tells us that Miami will not support a professional soccer team. If you read through this thread, and some others of similar ilk, you'll see a number of us actively support this idea. The Fort Lauderdale Strikers on the other hand is a different story. Last I saw of the figures only Montreal (no surprise) in the NASL and Orlando (kudos to them and I'm eating humble pie so far on this one) are outdrawing the Strikers in home attendance this year in D2 and D3. Historically the Strikers have always been well attended at Lockhart. The rebrand this year, still with only the tip of the iceberg showing, paints a very flattering picture of the strength the brand still has in this community. This is the way to MLS for South Florida. I don't see any other way. The Strikers, with the right investor coming on board or buying Traffic out even, and a renovated Lockhart Stadium, could join MLS as soon as 2013 I'd bet. The blueprint is out there. Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Montreal. The Strikers could be next, they just need someone to step up to the plate and take the chance. The fan support has only just begun this year. Make sure you check out the Rowdies game on the 29th. You'll see what this area is capable of doing when the right situation is in place.

 

I'm actually encouraged by the FTLS situation and would love if it translated.

Too much of the sentiment (as an oustider looking in) is that people simply ignore the fact that there is very good reason for people to doubt support in Florida in general. There is a reason that stigma developed and it wasn't because people were overflowing the stadiums. I mean hell, even "THE U" had plenty of empty seats against high profile teams over the years (I'm an FSU fan, I'm pretty familiar with the att issues at Miami from time to time).

Sure, there's a renewed interest and the situation with FTL is very encouraging. There's still quite a bit of work to do considering past failures and the stigma attached.

 

Yeah there is a bad stigma. Attendance did play a part in the Fusion's demise, but the ownership was like 97% of the problem. Is 11,000 that much worse than the league average of 14K at that time? It's not like most other MLS cities were pulling 20K. Sure, if the attendance figures were up, it would have been harder to pull the plug(which is why I and several others think if they had embraced the Strikers legacy they could have gained support faster and stuck around). But it could just have easily been San Jose or KC or Dallas that got the axe.

As for South Florida as a whole in terms of a sports market, it's only now really maturing. Only the Dolphins have been around long enough to have generations of fans and a truly massive following. The Heat have always been a top notch organization and have always drawn respectably over the years. The fact that you some empty seats from time to time at the arena, even in the playoffs, is a result of the arena's proximity to South Beach and the kind of person that is going to games to be seen. The upper deck and standing room sections, what you don't see on TV, are always packed(I was there for game one of the Finals, drove from Fort Lauderdale). That and the arrival "Big 3" created a slew of idiots scooping up tickets hoping to turn a profit by re-selling them. The Marlins have ripped the hearts out of fans twice by selling off championship teams, and the Panthers are in the midst of a NHL record playoff drought. To put those kindsof shaky organizations in any city, and expect a solid fanbase in less than 20 years, is asking for a lot.

All we can do is keep supporting the Strikers and keep it growing.

 

Plus, ignore all the out of town folks, not to mention the locals, that have their own ignorance and prejudices influencing their opinions.....

 

Absolutely. However, this is an issue that isn't going to go away and is going to weigh heavily on the market in terms of perception and how the league can be convinced that the true fans are there.

I mean yeah, I've seen them but I've also been outside of the Orange Bowl in 2000/2002 and watched Miami fans give away tickets to the FSU game by the handful because they had better things to do.

The make up of the area is an issue in of itself. That's the problem.

10000000000000% yes. I hope this does happen because there are great fans down there. They just have to outshine quite a bit.

 

@Smoke & Mirrors, the point is about Miami or the South Florida in general being a very viable place for professional (MLS) soccer!

To your point regarding immigrants being rabid followers of the game, but couldn't care less about MLS or any other pro soccer in this country. Well first, the MLS as a product on the field today is a much better product than what was on the field 9 years ago when the Fusion played in South Florida.

Today's MLS has more talented players in the league and with the addition of the DP rule the league is filled with more noticeable stars. Your point is well taken regarding the immigrant communities being rabid supporters of the game and especially clubs from their own cities, but if you use Houston and Los Angeles as examples, you'll understand that those immigrant fans could be converted to MLS fans if the clubs are marketed well in these communities.

Yes I spoke about the increase in population in Miami's urban areas and to your concern regarding median income in these areas and affording tickets to MLS games. Well, as you may know based on you being down here for 35+ years, the increase in the population isn't just subjected to urban areas it's the entire South Florida area. Here is South Florida we have urban sprawls blending urban areas with less urban areas, while the median income maybe less in urban areas than lesser urban areas in South Florida, the median income in these immigrant communities are still higher than that of the native urban American communities in South Florida.

To your point about the Marlins and their new stadium in urban Miami, the Marlins ownership needs to become very visible in that Cuban community and at the same time present a decent product on the field. But I see that situation being much better for the Marlins than their current situation at the Dolphins stadium and as you may know already, location is everything in South Florida sports. I think the Marlins inflicted most of their problems going back to 1997 when they won the world series and then the next year sold off the entire team, the Marlins fans never really forgiven the ownership. Then in 2003 the Marlins won it all again, and over the next three years the owners sold off that team also, so there are some factors here why the Marlins have not gotten full support from the local fans here.

 

you have two sss and one of them is increasing to 43000....two failed teams fusion and miami fc...

 

What SSS are you talking about? We have no SSS here. Lockhart is as close as it gets I suppose, mostly used for soccer now with FAU moving out.

The Fusion failed because the ownership was not deep pocketed enough. Look at the fan support of teams like KC, San Jose, New England, Dallas. All not much better than the Fusion even all these years later. They got saved by big time $$$ owners who were committed to the cause. Ken Horowitz was not.

Miami FC you could call a failure on all levels. Terrible team on the field and like the Fusion they totally misread the market when they came in. However, unlike the Fusion, they have seen the error in their ways, have rebranded to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and are now second in the NASL in attendance, trailing only Montréal, averaging 4,400+ fans per game.