MLS Pre-Season Visits the Valley?

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/sports/report/120711_soccer_notes/fc-tucson-mls-announce-desert-cup-details/

 

http://azstarnet.com/sports/soccer/professional/major-league-soccer-spring-rebirth-in-hands-of-the-feet/article_8e4cd6c6-8954-5c6e-a2d2-5e95b81cad7f.html?mode=story

 

Why doesn't someone organize something like this here in Phoenix?

 

Because the MLS wants the spring training home's to be Orlando & Tucson. Do you really think they would be able to compete with MLB for sites?

 

NYRed Bulls to Compete in FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup

Kino Veteran Memorial Stadium will play host to the event from February 22nd to March 3rd and will feature three additional Major League Soccer teams: the New England Revolution, Real Salt Lake and the LA Galaxy




http://www.newyorkredbulls.com/news/2011/12/red-bulls-compete-fc-tucson-desert-diamond-cup

 

Compete with MLB for sites?

MLS needs baseball diamonds?

 

Do you really want to deal with me, the annoying troll in your stupid, dimwitted, dumbass LIKE, Michigan St. Spartans debate? Very well.
Your argument "Soccer is played on a baseball diamond." Lets take a look at the press release from today's event.

The MLS training at baseball complex? How is this possible. Oh thats right, There going to convert the diamonds into professional soccer fields. So take that stupid argument out.
Next, the 15 MLB teams arrive in PHX in early February. Where do they stay? Do you think its a local Best Western? A Holiday Inn? No. There staying at some of the nicest hotels in the PHX area. With all those hotels occupied, do you expect the MLS to stay at the Motel 6's? I don't think. Tucson is offering them to stay at the La Paloma & Mariott Star Pass.
Finally, you already have the NHL & NBA to compete against in the PHX area. So your stating people will abandon these games just to see some preseason soccer games? Plus, r all of the Mexico residents willing to drive an extra two hours to catch the games? The only sporting event Tucson will be competing against is U of A basketball. & that on only 1 of the 4 days, & its a day game.
So can you just stop your bitching about PHX not getting an MLS tournament. I'm sorry, if you want to see soccer, for once, you'll have to drive down to Tucson. We always drive up there and support your local economy, so for once, you'll have to drive south & support ours.

 

Oh I love it when someone gets offended when he realize his own ignorance. And I love rants by idiots who like to hide behind the anonymity of the internet pseudonym.

Let's begin...


#1 Proper Facilities:

Both Reach 11 and Grande Sports complex have hosted MLS winter training for the last 3 years, as well as the US Development Academy. MLS has never had to compete with MLB training facilities in Phoenix.

In Tucson, however, they are using Kino because that is the best that they have to work with. So yes, it will be necessary to convert Kino's baseball diamond into a soccer field.


#2 Lodging:

Phoenix has far more lodging resources than Tucson. Do you think Tucson could host the Super Bowl? If so, then why haven't they?

During MLB spring training, it is still very easy to get a hotel room anywhere in Phoenix.


#3 Competition for fans

The arguement about competing for fans goes beyond this discussion.

If you are a hockey fan, you are a hockey fan. It doesn't mean that you will buy season tickets for any sport just because there is no pro hockey team in your town.

Sure there are some general fans just looking to go to some sort of sporting event, but this does not make up the bulk of the attendees.

Cardinals are not competing against Coyotes for fans. If this were the case no pro team would want to locate in a town with another pro team, yet that is not what we see. We see all pro teams wanting to locate in large metropolitan markets where other pro teams are located.

With that sort of logic, if the MLS is looking for attendance of 15K, why not just locate in a city that has about 100K residence and no pro team. They don't and for good reason. Instead, towns like that have PDL teams, or leagueless teams like FC Tucson.


#4 Fan pool

Mr. Freak's comments about fan base should be addressed too.

Tucson is a city of 520K. Freak also references the hurds of Mexican fans that will be driving to Tucson to watch the games. Really, the only major Mexican city within two hours of of Tucson is Nogales, Sonora with a population of 159K. I'm not sure that all 159K have authorization to enter the US or money to buy tickets, but let's give him the benefit of the doubt. This is a potential fan pool of about 680K.

Phoenix on the other hand can draw from it's entire metropolitan area: Phoenix 1445K, Glendale 200K, Mesa 439K, Tempe 161K, Chandler 236K, Gilbert 208K, Scottsdale 217K. This is a potential fan pool of about 2900K and that isn't even counting Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Leveen, which are heavily hispanic. Nor does it count Surprise, Fountain Hills, Sun City, City of Mariocpa, or Apache Junction. This is approximately 2900K

Let's also assume that on any given day all the other Phoenix pro sports venues are sold out (University of Phoenix Stadium 63K, Chase Field 48K, US Airways Arena 19K, Jobing.com Arena 17K) removing another 147K fans from the Phoenix fan pool.

So under the best conditions for Tucson (assumes all residents of Nogales can enter the US, drive to Tucson, and afford tickets) and the worst conditions for Phoenix (all other venues sold out), we are talking a Tucson fan pool of 680K to Phoenix fan pool of 2759K.

Which fishing hole are you more likely to catch fish in?


#5 MLS Tournament

Let's also not mis-represent the Desert Cup. It is not an MLS Tournament. This is an event that is organized by FC Tucson, a professional scrimage team. It is not organized by the MLS at all. The MLS participate in it for practice purposes.

Keep in mind that there are MLS teams that are already scheduled to do their winter training up here in the MetroPhoenix area. They will scrimmage each other, and these are open free to the public.

It would be nice to organize this into a tournament like the Desert Cup.


#6 Bitching and Whining

I'm not bitching and whining as Mr. Freak likes to characterize it.

All I asked was why someone in Phoenix doesn't organize something like this. If FC Tucson can do it, Phoenix could do it also and have a far better turn out.

Then I pointed out the ignorance of some of Freak's comments and he freaks out.

If anyone has blown a gasket, it has been Freak.

Honestly, it sounds as if Freak is pissed off because he lives in Tucson and has chosen to take out his frustration on me.

If you don't like Tucson, move.


# 7 Mr. Freak

So Mr. Freak, I'm sorry that I have to refer to you as Mr. Freak or simply Freak. But when you hide behind the anonymity of a message board pseodonym and make juvenile personal attacks on me, what do you expect?

Hey, I'm not trying to hide who I am.

My name is Gantry York. I live in Chandler, Arizona.

...and yes, I am proud to be an alumni of Michigan State University. Go Spartans.

Who are you Freak?

 

It is just amazing how much infighting occurs on any thread when it comes to possible soccer in this state.

I will say that in 16 years living in this state. I have come to the conclusion that only the Suns get any sort of hype by the media. The D-backs even have problems drawing big crowds on a regular basis.

The state is full of bandwagon fan supporters and the others stick with the clubs they grew up with prior to moving here.


There are plenty of soccer supporters in this state but the Latino community seems to only come out when the Mexican NT comes to play. I don't have kids but I would ask those that do if these MLS pre-season matches/training camp does any flyers that get sent out to all the local soccer communities to get them out to the matches as families going out with their soccer playing kids to see the pro's might at least be a baby step like start.

 

The Suns will always get the most hype in AZ. When your the first ever professional sports team to come to AZ, you will always get the most coverage. The Cardinals fans at the moment r bandwaggon. What happen to the 40k+ crowds that were always common at Scum Devil Stadium? Now its sellouts every game.

Yeah, I really hate it when I see Packer fans. Most of them have no connection to Wisconsin. Same go for most other teams. Cowboys, Yankees, Lakers, etc. The DBacks won't have a true fan base for another 10-20 years. There banking on the kids supporting the team, not the parents. Hell, its the main reason why I'm an all Philly sports fan. Yes, I've lived in AZ since 1995, but I will never become an AZ sports fan (other than the U of A.) I will always stick to my roots of Philly.

& this is the situation I absolutely hate. Mexico fans. Most of them can't even speak Spanish and yet they support Mexico. Most of there parents, grandparents, etc. moved to the United States for a better life, & yet your going to stick with Mexico as your national team? Why? I have met plenty of transplants from Latin America countries who r the biggest US Soccer fans in the world. I've seen families divided over which national team they support. Yet it always seems that Mexico supporters put it in the brains of there children that Mexico is the club to support & ******** the US when it comes to soccer.
But even during last years Desert Cup, the Rafa Marquez scene was absolutely ridiculous. When ever he did his usual walk in taking a corner, people didn't just stand up and cheer. People rushed to the corners, pushing people away so they could get a clear photo of Rafa. It was like as if Rafa was Jesus. It was insane. But thats why FC Tucson is advertising so heavily in Mexico. As long as Rafa shows up, the games should have a few sellouts.

 

I wonder if...you know...the roof has anything to do with it.

They've actually sold out every game since moving to Glendale, even though they went 5-11 and 8-8 their first two years there. And after a two-year spike, they're 12-19 in their last 31. So where's the bandwaggon (sic) again?

 

The SuperBowl helps. But it seems like every gameday the stadium is 60/40 in fans. (60 being Cards fans.) Whether its the Browns or Cowboys, it never appears to be a full sell out of Cardinals fans.

 

okay, despite being life long Browns and Lions fan growing up in those areas, I have lived in AZ since late 1995 so I had season tickets for the last few years in Sun devil and then season tickets in the new stadium. There were always plenty of Cardinal fans around but most were wise to not sit out in Sun Devil during September and October when it was 200 degrees. By the time November came around, they would be 2-5 or something like that. The new stadium definitely helped a little along with them playing better even now with out the security blanket of Kurt Warner.

That said, I would take 60 to 40 anyday rather than 75 to 25 with 75 being the away fans like it was back in Sun Devil.

Plus, I would love away fans at all games in an away section just like in soccer around the world. It makes for a better atmosphere similar to college football with the two sets of crowds and the bands going out against each other.


I loved the idea of traveling with Browns and Lions supporters on the road in enemy territory but I would prefer to be in a large section with my fellow away supporters.

 

I wish they would do the same thing, but they never will. Europe seems to have the problem where away & home supporters always get into fights, whereas in America, its usually only between drunks.

 

When do individual tickets go on sale for the Desert Diamond Cup?

 

Like early to mid February. & if your wondering, the two corner sections (not the 2 supporter sections) r officially sold out. So thats over 360 seats guaranteed to be filled for 4 games. (There goal is to get at least 20k for the 4 days. That way they make a profit.)

 

Yikes, well I have a group of 8-12 people that really want to make it to that Feb 25th double header. The 4-packs means one ticket for the four matches, not 4 tickets for one game right?

 

Correct. & if your looking for group tickets, I'm pretty sure they'll have those for sale when the single game tickets go for sale.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

DC United will be in Scottsdale as well. February 6-16.
http://www.dcunited.com/press-release/2012/01/2012-preseason-schedule

Also, I've been forgetting to mention. The Cactus Pricks (FC Tucson & MLS Desert Cup Supporters) have their site up and running. Check it out.
http://cactuspricks.com/

Here's the logo.


& here's a Facebook time-line, if your interested. (free advertising)

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n507/CactusPricks/CP-Facebook-Timeline-Cover.png

 

http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/236191699802289/

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/u...e-to-replace-spring-training.html?_r=1&ref=us