Comparing Jacksonville to Miami to Tampa is like comparing Boston to New York to Wahington... Jacksonville is 367 miles north of Miami Tampa is 280 miles north and west of Miami and 190 south and west of Jacksonville. Three different cities, with three different sports town outlooks. I can tell you that Tampa has 80,000 people on a season ticket waiting list for Bucs games. I can tell that the Lightning were 15th in attendence last year, and will probably be in the Top five this year (due to having the second largest arena in the NHL, and they made the playoffs last year). The D-rays are enjoying there best season ever. I would expect that you will see there attendence rise signifcantly next year...but having said that, 7 teams spring train withn 30 miles of Tropicanna Field. Tampa does just fine as a sports town. Miami has it tougher for all the reasons So Fla metro espoused. Jacksonville is a small market that has one thing on its mind...Football.
All interesting points, but consider this: Florida's population is increasing by about 800 people daily, and a very large percentage of those people are living in the Tampa and Jacksonville areas. And, on average, they're younger than existing residents. 10 or so years down the line, Tampa is going to bear a striking resemblance to South Florida when it comes to sports (especially when parity rears its ugly head a few years from now and the Bucs have to endure a few 6 win seasons).
After going 0-26 and enduring 13 losing seasons in a row... Buc fans have been there and done that. The Bucs fans base is very solid. As is the Lightning. Something about losing alot buids a more loyal fan base. (Look at the Cubs, for example).
I'd like to know if Florida's cities have any kind of plan for the future for pro-soccer or I wonder do they even think about it. More people are moving to the state all the time and if we really do believe in MLS making it, surely some cities must at least start to think think having a SSS stadium, even if it's 10 years from now providing MLS survives. Other than possibly Miami could it happen in another Florida city? Soccer wise Florida is tough, I learnt that with the Mutiny.
Hello Paul! Great question that I would like to take a crack at. IMHO, I think that if soccer does come to Florida, it needs to be Tampa. Tampa is simply a better sports town then Miami. The Mutiny always outdrew the Fusion, even though the Fusion had a better team on average. Tampa has a much longer history of supporting soccer then South Florida. What must happen first is two things. 1) A owner who is willing to step up to the plate (Outback, Stienbrener, the ususal suspects...) 2) A soccer staduim that is located either near Tampa Staduim, or near the Univ of Tampa. If you get those two things in place, it will work and work well.
Tell that to the Devil Rays In 2001, the Mutiny averaged 10,479 per game. The Fusion averaged 11,177. Based on? None of this happened during the Mutiny's existence. What will change that would make it viable in the future?
Tampa had professional soccer from 1975 through 2001 Rowdies 1975-1995, Mutiny 1996-2001. Rowdies played NASL, then ASL, then A League. If you look at the Marlins attendence and its record, and compare it with the D-rays and its record... well, switch the teams and the attendence would be far higher in Tampa. Fact is that every team in Tampa outdraws Miami. The Dolphins struggle to sell out games not involving the J-E-T-S.... The Bucs have 80,000 people waiting to buy season tickets. The Lightning outdraw the a Panthers. This is the first year that the Marlins have outdrawn the D-rays, and only because the D-rays have been abysmal for all five years they exist. As for the Mutiny, the year you cite is the year that the Mutiny missed the playoffs, and Miami had the best record in MLS. What does that say? Compare the attendence figures involving the Rowdies and the Strikers... it is no very close. 28,000 to 11,000 per game....
It's also a bit of an overstatement, this whole "transient city" thing. First off, the suburbs don't see anywhere near the kind of turnovoer that the city does. Yes, the city is built upon politics and govt. appointments that tend to cause fairly high turnover. That said, there are a TON of people that don't leave just because a new administration rolls into town. I was scrolling through my high school alumni page last week (based in Bethesda) -- about 90 percent of those folks list current addresses in the DC metro area. It's more stable than you'd think around here.
Have you been to a Caps v. Penguins/Flyers/Red Wings/Rangers/Islanders game lately? I've been to two Orioles v. Yankees games at Camden Yards this year and in both cases, the majority in attendance were Yankees fans. Basketball, either college or pro, have always drawn well, and the Skins status as the top dog in town is because they've been around for 70 years and have had a considerable degree of success.