Re: You should look here. I can't believe that wasn't one of the first Google hits. On "A-League attendance" it is.
Re: I'm going by this: http://www.soccerstats.com/2khcrowd.asp?league=usa2&rankby=1 As for the 11,00 number its from their 1999 season when "Did you know... the Raging Rhinos average of 11,551 fans during the 1999 season exceeded the average attendance for the Miami Fusion and Kansas City Wizards of MLS." My big question is if they are able to get 10,000 - 11,000 fannies in the seats with practically no TV coverage of national exposure, what would happen if they join MLS? Theoretically they should easilly jump a few thousand more which easily makes them a viable MLS entity. People alsiforget that the Soccer HOF is in upstate NY (Oneonta)
Re: That still shows them as 10,180. Rounding, I'm guessing. Indeed. And that was five years ago. The Rhinos used to knock off MLS teams in the US Open Cup, too. We think they'd do well. There's been some debate as to how well. Some think they'd "easily" average 16-17k, which some others think is optimistic. An initial honeymoon period, sure. But at the end of the day, it's still a slightly smallish (by major league sports standards) market (a smaller TV market than Green Bay, Toledo or Des Moines). If they could do even close to as well as Columbus has done, that would be a great achievement, I think. What makes me think they'd have a chance is that having dealt a bit with and seen more from their ownership, I think they've got more on the ball than a lot of people who try to own pro sports teams. To me, that's at least as important as where the heck the team is located.
Re: Horsecrap. The Burn WERE getting better numbers than Rochester has ever gotten before Hunt Sports Group screwed things up with their little Southlake fiasco.
Re: Except for 1997 and 1998, you're right. Year...Burn....Rhinos 1996...16,011...9,991 1997....9,678..10,677 1998...10,227..11,499 1999...12,211..11,551 2000...13,102..11,628 2001...12,574..10,780 2002...13,122..10,008 2003....7,906..10,169 2004....9,004..10,181
I'm not sure if this story checks out, but I met a student this summer whose family knew that of Rapaport. HE was a big sports fan, so we began talking about soccer and MLS. He mentioned that Rapaport lost a fair amount of money with MLS, and wanted out. Again, I don't know if this is true or not, I'm just repeating what was told.
Maybe. But the November 9, 1998 issue of Soccer America contains this version of the story, which noted that Anschutz had purchased the Galaxy for $26 million: Now, the $26 million may not have covered all of his losses when all was said and done. Maybe he lost a bunch up until the point where Phil covered them with the purchase price, I don't know. But it is much easier for me to believe that someone lost a bunch investing in American soccer than it is for me to believe that they made a bunch.
Re: I think the Rhinos would indeed bump up their numbers by a couple of thousand people per game if they were in MLS. Right now I believe they get mostly people from the Rochester area, while an MLS game might bring in people from Syracuse and Buffalo as well. I now many people here in Syracuse who drive the 2 hours to see the Rhinos, as opposed to our A-league Syracuse team.
too busy to read all the post but what's the final capacity of the stadium. Can someone give a brief overview of the final details (if they exist). thanks
nice, hope y'all get a team in Rochester I'll come out there for a few games. What's the population of Rochester and surrounding areas? Also how far away is Syracuse and Buffalo (miles and travelling time)? Does people from these city regularly come to Rochester to watch the Rhinos? I hear people saying no need to put a team in Rochester, i think that's nonsense, rochester is a soocer town out drawing some of the MLS team at the moment. Rochester can only be good for MLS at the moment. With the management that Rochester currently have i think they will be fine in the future. It's not like big markets are lining up to join MLS. Why have a 17K stadium and not making use of it.
MLS doesn't put teams in cities anymore. Investors approach the league and offer to buy into the league. So far, the owners of the Rhinos haven't been willing to pay the money that would be required to move the team up a division. Perhaps this is a testament to their good judgement. Or maybe they're just waiting to get their stadium built and see how they draw in the A League before risking millions of dollars. In any event, with investors popping up in much bigger cities, the window of opportunity seems to be closing for the Rhinos.
But those bottom MLS teams are factoring in extra seats for Freddy Adu games, double headers with foreign teams, and just generally being in MLS who has the higher profile. Rochester hit those numbers playing Virginia Beach and Atlanta and Richmond. If San Jose, Dallas and New England were playing A-League teams instead, I don't see any of them breaking 10K.
The Rhinos were pulling a few hundred from Syracuse before the SDs came into existence. I am sorry for your loss and hope to see you at Rhino games in the future (I am in 402 on the top row).