What this has to do with MLS... well really nothing unless we make some tenuous comparison between the two and talk about the commonalities between them, namely Don Garber.... which more than likely will happen... Nonetheless, the Barcelona Dragons had their home opener yesterday at the Mini-Estadi (Seats roughly 20k - home of Barcelona B. Rather nice little stadium that any MLS team would love.) Anyhow, that had a seam busting 4,000 fans show up. NFL Europe - Catch it. Paul
Do you think that the Barcelona Dragons are being ignored because they're associated with being American and the strong anti-war sentiment in Spain?
Couldn't give a stuff about NFL Europe, really, or whatever attendances NFL-E teams draw-- but yes, this does have significance regarding stadiums... Paul, have you got a picture of that stadium in Barcelona, the Mini-Estadi? I'm curious to have a view of it, and see what we can learn from the architecture of it, for possible development of future MLS grounds.
Well, the Barcelona Dragons are technically the FC Barcelona Dragons and any anti-american sentiment would likely be offset by the fact they are just as much a part of the FCB organisation as, say, FCB Baloncesto.
Or do you think it has anything to do with the product not appealing to a great many people in Barcelona? Nah, it's always a voodoo explanation as to why people don't sell more tickets. It never has anything to do with the product itself, there's always some supernatural explanation instead of a plain and simple one.
At least some people in Spain get exposed to real football instead of that sissy crap properly called soccer. Now if we can just get ESPN to replace So-Called Champions Leauge with NFLE for their international sports content, we'd be set. OK, I think I hit all the buttons here. Sachin
If you want to analyze attendance at NFLE then you have to analyze the extent to which US military bases are near these events, and to what extent the military attends and to what extent the native population attends. And to what extent the military gets free tickets.
They don't have to. Football lines don't stick to a soccer pitch in countries that care about soccer. The Vast Soccer Conspiracy treats all grass fields in this country with a paraquat-like spray that makes football lines brighter and more resilient when soccer lines are applied to them.
The teams in Germany average 20,000 to 30,000 a game. Those out of Germany 4,000 to 10,000. So, they should move all the teams next to American millitary bases in Germany. At least, if they want to make money.
After three weeks of NFL Europe: TEAM.........G...TOTAL.......AVG. Rhein........2...72,191....36,096 Frankfurt....2...46,071....23,036 Berlin.......1...16,312....16,312 Scotland.....2...25,998....12,999 Amsterdam....1...11,368....11,368 Barcelona....1....4,716.....4,716 NFLE.........9..176,656....19,628 Germany......5..134,574....26,915 Others.......4...42,082....10,521 Move Barcelona. 2002 Numbers 2002 NUMBERS TEAM.........G....TOTAL......AVG. Frankfurt....5...169,521...33,904 Rhein........5...163,710...32,742 Amsterdam....5....58,322...11,664 Scotland.....5....55,943...11,189 Berlin.......5....49,568....9,914 Barcelona....5....44,482....8,896 NFLE........30...541,546...18,052
Thanks Kenn, I have been looking for those stats forever! Is there a reason you don't post them on your site?
Worth noting that Berlin's 16,312 is the all time high for the club. Why that's worth noting I don't really know. There are also no military bases anywhere near Berlin.
(a) I just found the raw data and figured those, and (b) though it may not seem like it, I do have other things going on in my life. The Sports Attendance Database is, and will probably be, a work in progress for a while. I have to get college football and basketball up there, individual NHL and NFL team information, all that stuff. But I'm working on it. It'll be there at some point. Thanks.
Attendance is low because: A. The NFL Europe uniforms are terrible. B. The nicknames are even worse. C. They have overtime instead of allowing for tie games. NFL Europe - Do You Know Me?
It may be Schadenfreude and it may be unreasonable of me, but I still derive a strange pleasure out of seeing attendance woes for Big Four teams (even if it is in soccer territory). For me it’s like watching the new Crazytown CD bomb – it just makes me happy. So sue me.
Germany has 3 NFE teams and 5 US military bases. Spain has 1 NFE team and 2 US military bases. Holland has 1 NFE team and 1 US military base. Scotland has 1 NFE team and 0 US military bases. source: http://www.pilotshack.com/MilitaryBases_Overseas.html
I'll never forget going to a London Monarchs game back when and there was only what seemed like 900 people in the 78,000 seat Wembley. They moved them to Stamford Bridge, same problem, moved them to Crystal Palace (5,000 seat athletics, not Selhurst Park) and no one turned up. Folded. Germany does well as it's the only major Euro country without any sort of Rugby League or Union structure. It's a joke league, don't worry about it. One point about Garber, he was in charge when it was advertised that "The World's most popular sport comes to London" I'm serious.
It's right next door to this beauty. Looks like they moved them from the Olympic stadium then. The mini estadi hosts Barca's reserve matches.
They actually did very well at Wembley in the first year, pulling in over 60,000 for one game, but then before the final someone at a press conference made the comment that Wembley was about to host the biggest sporting event in its history. That one comment killed any positive press stone dead. It receives zero press coverage now in England. Most people probably don't even know the league still exists.
Richard, I may be wrong, but I think it was 42,000 for the World Bowl Final - believe that was the first year. While of course, after that it dropped to the levels of a GM Vauxhaul conference team. You can still get NFL Europe, but it's tucked away on Sky Sports Extra, which to the Americans is going to be like ESPN 7! You have to pay for Sky Sports, you get 1,2 and 3. Then Extra is another subscription for specialist sports. They moved NFL there last season too after a short-lived spot on normal Sky Sports. I had forgetten about the league until today, and I'm not sure how long NFL will continue to fund it.