Maybe it's time to start one, since a 4,322 official attendance today at Mitchell for the Nike Women's Cup game don't portend for a continued presence there, unfortunately Isn't there anywheres else on Long Island which is accessible to folks? Yes, I know the Meadowlands is out of the ?... Paul
I'll be surprisedif they relocate by next season. They're already selling 2003 season tickets. But who knows? Maybe if ticket sales are bad enough Portland will get lucky! GO PORTLAND POWER!
FWIW... The past couple of games leading up to today's match I scoured Newsday (a Power sponsor), NY Times, and the Post and saw NOTHING about this match. Even doing Google searches and using OurSportsCentral.com yielded nothing. Several hours after the match there is not even an AP write up. A poster over in the A&D forum mentioned that there was no publicity for this match.
paul you need a 3rd option for your poll...i do think the power after this poor turnout are OUT of long island and OUT of mitchell field...and i still wonder if millbrett's decision to not attend this match had anything to do with a personal indictment to the power orginization. I think that 4k has to rank back to the days when the USWNT played at HS staidums in the early 90s in terms of poor turnout...may i remind the jury that EAB park got 6k for the U21 team to play italy. this game was a death warrant for mitchell field...and btw i was there and it didnt look like no 4300. however i think from a PR standpoint a team moving out of the NY area would look rather poorly...and i think that there is support for womens soccer in NY, i think the Power thought the LIJSL was an orginization that cared about the delevopment of soccer on the pro level, they didnt, they apparently treaded on the terrtory of the lady riders who had a large fanbase that didnt wanna be threatened (if the daily news article is to believed, mainly LIJSL brass) and they (which i said from the day they announced their venue in 2000) ailinated large youth soccer communities in NJ, CT and Westchester by locating themselves away from NYC in a non rail accessable venue. While im convinced portland WILL get a franchise (and millbrett WILL trade herself there by hook or crook) and it would be about FN time it got attention from the major soccer leagues...i think it will be an expansion franchise in 2004...i think you have to stay in the NY metro area...i would bet that the power would move somewhere closer to the city...perhaps NJ? If marenhoff's first call wasnt to her realtor, i think then crow should talk to her about protecting the financial health of the league...or in layman's terms then youd talk about the re incarnation of the Portland Power
Ticket Prices I really feel that ticket prices caused the poor turnout. Tickets ranged from $22-55. That's crazy. Why are the ticket prices the same in Carolina, where fans get to see a double-header? If the Power lower their tickets next year, which I hope they do, it should help attendance numbers.
ticket prices were too high, especally with 6k long islanders probley smarting over the u21s charging 35 for their game by putting whalen on their roster in 2000 but 4300 is still inexcusable for an NT match...it was more than just ticket prices...russia was a quality opponent too...mia was there...i think it was a lil more than just lack of promotion (was that the USSF's job or the power's cuz whoever was in charge fd up big) and ticket prices IMHO...i think ppl just wont travel to mitchell...i think other areas in the NY metro area would support womens soccer better...so try it for a year then go west if they dont get any draw.
I should really go to bed but.... 1) Check this out...at least it didn't look like the Pontiac Silverdome back in 1993. The US played Canada up there and only drew 3,572. Man that place probably made Mitchel look like a sellout. 2) The EAB match drew 6,022. 3) The only USWNT matches held on Long Island were back in 1993 from August 4th through the 8th. All at North Hemptstead Town Park. They drew 1300, 458, and 1637. 4) Some games that hovered around the 4000 range...... 6/5/97 v Austrailia at some HS in Ambler, PA: 4,826 3/14/96 v Germany at Decatur HS in GA: 4,212 4/28/96 v France somewhere in Indy: 4,137 5/14/95 v Brasil in some podunk field in Portland: 4,911 5/4/97 v South Korea in St. Charles, Illinois: 4,147 5/12/96 v Canada in Worchester (it's pronounced WARCHESTER AND NOT Woostah), Massachusetts: 4,312. 9/1/91 v Norway at Tufts University: 4,758
Yeah but FearM9, all those figures are pre- '99 World Cup and most are even pre- '96 Olympics! Most cities have caught on to the growing popularity of soccer and have jumped on the bandwagon already! What does it take for New York to open their eyes?! It's a real shame for the Power... they deserve SO much better than that.
I dont see the Power moving until post 2003 season. They are already selling the season tickets & having post/pre-preseason games. I know those arent great reasons, but if the Power was relocating, I think the announcement would be made RIGHT at the end of the season to give the players time to relocate and for the office to move. When did the WUSA office announce they were moving???
They do? I'm not sure I'd want to go to see a team give up 3 goals a game on a regular basis... BTW - USWNT also played two Goodwill Games matches at Mitchell in 1998. Don't remember the attendances though.
Re: Re: Power Relocation Countdown??? 6907 v Denmark (w 5-0) 11307 v China (w 2-0) And that was with (as far as I can remember) equivalent ticket prices. Other than the EAB game, the prior lowest attendance for a post-world cup game was 8569 in Columbus Ohio. :L
Yeah well I can think of countless other cities that DON'T have a team that would give anything to even HAVE a team to watch give up 3 goals on a regular basis my friend!