Yes and no, right now, the stadium is being used for the football team's spring practices, and it will continue to be the same way for the next month. Then the summer starts and team work outs, etc will be held there and in the fieldhouse. Obviously Pete Garcia, AD, was willing to shift the football team around and build football practice fields for them if an MLS team was awarded because of the notoriaty and potential increase in revenue streams (higher revenue for naming rights and higher potential in obtaining international matches). MFC brings none of those positives but the expenditures remains the same. My guess is that he is not willing to fork out the money for a new football practice field, inconvenience the football team and incur the operational cost of running the stadium for MFC (utilities, ushers, security, janitorial, grounds crew, etc.) when they don't bring the possibility of additional revenue with them except for rent (which given the financial circumstances that MFC faces, can't possibly be that much).
No announcement til next week: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/total_futbol/2009/03/no-miami-fc-announcement-until-next-week.html
I think for a successful team in Miami, you have to advertise the team, advertise the important games like the clasico's (say against rochester [Miami vs NY rivalry], or against the champs Impact) and also advertise US open cup games especially against MLS sides (these games should bring in big crowds because these are the games that can be upsets, and bring out the pride in you b/c your team beat a supposed superior team from MLS). We need like a radio commercial from 790ticket and 560WQAM. A good time to tune in to 560 is 2-4pm with Orlando Alzugaray, he is always open to soccer, we have to find a way to try to bring some of the USL games on tv, maybe atleast the U.S. Open cup games against MLS sides, the game last year against FC dallas was good we lost by one goal, or i think a penalty dont remember, but yea we have to help our Miami FC if they plan to stay, - I say we make a website that talks about Miami FC and thier opponents, news, thier league, and events... get some sponsors as well, I mean on the spanish channels when they would show the Islanders play, in the CCL, they would talk about Miami FC, but not in the way I would like (they were talking about MFC possible folding). And with the success USL is having in the CCL, we have to feed off that and show the people in Miami that we can make it that far, hopefully that success can bring more credibilty to the USL, and Marcos can win the petition to get USL a direct spot to the CCL through the Champion of the USL, If Miami can win they can play in that tourney, beat some mexican sides, make it far in the tourny and Miami will start to gain respect for thier team.
I sure hope it's good news. The longer they take, the less time teams have to adjust their airline tickets, and the more it's going to cost them. I would almost think at some point (as has been done before), it would be cheaper for the league to cover the cost of running the team. But I still think this sucks, and it sucks even more for them to put off making a decision even longer. 1250 is a very respectable number of season tickets.
.... much respect to you guys who follow the FC closely but a lot of you are living in a faux land of sunshine and gumdrops.... pic's of new stadiums to be built for a fan base who can't crack 1,500, 24 soccer athons, internal meetings, etc.... You're energy needs to be spent with those who DONT follow the team, not with those who do. Big Soccer is probably the last place you should be.
Your preaching to the choir my friend. We've tried to get people on board, spread the word about MFC, but in the end, there's only so much us fans can do. Unless any of us is able to start our own TV station in the near future I don't think we can do much more than we have been doing. Word of mouth can't do it all. To be honest we've probably put more time into promoting pro soccer here than the team has, and that's the problem.
Actually it should be the job of the owners and the marketing team. Miami is in a tough situation 1. Miami doesn't have a past soccer history, like the other top USL teams. 2. Miami needs to bring the youth to the sport.
Exactly. A team can't expect fans to simply show up just because Miami is a heavily hispanic city and soccer is a "hispanic" sport (right or wrong, that is one of the common preceptions in America). It seems like that's what Traffic has expected so far.
True. Miami itself has only had a few seasons of pro soccer before MFC came along, the Miami Gatos/Toros in NASL before they moved north and became the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers. The only way to build that history is to keep at it. That being said, if they wanted some built in history and support, they could have started at Lockhart from day one and brought back the Strikers, and if MFC does fold, that would be what I would recommend for any new USL club that ever tries South Florida again. It is the best success story of any of our pro clubs by far and there are still some nostalgic folks around who would be lured out to the stadium by the name alone. If MLS comes back they want Miami, it's the sexier name and makes a bigger splash, but USL would do just as well if not better in Ft. Lauderdale. Lack of history is the same problem that effects the fan bases of the Marlins, Heat and Panthers as well. The Heat have been around the longest, 21 years, so there is really only one generation of born and raised local fans(like myself). Translate that to soccer, and the hundreds of non-local teams people down here follow, and never has any pro team stayed anywhere near long enough to develop a true fan base. Persistence on the part of any soccer league/owners who try South Florida will pay off. I guarantee it.
And its not that our fanbase is at 1250 because that's the number of Season Tickets we sold. I didnt buy a season ticket, because I cant afford it, and because I live too far away from the stadium to go to more than 1 game/month
As weird as this may sound, one of the contestants on Dancing with the Stars was wearing a Miami Gatos t-shirt during a clip of rehersal. I thought that was kinda cool. *** The fiance makes me watch the show. I've lost my Mondays and Tuesdays for the next few months Funny how our whole, I'll watch this if you watch soccer thing has been a tad one-sided ***
I noticed the Gatos shirt as well. My wife and daughter like the show too, so we watch it as a family. I had to pause and explain to my wife how cool it was that the guy was wearing a Miami Gatos shirt. Bumpy Pitch makes a lot of old NASL shirts, but they are real expensive.
Miami needs to wake up! http://football-miami-n-beyond.blogspot.com/2009/03/miami-fans-need-to-wake-up-and-smell.html
Late last week the count was 1250+ season tickets sold. Apparently the team was out at Calle Ocho this weekend, so they probably got at least a few more deposits there. According to an article last week, today was the earliest we could here news one way or the other about the fate of the team. The longer we go hearing nothing and the closer it gets to the first game the better the chances Miami FC survives I think.
Just out of curiosity, are there any players under contract with the team? I know that a season in USL can be a crap-shoot, but I'm guessing your chances of fielding a competive team are getting worse by the day. I really want to see Miami playing this season, but not if the team is going to be losing games 5-0. A horrible season could effectively kill the franchise, whereas taking a year off to get better financial backing might be a better long-term option.
Well, remember that there are going to be two expansion teams this year, so who knows how good they'll be. So they might not get blown out by everyone. (just trying to set low expectations for us in everyone else's minds)
They can't be much worse then they were last year(3 pts out of last place). They had a similar team building stategy last year, sign a bunch of guys to 1 year deal mere weeks before the season, which if they do decide to keep going needs to change. Last year they had a lot of close, late losses, stoppage time goals, etc. A lot of tough breaks. Another problem was Alex Afonso led the league in goals but hardly anybody else on the team scored. They have a few guys signed, including GK Josh Saunders who is back from his loan to the Galaxy last year. Who knows what kind of team will be out on the field if the team plays this year. That being said I'll take 5-0 losses and a crappy team as opposed to no team at all. If they call off this season the team is probably done for good. The team's attendance nearly doubled last season from the previous one, and they've sold nearly that many season tickets already this year. They need to just keep building on what they've got.
For the record I am glad my USL mole was wrong on the above. Just don't relax on the fact that you're back for another... time to work even harder to make sure the powers that be know that the FC belongs in South Florida. I know the FESL is behind them 100%... we'll be giving out tickets for the FC during some of our league matches.