In the article announcing the "Salty Dogs" as the newest team in the A-League there was an interesting paragraph. http://a-league.com/features/2003/fea,2003,0004.shtml "In an effort to expand their fan base, the Salty Dogs will also play four home games at nearby locations to be determined, probably in Utica and Binghamton. The team also hopes to schedule an exhibition match with an MLS club." Playing games in Utica and Binghamton could be potentially helpful to the club, but could also cause problems. If the attendence is good at P@C Park, (a terrible place with astroturf) wont these games be away games for Syacuse? Their fans wont be there, it will be people who potentially are going to the game for the novelty of it. Play pre-season games in those locations, not A-League games.
I agree. Equally disturbing: "The team will host post-game concerts by KC and the Sunshine Band (May 17), Modern English and Flock of Seagulls (June 23), Marshall Tucker Band (July 4) and Eddie Money (Aug. 9). Home matches will also feature pre-game tailgate parties, a Ford truck give-away and a "family fun zone" with games for kids" What year do they think it is?
Well, if they pull a miracle and make the playoffs, expect the halftime "entertainment" to be one of: Tommy Tutone, Loverboy, Katrina & the Waves, or (since they need a gig in the worst way) Great White. Maybe GW will do something about that horrid astroturf, if you know what I mean -- they could open with a cover of Talking Heads "Burning down the house"
Despite good home attendance in 2002, the Impact will repeat their experiment of holding a "home" game in Québec City. It actually broadens their potential fan base (kinda like the CFL Alouettes as "Québec's Team") and the crowd is pro-Impact, although we do in effect get screwed out of a home game (but we travel to it). How many "ordinary" fans know or care about this? Not much.
Re: Re: Question about Syracuse How does it broaden the potential fan base? Do they think that fans in Quebec City will start travelling to Montreal on a regular basis to watch the team play? Seems to me that Montreal has started to get a pretty solid fan base at Claude Robillard. Playing "home" games in a different city just alienates the fans who would regularily attend games in Montreal but can't make it to the ones in Quebec.
Target Market: Males 35-45.....except for that KC gig, which is just said. I'm surprised we don't see Cheap Trick. By the way that's a step up gig for Eddie Money, his last appearance was tearing tickets at the VFW hall for the 38 Special reunion tour.
damn right, but they are so 80's. Love Cheap Trick, Robin, Rick, Tom, and Bun E. Carlos.... got all their stuff. I'm target market.
Syracuse has major stadium issues. They have a great venue (P&C Stadium) that is capable of holding a Canadian football field (it clones the dimensions of Skydome in Toronto) but there are problems. The stadium was built for about $40 million about 5 years ago. $4 was put in the the Skychiefs and the BlueJays, the rest by the State of New York and Onondaga County. Now the SkyChiefs are trying to deny access to the stadium for soccer. They claim their lease permits them from blocking soccer games there. Now when it was built they got the public monies claiming the stadium would serve community purposes, ie. HS baseball and football games could play there. read all about the absurdity http://www.syracuse.com/sports/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/104677067778881.xml
I'm in that target market myself, and wouldn't want to see any of those people. Man if they had KC and the sunshine band playing after a game here in Vancouver, I'd be running out of the stadium at the final whistle.
Re: Re: Re: Question about Syracuse First of all, 95% of the fans at CCR games don't realise that we're playing one less home game, pretty much because they know nothing of the league or what's going on except right in front of them. Also, the Impact has positionned itself as the province's soccer club, and I've seen youth clubs from Sherbrooke (nearly 2h away) and even Québec City come to games. The Impact tend to draw youth clubs from the suburbs and further regions rather than the city. Fans in Québec City will not REGULARLY travel to Impact games, but this can't hurt (and for us dedicated fans, it's a fun little road trip). Also, good crowds and local enthusiasm might get someone interested in putting an A-League team there and that would be one of the best things that could happen for the Impact and its fans. PS: It also spreads out spectators who want to see a game in Montréal over 13 rather than 14 games, slightly upping the average.
Would you want to see The Music ? Now that band kicks ass. I'd see Modern English, maybe a bit of Eddie Money, and a few of the Flock (What did the manager of the Flock of Seagulls say when a riot broke out at a show? Get the Flock out of here!")
Re: Re: Re: Re: Question about Syracuse Well thats just a sad commentary on the average Impact fan I guess. I hadn't realized that they are so ignorant. I have seen you reasons for these away "home" games and I still am not going to change my position on them. It's bush league. A team should pick one venue and play out of it.
Great venue? Isn't it Astroturf? That can't be great. If the stadium's so recent, why was it build with the dreaded carpet?
For the exact reason mentioned. It is the Blue Jays farm team and they want the minor league players to play on exactly the same surface (size and turf) as the Blue Jays play on.