Titan stadium full time home.

And these were the type of crowds the LA Blues were drawing there.

 

I was waiting to hear that before buying my season tickets. They have a special running for $49 for GA seats and $29 for kids. Now I just have to convince my wife that this is what she wants to do with her Saturdays.

Speaking of schedule, any news on more western teams? The multiple games on weekends were a bit harsh.

I do hope there is some kind of promotion budget. I went to the game against the Galaxy at Titan last year. If I remember right the crowd was about 3,500 and even in a 10,000 seat venue the game had a great atmosphere. The other two games I went to had attendances of around 150 to 300 and had an atmosphere like attending a friend’s kid’s soccer game. Based on my experience at the game against the Galaxy (which was hosted at Titan stadium but hosted by the Galaxy, as the Galaxy still use that venue for US Open cup games), get 15 to 30 screamers in a supporters section and 750 to 1,000 (actual) fans in the stadium that care about the results and it could be a lot of fun.

The Galaxy also had big tarp/banners with Galaxy ads and slogans draped over the seats on the empty side of the stadium, Which actually helped make the stadium feel less empty.

 

Would like to remind everyone that we were faced with a very challenging task in 2011, with so little time left between the announcement of the team and the first game. We are currently working extremely hard to change the culture of the club, and moving all of our operations to Fullerton is just the starting point. A lot of things are changing within the organization that we think will ultimately lead to a much stronger bond with the community and increased fan support. We appreciate everyone who came out to our games this year and want to reward our fans by giving them reason to be proud of both the team's performance on the field and the atmosphere in the stands.

 

Thanks for the input! Please contact us anytime with any questions, comments, ideas and/or criticism. We pride ourselves on being the pro soccer team in Southern California that is always all ears to its fans. All suggestions are guaranteed to be considered by the front office.

 

The latter is clearly none other than Beckham. I applaud the Blues for coming up with the resources needed to acquire the aging but clearly still world class midfielder.

I appreciate the openness. I don’t know what the attendance goal is next year, since the league median was around 1,000 I would guess it would be in that ballpark. While I would consider that a great success, little things need to be done to make sure a 90% empty stadium has a lively feel. Frankly the whole challenge of marketing no major league sports fascinates me. I wish I was independently wealthy and able to give it a try. I would enjoy traveling to see other successful soccer team’s games to see how they market and promote an entertaining atmosphere.

Anyway, I noticed that the Pali Blues averaged only 106 a game. While it is women’s armature soccer, it is also about a third of league average and shows that while the organization has a winning tradition it still unable to market as well as its peer group.

 

First of all, I'd like to let you know that your suggestion has reached the appropriate people. I know it's something that has been discussed internally before and that we have found to be a very interesting idea for the 2012 season. It's one of several promising possibilities we're looking into as we aim to create an improved atmosphere at Titan Stadium.

As you can probably imagine, we're not in the position to publicly announce an attendance goal at this point. However, what I can tell you is that we are working very closely with individuals who have been hugely successful in building up professional sports teams (including soccer teams) in smaller markets. It's fair to say that the Blues ownership and front office staff are doing everything they can to make the team succeed long-term in Fullerton.

 

First let me apologize if I come off as a bit negative in my previous posts, rereading them I can see how they might have sounded harsh. I am very hopeful for this team and very much want to see it succeed.

Now, just thinking out loud here, my question regarding the above quote would be, are these people talking to other organizations that have been successful with teams from smaller leagues in major markets? For example, placing a newspaper ad might work well in a small town, but due to scale in LA/Orange County the fees might be prohibitive. It also might be easier to get a local cable television deal in a small market, but not as easy in the second largest media market in the country. We aren't in Rochester, we're in a market of 18 million. How do you advertise in a way to get your name in front of a very busy population? I work for a small community Bank and we are having this same discussion internally right now. How do I get people who drive by my branch every day to realize it’s there?

Right now we are trying out this direct mail program through the post office. We prepared an advertisement a little larger than a post card and they deliver it to every door in selected carrier routes in a given zip code. We do these 5,000 at a time at 14.2 cents each or around $700 a bundle. We have had some success with this.

However a soccer team may need a more targeted approach. My kids play arena soccer at the boys and girls club, as I wrote them a check for registration last season I was thinking the Blues could sponsor the Boys and Girls Club by given an adult and child’s ticket out with every registration. I am not a fan of dumping large numbers of complimentary tickets on these types of youth groups and expecting them to hand them out to members as that devalues the product. I used to go to Anaheim Bullfrogs and Splash games and both groups were guilty of distributing huge numbers of tickets this way. I think it may pad the house one night but I’m not sure those people are going to be willing to pay to come back. Giving the tickets as a bonus for registration in youth leagues or similar I think builds some value in the eyes of the recipient and makes the team look like its giving back to the community.

Anyway, I’m sure that’s all been thought of and I’m coming off as sophomoric, so thanks for putting up with me and reading my post.

 

You're not coming off as negative or sophomoric. We appreciate any sort of constructive input, especially from someone who wants to see the Blues succeed in Fullerton. Good ideas don't always have to come from within the organization!

I agree that comparing two markets can be like comparing apples to oranges. Having said that, the purpose of centralizing all of our operations in Fullerton was to be able to really focus on becoming an active member of the local community and bonding with soccer fans in the surrounding region. So in many ways it's not unlike operating a team in a smaller market, except we do have ambitions of making our brand known throughout Southern California.

I like where you're headed with the youth soccer ideas, and we're certainly thinking along those lines as well. Might I ask, do you have any sort of professional background in (ticket) sales and/or pro sports?

 

No, accounting and IT. I ran a small retail store for seven years and currently work for a small community bank with only two branches but I have been involved in marketing for both and some of the challenges are similar. Also, I have spent a lot of years supporting “non-major league” sports teams (Galaxy, Bullfrogs, Piranha, Splash and my alma mater Cal State Fullerton) and stressing about attendance figures. If you love a team but notice there are only a few people in the stands around you, it stands to reason your love will leave you soon. I have been jilted a few times, so I have put some thought into the problem.

 

Oh, okay. Well, I do admire your passion for sports and especially for the operational side of soccer. The reason I asked is because we currently have two open positions. If you know anyone who might be interested in working as Blues Director of Ticket Sales or Account Executive, have them click here for all the relevant information: http://www.labluesprosoccer.com/ContactUs/497734.html

Anyone interested in interning with the Blues should click here: http://www.labluesprosoccer.com/ContactUs/497735.html