USL Attendance

I bet many fans cringe when they look at VB's attendance and then look at their facility. It just isn't fair.

 

I think Montreal is building a new stadium for the World Youth Championship in 2007, but it's only gonna be for 13500 and expandable to 17000.
What about Portland, do you think MLS would let them play on their basseball stadium that is for 20000 ?

 

the timbers share PGE Park with the minor league baseball beavers, and problems with logistics are apparently touchy with the beavers' management, even though both teams share the same owner. so that's why the field is currently turf (regular astro, i believe, not field turf). any MLS deal would have to resolve the dual uses of the stadium, as well as mollify the perennial "bring MLB to portland" crowd, who are probably larger in numbers than the fan base for soccer here (which is not to say there's no crossover between the two), and would definitely feel .... slighted, to say the least, if their team was booted from the park.

then, as with most cities, you have local politics to consider. a few years ago, the city ponied up a bunch of money to have civic stadium renovated into PGE Park, which brought back both the timbers and beavers, but then had to turn around a few months later and bail out the horribly inept management company. so citizens would definitely feel wary of shelling out any more money to attract sports investment, especially with portland schools on the brink of bankruptcy (although, that doesn't seem to matter when you talk about trying to bring MLB here... not that i'm bitter, no...).

and without a serious owner/investor willing to pony up the MLS franchise fee, it will be a while before you see the timbers in MLS (and it better be the timbers and not some other fly-by-night team if they want any local support, either). which, IMHO, is a shame, because i think portland has a better chance than seattle at supporting an MLS team, but garber keeps throwing out mentions of seattle right and left, despite any investors or crowds. i can only assume it's because they think seattle is the only "real" market for the pac nw.

also, i should mention that the seating is expandable, since most of the east side of the field is empty space (it's the left field during baseball games). during WCQ's and WWC games, they add a whole new section of bleachers that i would assume would be more permanent if the primary tenant was a soccer team.

 

Ever been to a Montreal game? They give away more than half of their tickets. There were people working for the Impact approaching people in line, who were about to buy tickets, with free tickets to the game. I don't see how they would be a healthy addition to MLS.

 

Duh!

Sounders attendance struggles, 2005:
http://soundercentral.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=29

 

i think the best scenario would be for portland and seattle to join mls at the same time, so we can show those cali posers what a real rivalry looks like, without having either team languish behind in the USL. but what's harder than finding one investor/owner? finding two.

 

They got the people in line in the first place, right?

The real question is (what you were getting at) how much does the average ticket cost in Montreal/Rochester/Portland?

 

The turf is one of the 2nd generation products, NextTurf. At the time they installed it, one of the features was that they could replace the base paths and pitcher's mound with pieces of turf. I don't think you were able to do that with FiledTurf.

 

All I can say is if Rochester doesnt get into the league something is wrong. 9k+ average attendance (that is pretty close to Dallas, Colorado, Chicago - their doubleheader attendances) in the A league and they are getting their own stadium too. I will be absolutely pissed if they dont get an MLS team and soon.

 

Tell Murstein about the Rhinos and they should be in the MLS by tomorrow.

 

How 'bout I just give you the ticket price range:

Rochester: Majority of Tickets: $15-$17, Cheaps Seats: $12, Premium Seats: $20

Montreal (Todays Exchange Rate: $1CAN = $0.81US): $15, $10, U18 pays $5

Portland: $17,$13, $10 General Admission

Rochester has the highest ticket prices in the league and in general has had the highest attendances.

 

So the prices in Portland and Rochester aren't too far behind MLS prices, but the prices in Montreal would have to be jacked up some if they moved into the league. Good to know the context for the attendance numbers, thanks.

 

AND Montreal would have to sell more than half of their tickets. It's not like corporate sponsors are buying huge numbers of tickets and giving them away for free, the club itself is giving the tickets away in order to pad attendance numbers.

 

Jealous?

Montreal won't be giving away tickets once Saputo Stadium gets built.

 

No, the team giving away tickets is a stupid idea. Whatever they are trying to do by inflating their attendance numbers will backfire as the value of the product is cheapened and the demand declines.

IF Saputo Stadium gets built, they'll probably still give away free tickets figuring bodies at an event will pay money for food and merchandise.

 

I really hope it doesn't.

 

The premium seats would have to go up a lot, but keep in mind that the Rhinos haven't moved to their new digs yet, and those are the views that will be most improved by the new ground.