The rhinos have a great (almost) soccer specific stadium,people say its in the ghetto and crap, but its fine, ive been to several games and have never had an issue. They are one of the best minor league clubs in the US there are around a million peope within 20 miles of the stadium. The team has some very talented players. They had an average attendance of 4,300 people. Why has there popularity decreased so much and what do you think there future will be. I know theres another similar thread to this but I thought I would try to get this topic going again.
I believe that the '99 Rhinos could compete with most MLS teams, nowadays they are a THIRD division team
They don't. And that is part of the problem. The fans have noticed the huge drop in talent from the mid-2000s to now. They know what they are seeing. They have lost interest in the team. But I hear the food vendors are great there. The few fans showing up are probably for them instead of the poor soccer.
Level of play has very little to do with attendance for minor league soccer. The vast majority of the people who come out to USL/NASL games are families. Most of them can't tell the difference between the Harrisburg City Islanders and the Carolina Railhawks.
While I agree on the whole, Rochester might be unique. If any minor league market knows the difference in quality, it is Rochester. They built a fanbase for years based on being the best team not in MLS and wore the "Soccer Town USA" label with pride. Players like Lenin Steenkamp and Doug Miller were local celebrities. Fans could name players on the team. People were seeing high level soccer for that level. They were convinced MLS was inevitable. Then it all collapsed due to ownership and numerous other matters. Now the franchise is a shell of what it once was. What is left of the fanbase are the families who can't tell the difference.
I think it has to do with the resurgence of the Cosmos and the belief that if they get the 20th franchise, it will be a long day in hell before we see another franchise in the area. That and the owners can lo longer state that MLS in their goal and be taken seriously like they were before. Pretty sad state of affairs.. Hopefully things turn around and maybe the current owners can find some foreign investors to go in with them. It would be a shame for the rich tradition the Rhinos have built for them in such a short time, to never see the light of day in MLS b/c of a lack of vision.
No one has ever looked at Rochester as a city and how it plays a vital role with the team. Hell, WNY has changed...not just Rochester. But with the on field product? MLS has done a lot to deplete the talent pool in North America. The future of the USL/NASL is to work in tandem with the MLS and work out some kind of agreement to be more of a development league than to be a rival.
Because it's just so easy to expand the investment pool. I'm sure the owner has never thought of doing that. You should email the team and let them know about doing that.
The Rhinos dream for MLS ended years ago, you are behind on the reality of markets for MLS. The Rhinos have to be realistic and spending money they don't have isn't going to happen.