jsbach
19-11-1999, 06:46:AM
Ahead of projections isn't good enough for MLS
Updated 8:27 PM ET November 18, 1999
NEW YORK -- Four years into what some consider the sport's last chance in
America, Major League Soccer believes it's on pace or ahead of its plan.
But the perception is that the league is sagging.
Average attendance has dropped each year, television ratings are stagnant,
and its teams failed in the semifinals of this year's CONCACAF Champions
Cup.
"Initially, we had great impact," said New York-New Jersey MetroStars
midfielder Tab Ramos, a three-time World Cup veteran and the first player to
sign with the league. "The interest has been lost. I don't know how we get it
back."
Don Garber, a former NFL executive who replaced Doug Logan as
commissioner three months ago, wants to "re-launch" the league, beginning
with Sunday's MLS Cup championship game between D.C. United and the
Los Angeles Galaxy.
"I want to get it back to the optimistic side of the ledger," Garber said. "It's
about managing expectations. Our constituents believe in the game and the
league. And they have shown us they hold us to higher standards.
"Right now it's vogue to bash MLS. I think it would have been much easier if
we said initially we were expecting only 5,000 fans a game. We said 10,000
and nearly doubled that. Then we set our goal at 20,000, so 15,000 is seen
as a failure."
Under Garber's leadership, MLS decided to abandon its controversial
shootout next season, allowing games to end in ties if no goals are scored
in 10 minutes of sudden-death overtime. It also announced a new television
strategy that includes a Saturday game of the week and weekly highlights
show.
The thinking is MLS alienated many core fans in the United States by
changing rules to attract non-fans. By reverting to international norms, such
as letting the referee control the clock, Garber hopes to reinvigorate the
base and slowly "layer" new fans on top.
"Our strategy is, as I feel it should be, is to go back and shore up our
relationship with the core soccer fan and build our fan base from these fans
out, as opposed to trying to leap over the core fans and go after the fans
that we don't know who they are or where they are," Garber said.
In its four years, none of the teams have folded or moved, and their value
has increased from $5 million apiece to $25 million -- D.C. United is in the
process of being sold to a New York investment firm for a reported $25
million-$30 million.
Lamar Hunt, who owns both the Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards,
built his own stadium for the Crew that opened this season. Chicago, Los
Angeles, Colorado and the New York-New Jersey MetroStars are considering
sites for their own arenas.
The stadium has Columbus within range of turning a profit, and although
general manager Jamey Rootes won't say it, many in the league expect the
club to be in the black next year.
Although one report said D.C. United will lose $2 million-$3 million, sources
speaking on the condition they not be identified said the New England
Revolution have been close to turning a profit every year but haven't done
so for accounting reasons.
Additionally, six of MLS' nine top-level sponsors are up for renewal this year.
Honda, Budweiser and Pepsi announced four-year renewals last week.
The league generated more than $100 million in sponsorship in its first four
years and the new deals will bring "well in excess of $25 million" next
season, the most since the league began, chief marketing officer Randy
Bernstein said. That accounts for about a third of MLS' annual budget of
about $75 million.
"If you would have said four years ago that somebody was going to build a
stadium and ABC would televise six games, I would have said you were
nuts," MLS chief operating officer Mark Abbott said. "We had hopes but ...
we've achieved more than originally anticipated."
But average attendance has dropped 18 percent from 17,406 in 1996 to
14,282 this season. However, that's only about 300 fans short of MLS' most
optimistic initial prediction for its fourth year.
Reports repeatedly claim the league has lost over $100 million in four years,
and Garber admits MLS will not break even next season, as the original
business plan predicted. But the plan also didn't include expanding to
Chicago and Miami within five years (the league expects to add two more
teams in 2001) and allocated far less money to acquire foreign players.
While TV ratings are stagnant, they're comparable to those of the NHL.
AP NEWS
The words of Garber, the NFL guy people on here are bashing before he has even had any time on the job, make a lot more sense than anything Doug Logan ever said or did.
As commissioner of a major sporting league, you need someone with business and marketing sense.
Leave the game to the players and coaches. Logan failed in that he tried to change the game.
The first thing Garber is doing is reinstating the game in MLS, to try to win back the true footie fans. Makes a lot of sense.
Renaming the Clash as the Earthquakes was another good move.
I'd like to see the NY/NJ Metrostars renamed the New York Cosmos. Tap into the history. Don't be ashamed of it. Think of the marketing possibilities of a rivalry with LA...
Cosmos vs. Galaxy.... sounds better than Metrostars vs. Galaxy, doesn't it?
The Metrostars have been such a disaster, I don't understand why they wouldn't want to get a new start.
Frankly, their failure is probably a big part of that attendance drop.
To have a team in the biggest market floundering at the bottom of everything has been a horrible stroke of bad luck for the league.
Updated 8:27 PM ET November 18, 1999
NEW YORK -- Four years into what some consider the sport's last chance in
America, Major League Soccer believes it's on pace or ahead of its plan.
But the perception is that the league is sagging.
Average attendance has dropped each year, television ratings are stagnant,
and its teams failed in the semifinals of this year's CONCACAF Champions
Cup.
"Initially, we had great impact," said New York-New Jersey MetroStars
midfielder Tab Ramos, a three-time World Cup veteran and the first player to
sign with the league. "The interest has been lost. I don't know how we get it
back."
Don Garber, a former NFL executive who replaced Doug Logan as
commissioner three months ago, wants to "re-launch" the league, beginning
with Sunday's MLS Cup championship game between D.C. United and the
Los Angeles Galaxy.
"I want to get it back to the optimistic side of the ledger," Garber said. "It's
about managing expectations. Our constituents believe in the game and the
league. And they have shown us they hold us to higher standards.
"Right now it's vogue to bash MLS. I think it would have been much easier if
we said initially we were expecting only 5,000 fans a game. We said 10,000
and nearly doubled that. Then we set our goal at 20,000, so 15,000 is seen
as a failure."
Under Garber's leadership, MLS decided to abandon its controversial
shootout next season, allowing games to end in ties if no goals are scored
in 10 minutes of sudden-death overtime. It also announced a new television
strategy that includes a Saturday game of the week and weekly highlights
show.
The thinking is MLS alienated many core fans in the United States by
changing rules to attract non-fans. By reverting to international norms, such
as letting the referee control the clock, Garber hopes to reinvigorate the
base and slowly "layer" new fans on top.
"Our strategy is, as I feel it should be, is to go back and shore up our
relationship with the core soccer fan and build our fan base from these fans
out, as opposed to trying to leap over the core fans and go after the fans
that we don't know who they are or where they are," Garber said.
In its four years, none of the teams have folded or moved, and their value
has increased from $5 million apiece to $25 million -- D.C. United is in the
process of being sold to a New York investment firm for a reported $25
million-$30 million.
Lamar Hunt, who owns both the Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards,
built his own stadium for the Crew that opened this season. Chicago, Los
Angeles, Colorado and the New York-New Jersey MetroStars are considering
sites for their own arenas.
The stadium has Columbus within range of turning a profit, and although
general manager Jamey Rootes won't say it, many in the league expect the
club to be in the black next year.
Although one report said D.C. United will lose $2 million-$3 million, sources
speaking on the condition they not be identified said the New England
Revolution have been close to turning a profit every year but haven't done
so for accounting reasons.
Additionally, six of MLS' nine top-level sponsors are up for renewal this year.
Honda, Budweiser and Pepsi announced four-year renewals last week.
The league generated more than $100 million in sponsorship in its first four
years and the new deals will bring "well in excess of $25 million" next
season, the most since the league began, chief marketing officer Randy
Bernstein said. That accounts for about a third of MLS' annual budget of
about $75 million.
"If you would have said four years ago that somebody was going to build a
stadium and ABC would televise six games, I would have said you were
nuts," MLS chief operating officer Mark Abbott said. "We had hopes but ...
we've achieved more than originally anticipated."
But average attendance has dropped 18 percent from 17,406 in 1996 to
14,282 this season. However, that's only about 300 fans short of MLS' most
optimistic initial prediction for its fourth year.
Reports repeatedly claim the league has lost over $100 million in four years,
and Garber admits MLS will not break even next season, as the original
business plan predicted. But the plan also didn't include expanding to
Chicago and Miami within five years (the league expects to add two more
teams in 2001) and allocated far less money to acquire foreign players.
While TV ratings are stagnant, they're comparable to those of the NHL.
AP NEWS
The words of Garber, the NFL guy people on here are bashing before he has even had any time on the job, make a lot more sense than anything Doug Logan ever said or did.
As commissioner of a major sporting league, you need someone with business and marketing sense.
Leave the game to the players and coaches. Logan failed in that he tried to change the game.
The first thing Garber is doing is reinstating the game in MLS, to try to win back the true footie fans. Makes a lot of sense.
Renaming the Clash as the Earthquakes was another good move.
I'd like to see the NY/NJ Metrostars renamed the New York Cosmos. Tap into the history. Don't be ashamed of it. Think of the marketing possibilities of a rivalry with LA...
Cosmos vs. Galaxy.... sounds better than Metrostars vs. Galaxy, doesn't it?
The Metrostars have been such a disaster, I don't understand why they wouldn't want to get a new start.
Frankly, their failure is probably a big part of that attendance drop.
To have a team in the biggest market floundering at the bottom of everything has been a horrible stroke of bad luck for the league.