North American Pro Soccer 2016

[2001mark]

1 hour ago, Bucfan56 said:

Bang up job, Yankee Stadium. 

 

 

http://screamer.deadspin.com/nobody-can-get-into-the-nycfc-game-at-yankee-stadium-be-1764653202

 

They'll turn you away if you don't have a smartphone?  That's f'd up.

[MJWalker45]

21 minutes ago, 2001mark said:

 

They'll turn you away if you don't have a smartphone?  That's f'd up.

To be fair the Yankees have tried segregating their richer fans since last season.  The idea of not being able to bring paper tickets is still horse $&&!t. 

[2001mark]

4 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

To be fair the Yankees have tried segregating their richer fans since last season.  The idea of not being able to bring paper tickets is still horse $&&!t. 

 

I don't have a smartphone.  

[MJWalker45]

1 minute ago, 2001mark said:

 

I don't have a smartphone.  

Also, what happens if you lose your phone on the way up there? Tough luck! See you next week!  

[Gothamite]

You can pick up tickets at will call in either case. 

 

I didnt see any of this - we got in through Gate 2 in just a couple minutes.  Must have been ahead of the rush. 

[FiddySicks]

Did it seem at any point to be unusually empty to you? Those pictures look bad, but your perspective may he helpful. 

 

Hopefully you guys get out of there and into your own building sooner or later. 

[Gothamite]

No, not really.  Place was packed. 

 

I dont doubt that there was a problem, but personally I saw no that it was a significant one.  Doesn't mean it wasn't, just that I can't speak to it. 

 

Rumors are that they secretly bought a parcel of land in Long Island City, which is right where I've been hoping they would build.   Centrally located at the junction of a couple interstates, several subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road.  One stop from Grand Central, which opens up Metro-North as well. The transit is just about perfect. 

[AnPheitseog]

How is yankee stadium always for soccer? It looks terrible for T.V. presentation, but I would imagine it would be better in person. 

[wences]

On 12/3/2016 at 7:03 PM, HedleyLamarr said:

So, your lone "proof" is a scarf and a backdrop sign.  Sorry, I'm going to need something way more concrete than that.  Something in the way of "in writing" and "contractually obligated".

 

Did the MLS say "Minnesota is being granted an expansion team" or "Minnesota is being granted an expansion team, who's name will be Minnesota United FC, no matter what"?  Because if it's the former, no amount of scarves and signs and shirts and hats and whatever will change the way MLS handles expansion business.

 

Minnesota United FC is, in fact, an existing brand....in the NASL.  Minnesota United FC is not an existing brand in MLS.

MLS welcomed Minnesota team as Minnesota United. No doubt about it. But, it seems they will change their identity to Minnesota FC. Hope they still stay as Minnesota United

[Gothamite]

18 hours ago, DiePerske said:

How is yankee stadium always for soccer? It looks terrible for T.V. presentation, but I would imagine it would be better in person. 

 

Not bad.  Sitting along the south side of the pitch (third base line) is bad, because you're so far away.  But the north side (bleachers) isn't too bad, and behind either goal the views are quite good.  I'm behind one corner, first deck above the ground, and I love the view. It's better than my seats at the Clock End in Ashburton Grove. 

 

The biggest problem is the lack of roof, which means the supporters' section songs disappear into the Bronx sky rather than reverberating. They do an amazing job being heard at all, but it could be so much better. And their tifos are almost horizontal, making them hard to read.

 

It's never going to be a great solution, but and it smarts when the Red Bulls have their gorgeous stadium out in the hinterlands of Jersey, but then again they're out in the hinterlands of Jersey. 

[Nyk33]

The San Francisco Parks & Recreation Committee has approved the San Francisco Deltas to play in Kezar Stadium starting in 2017. 

 

http://www.empireofsoccer.com/sf-deltas-secure-kezar-stadium-agree-to-invest-in-facility-45834/

 

This is pretty good news for the NASL. 

[Gothamite]

It does solve one of their big problems, the lack of a West Coast team.  

[FiddySicks]

How is the NASL compared to the USL in terms of league size and attendance numbers? If it's anything similar, they've got quite a bit of work to do to Kezar Stadium to make that work. 

[Gothamite]

The NASL league average last year was just under 6,000 per game. 

 

http://soccerstadiumdigest.com/nasl-attendance-2015/

[FiddySicks]

Ok, so I just looked at the USL's average league attendance numbers (which are about half of what the NASL's league numbers are) and my goodness, I didn't realize just how much Sacramento was absolutely obliterating the rest of the second tier. They're more than double that of the next USL team, and their low is still a few thousand more than any other team's high. 

 

So, disregard what I said about Kesar, I guess. I figured that league numbers were at least somewhat comparable to us, but, NOPE. 

[Gothamite]

Nope.  You're head and shoulders above the competition, which is one of the reasons you're up for the next round of MLS expansion.  

[pcgd]

Average Attendance in 2015, all divisons:

 

1-20) All MLS Teams (Lowest 15,657)

21) Sacramento Republic (USL) (11,323)

22) Indy Eleven (NASL) (9,809)

23) Minnesota United (NASL) (8,748)

24) Jacksonville Armada (NASL) (7,927)

25) Louisville City (USL) (6,765)

26) San Antonio FC/Scorpions (NASL number but USL moving forward) (6,705)

27) Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL) (5,648)

28) Rochester Rhinos (USL) (5,570)

29) Ottawa Fury (NASL) (5,406)

30) NY Cosmos (NASL) (4,984)

31) Saint Louis FC (USL) (4,885)

32) Tulsa Roughnecks (USL) (4,714)

33) Real Monarchs (USL) (4,698) Top MLS 2 team

34) Chattanooga FC (NPSL) (4,673) 

35) Oklahoma Energy FC (USL) (4,635)

36) Carolina Railhawks (NASL) (4,539)

37) Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (NASL) (4,518)

38) Charleston Battery (USL) (4,080)

39) Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL Out of Business) (4,024)

40) Richmond Kickers (USL) (3,747)

41) Detroit City FC (NPSL) (3,528)

42) Arizona United SC (USL) (3,304)

43) Austin Aztex (USL, taking 2016 off) (3,227)

44) Portland Timibers 2 (USL) (3,122)

45) Wilmington Hammerheads (2,960)

46) FC Edmonton (NASL) (2,889)

47+) The rest of the USL mostly although I'm sure most NPSL and PDL teams draw more than FC Montreal (313), numbers are hard to get at those levels 

 

NASL Changes for next year: Indy will drop a bit unless they start winning. Minnesota might climb a bit. Ottawa will drop a bit. Miami, OKC, and Puerto Rico are all big question marks.  I could see them all being anywhere from 3k to 7k or more.  But probably somewhere slightly below league average. The rest should stay the same, however it will be interesting to see if Ft. Lauderdale suffers a bit because of the Miami team.

 

USL Changes for next year: FC Cincy should draw about 6-8k, possibly more.  They have 4k in season tickets already. San Antonio might actually increase in USL. Rochester should get a slight bump as well. The rest should stay the same.  Not sure about the other entries like Bethlehem or Rio Grande Valley. 

 

NPSL Changes for next year: Detroit will probably near 6k next year moving into a new stadium. Chattanooga should continue to grow but they're aided by the huge 18k for the final, so the average might end up being about the same.  Super impressive to be 34th as basically a amateur team.

 

My non-MLS attendance predictions for 2016:

1) Sacramento (11k)

2) Minnesota (9k)

3) Indy (8k)

4) Jacksonville (8k)

5) Cincinnati (7k) 

6) San Antonio (7k)

7) Louisville (7k)

8) Detroit (6k) 

9) Rochester (6k) 

10) Tampa Bay (6k)

 

...aka mostly Division 3 or 4 teams.

[Nyk33]

10 hours ago, Bucfan56 said:

Ok, so I just looked at the USL's average league attendance numbers (which are about half of what the NASL's league numbers are) and my goodness, I didn't realize just how much Sacramento was absolutely obliterating the rest of the second tier. They're more than double that of the next USL team, and their low is still a few thousand more than any other team's high. 

 

So, disregard what I said about Kesar, I guess. I figured that league numbers were at least somewhat comparable to us, but, NOPE. 

 

The USL is officially third tier but your point still stands. 

 

As for San Francisco I saw pictures from the meeting and there were a good number of fans there so hopefully that means they will get good numbers in 2017. However their logo is straight up ass. It's probably the worst logo out of the three professional leagues (MLS, NASL, & USL) that I can think of. 

[FiddySicks]

On 3/18/2016 at 6:33 AM, pcgd said:

My non-MLS attendance predictions for 2016:

1) Sacramento (11k)

2) Minnesota (9k)

3) Indy (8k)

4) Jacksonville (8k)

5) Cincinnati (7k) 

6) San Antonio (7k)

7) Louisville (7k)

8) Detroit (6k) 

9) Rochester (6k) 

10) Tampa Bay (6k)

 

I wouldn't be surprised if we top that this season. We've added quite a few new seats, and are planning on adding even more before our home opener on April 2nd. 

 

The absolutely crazy thing about our numbers is that they could be MUCH higher than what we have if our stadium was any bigger. The majority of our numbers come from season ticket holders, too. This weekend is our season ticket release party (Basically a three day period of time where fans can stop by our office and grab their tickets for the year, and get beers and food and meet the staff), and I'm absolutely stunned at just how excited people are for this team. Give it a few years and they'll be the most popular ticket in the Sacramento area. 

 

I've been handing out tickets all weekend, and this is only about half of what we started with. Pretty astonishing for a USL team. It makes me really excited for the future of this organization, and I'm glad I can be a part of it. 

[AnPheitseog]

Thinking about getting field seats for the WNY Flash Portland Thorns game in Rochester. Amandine Henry will be the big attraction there with the Thorns, moving from Lyon in time for the new season.