MLS Attendence totals inflated

[Evan]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/socce...lz1s27goal.html

so, does handing out these tickets ulimately draw more fans to the product, or does it just cheapen the value of tickets and create problems?

[Ez Street]

It cheapens the vaule. I've seen it happen....twice.

[Bleujayone]

More proof that it's tought to even give these tickets away.

Personally, I want Robert Kraft to at the very least relocate the Revelution somewhere else. His soccer team has made the field conditions in Foxborough absolute crap for the Patriots to play on. I always thought that opening kickoff on the first game of the seaon should have the best field conditions of the year- these are an embaressment.

I don't care about the soccer team, let them play at Nickerson Field at Boston University. It has more than enough seats for the number of people actually going. The only people I want mucking up the field at Gillette Stadium are people playing gridiron.

[Mac the Knife]

It simply shows that soccer, despite its strides, isn't anywhere close to being a financially viable sport in the United States at its highest level.

[dfwabel]

More proof that it's tought to even give these tickets away.

Personally, I want Robert Kraft to at the very least relocate the Revelution somewhere else. His soccer team has made the field conditions in Foxborough absolute crap for the Patriots to play on. I always thought that opening kickoff on the first game of the seaon should have the best field conditions of the year- these are an embaressment.

I don't care about the soccer team, let them play at Nickerson Field at Boston University. It has more than enough seats for the number of people actually going. The only people I want mucking up the field at Gillette Stadium are people playing gridiron.

He really does not have an option to move the team from Gillette. Since it was build with private funds, he needs to have a much revenue in the stadium, parking, and concessions as possible.

[Brian in Boston]

His soccer team has made the field conditions in Foxborough absolute crap for the Patriots to play on. I always thought that opening kickoff on the first game of the seaon should have the best field conditions of the year- these are an embaressment.

I don't care about the soccer team, let them play at Nickerson Field at Boston University.  It has more than enough seats for the number of people actually going.  The only people I want mucking up the field at Gillette Stadium are people playing gridiron.

The Revolution are responsible for the worn-down, torn-up turf at Gillette Stadium? That's an absolutely ridiculous statement.

A cursory examination of the playing surface at Gillette Stadium reveals that the area that is in the most dire condition is smack-dab in the middle of the football hashmarks, from end-zone to end-zone. Hmmmm... where does each and every play from scrimmage start in the National Football League? My goodness: in between the hashmarks! Imagine that. That's where the 200-to-300-pound behemoths that comprise the offensive and defensive lines of the Patriots and their opponents do battle.

Contrast that with the fact that a soccer game is free-flowing, meaning that action takes place all over the field surface. Thus, in an average soccer game no one area is getting too much wear and tear. If anything, much of the action spreads out to the wings before offensive crossing passes are made into the goal area. As I mentioned earlier, the sideline areas aren't really the portions of the Gillette Stadium turf that are excessively worn. Further, the Revolutions players are smaller and lighter than their Patriot counterparts. As a result, who's body do you think would inflict more damage on the turf?

Then there's the fact that Patriots Head Coach Bill Bellichick actually prefers to have the turf a bit "chewed up". He believes that such a field plays "slower" and puts warm-weather and artificial surface teams at a disadvantage when they travel up to Foxboro to take on the Pats in rugged New England weather. In fact, Bellichick is so adamant about not repairing the field too much that Patriots' head groundskeeper Dennis Brolin actually quit in protest on his watch.

Bottom line? The recent Rolling Stones concert in Foxboro was responsible for more of the damage to the playing surface at Gillette than the Revolution could ever manage. Why don't you call Bob Kraft and tell him to cancel any more concerts in his facility?

[Your Name Here]

Man, Brian beat me to it. The deplorable condition of the field is the Pats' responsibility. And guess what, Coach Bill wants it that way. It's all part of the home field advantage. But keep your fingers crossed for glorious weather in May 2008. Gillette Stadium is hosting the NCAA Lacrosse Championships then. That's five games in three days. M&T Bank Stadium hosted the C'ships in 2003. It rained all weekend, the field got torn to shreds, and now they have the fake stuff there.

[DEAD!]

MLS: Where the ball isn't the only thing that's inflated.

[Bleujayone]

Several times in recent years Kraft has been ordered by the NFL to fix the turf properly, and at least twice the NFL fined the organization for having the field in less than acceptable conditions. One time the NFL made him lay down brand new sod the length of the field between the hash marks because it was so poor. Kraft would say the field was getting extra use from such activities as soccer matches, but such excuses were not accepted by NFL brass.

No coach worth his salt is going to say that he likes his team to play on a chewed up field. That field is an embaresment to look at and it was a hazard for both teams to play on. You might ask for a longer length of grass to slow a runner down, or even wet the field down to make the field harder to manuver around, but I have yet to meet any coach who says a field with worn, ripped up sod, bare earth, and brown grass is preferable. I've already seen a few busted plays the Patriots themselves had because of sub-par field conditions this year. I rather doubt they asked for them. Most coaches want the best playing surface possible for their teams- especially in a brand new venue.

I grant you that it is the responsibility of the Patriots organization to maintain the field (as they own both the stadium AND the soccer team that plays in it). Which is why I say that if it's too much trouble for them to maintain the field with the added burden of a soccer team as they so claim, then the soccer team needs to go elsewhere. It's not like they're packing the house anyway. The football team is the bigger investment, far more popular, and matters more to the public how their success comes. It is their priorities that should come first. NFL football is a multi-billion dollar industry. MLS soccer is still a multi-million dollar money pit.

[Hat Boy]

Bottom line? The recent Rolling Stones concert in Foxboro was responsible for more of the damage to the playing surface at Gillette than the Revolution could ever manage. Why don't you call Bob Kraft and tell him to cancel any more concerts in his facility?

So the Rolling stones concert on Sep 20 is what caused the poor field conditions during the home opener on Sep 10?

Good work, Columbo.

[NJTank]

SOme how this is not a suprise

THis says it all

[Brian in Boston]

So the Rolling stones concert on Sep 20 is what caused the poor field conditions during the home opener on Sep 10?

Good work, Columbo.

No. I was simply pointing out the fact that the September 20th Rolling Stones concert had more of an impact on the field of play at Gillette Stadium than any Revolution match will. Just as any concert at Gillette Stadium will. The weight of the concert staging that is built on the field will do far more to damage grass than any soccer match will. While Bleujayone may have specifically referenced the home opener, I never did.

You might want to invest in a reading comprehension home study program. You'll get more out of the CCSLC that way.

Oh, and by the way... Columbo always caught the murderer. Thanks for the compliment.

[Hat Boy]

You might want to invest in a reading comprehension home study program. You'll get more out of the CCSLC that way.

My reading comprehension is just fine. You said, bottome line, that the Stones concert damaged the field more so than the Revolution. Let me help you remember.

Bottom line? The recent Rolling Stones concert in Foxboro was responsible for more of the damage to the playing surface at Gillette than the Revolution could ever manage.

The field was chewed up for the Pats first pre-season game. I am sure some of it was the wear and tear of soccer, but Belichick was the one who had them dump sand all over the field.

Oh, and by the way... you might want to invest in a sarcasm home study program, I wasn't complimenting you with my Columbo remark.

[DGivens87]

His soccer team has made the field conditions in Foxborough absolute crap for the Patriots to play on. I always thought that opening kickoff on the first game of the seaon should have the best field conditions of the year- these are an embaressment.

I don't care about the soccer team, let them play at Nickerson Field at Boston University.  It has more than enough seats for the number of people actually going.  The only people I want mucking up the field at Gillette Stadium are people playing gridiron.

The Revolution are responsible for the worn-down, torn-up turf at Gillette Stadium? That's an absolutely ridiculous statement.

A cursory examination of the playing surface at Gillette Stadium reveals that the area that is in the most dire condition is smack-dab in the middle of the football hashmarks, from end-zone to end-zone. Hmmmm... where does each and every play from scrimmage start in the National Football League? My goodness: in between the hashmarks! Imagine that. That's where the 200-to-300-pound behemoths that comprise the offensive and defensive lines of the Patriots and their opponents do battle.

Contrast that with the fact that a soccer game is free-flowing, meaning that action takes place all over the field surface. Thus, in an average soccer game no one area is getting too much wear and tear. If anything, much of the action spreads out to the wings before offensive crossing passes are made into the goal area. As I mentioned earlier, the sideline areas aren't really the portions of the Gillette Stadium turf that are excessively worn. Further, the Revolutions players are smaller and lighter than their Patriot counterparts. As a result, who's body do you think would inflict more damage on the turf?

Then there's the fact that Patriots Head Coach Bill Bellichick actually prefers to have the turf a bit "chewed up". He believes that such a field plays "slower" and puts warm-weather and artificial surface teams at a disadvantage when they travel up to Foxboro to take on the Pats in rugged New England weather. In fact, Bellichick is so adamant about not repairing the field too much that Patriots' head groundskeeper Dennis Brolin actually quit in protest on his watch.

Bottom line? The recent Rolling Stones concert in Foxboro was responsible for more of the damage to the playing surface at Gillette than the Revolution could ever manage. Why don't you call Bob Kraft and tell him to cancel any more concerts in his facility?

First of all, let me just say thank you to Brian for saving me the time of making that same point exactly.

Secondly, there has been some preliminary talk about building the Revs a soccer-specific stadium. However, the earliest that will probably happen is 2009.

Additionally, just to re-iterate a point that Brian made, it is indeed Belichick who likes the field chewed up. The field remains in bad condition throughout the NFL season, especially into December and January. Last I checked, the MLS season ended in early November.

I can tell you, and I'm sure the New England area fans will agree, that the turf at the old Foxboro Stadium was better than the turf at Gillette. Why? Do you think Kraft & Co. can't spend the dollars to have a playable playing field after they shelled out $325 million for a new stadium? The Pats and Revs shared Foxboro from 1996-2001, and I don't ever recall the turf being as bad as it is now at Gillette. So before you go out and say that its the soccer team, do a little research.