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On Tuesday Major League Soccer announced the debut of MLS+ According to the official press release, MLS+ is described as “a new content and distribution group that brings together top storytellers, producers and digital media partners to create a broad range of soccer programming on multiple platforms. By telling the stories behind the game, MLS+ will establish deeper connections between fans, players and Clubs and fuel the League’s rapid growth.”

Many of the major sports leagues find ways to control and produce content through their branded networks (e.g. NFL Network, MLB Network, etc…). MLS has no such outlet, so working through its television partners and the internet to provide original content and programming is the league’s best option to put specific and targeted programming before its intended audience.  Shows like MLS 36 have been outstanding for the league and its fans can only benefit from increased programming and content.

Once again, courtesy of the official press release: “Content created by MLS+ will include new television shows, digital series, mini-documentaries, mobile applications, lifestyle features, user-generated content, viral video stunts and more.  MLS+ will engage with fans, wherever fans consume content: on-air, online, mobile, social, in local MLS markets.  Distribution partnerships include NBC Sports Network and NBCSports.com, TSN and RDS, KickTV, the MLS YouTube channel, MLSsoccer.com and a wide range of other digital partners including Yahoo!, MedioTiempo, and SB Nation.”

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Over the years we have aggressively tracked stadium construction efforts around the world of American soccer.  We have watched stadiums grow in Harrison, Chester and elsewhere.  While the pace of stadium construction has slowed over the last few years, the San Jose Earthquakes are continuing to move towards their own digs.  San Jose city officials  approved the  Planned Development permit for the construction of the proposed Earthquakes stadium a number of months ago. A rendering of the proposed stadium is here and the team is keeping a stadium blog here.  For a look at ticket prices, click here.

According to the Mercury News, “[t]he $60 million privately funded facility is scheduled to open next spring, although prep work has been challenging on land that once was a factory for M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. Crews have spent the past few months digging out huge, reinforced-concrete footings and underground vaults — including Cold War-era bomb shelters.

“I know hard-core fans want this done yesterday because it’s been such a tortured process getting a stadium approved, but the No. 1 thing is to build it right,” Kaval said during a site tour. “Demolition has taken longer than expected because we didn’t know a lot of stuff was buried here.”

Last Fall, the Mercury News, “the Quakes announced that club seats for the stadium are sold out. With luxury suites and club seats sold out, general seating will go on sale on Tuesday, Oct. 23.”  The club took the strange step of putting these seats on the market before the stadium plans were even finalized.  This step seems to have paid off.  According to the article, the team already has a contingency plan in place in case they sell enough tickets to warrant expansion of the stadium to 24,000 seats.

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Strong slate of games in Major League Soccer on a weekend with soccer coming from all angles.  The US Women played against South Korea at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.  The Confederations Cup was front and center on the ESPN networks, with matches featuring prominent teams from Brazil, Spain and Mexico.  The NWSL was also on display as the new league continues its steady showing around the country.  Before we get to the MLS attendance, one note about the NWSL.  The league has finally announced its national tv schedule for the relationship with Fox. FOX Soccer is set to televise one game per week over the final six weeks of the season with each club appearing at least once on national television, leading up to the NWSL Playoff.  The broadcasts will begin on July 14 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

On to MLS, where Jeld-Wen saw its usual 20k plus sell out as part of the national tv game on ESPN2.  The match was fairly exciting and the Timbers Army was in full throat making for a grand spectacle on the WorldWide Leader.  The Crew pulled a huge 18k plus crowd at home.  DC United managed a crowd of just under 14k for their battle of cellar dwellers.  Given the fate of DC this season, big crowds will be a challenge as the season moves forward.  Colorado managed a crowd of just over 15k at DSG. There have been some big numbers at DSG, but given the weather and the teams, this number falls slightly short of expectations. No small crowd at BC Place for the Whitecaps barn burner with the Revs. More than 20k were in attendance for an exciting matchup between the resurgent Revs and high flying Whitecaps.

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Just a quick note looking at television numbers from the last week.  SBJ reported that the USA/Panama qualifier drew 1.4 million viewers on ESPN and 1.2 million in Spanish on UniMas.   The English language numbers translate into a .8 rating, which is the second highest number for a USA Cup Qualifier.  Of course, the best overall numbers came earlier this year when the USA traveled to Azteca to draw with Mexico.  According to tvbythenumbers.com, “San Diego was the top market for the match telecast, delivering a 2.5 rating.  Rounding out the top five were: Seattle-Takoma, Wash. (2.5), Baltimore (2.1), Hartford-New Haven, Conn., (1.9), and Nashville (1.9).”  These are very solid numbers on a week night with the NBA Finals on at the same time.

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Major League Soccer issued a press release on Wednesday stating that the league and the MLS Players Union have partnered with You Can Play, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.  According to the official statement, “The diversity found in our League has always been a point of pride for us,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “Our MLS WORKS ‘Don’t Cross the Line’ initiative is a strong statement that we are a league that stands against discrimination. We are proud to partner with You Can Play to ensure that all of our fans and players know that MLS is committed to providing a safe environment where everyone is treated equally, and with dignity and respect.”

Last Fall we wrote about a lawsuit initiated by former DC United Defender Bryan Namoff.  In a case filed in the District of Columbia, Namoff and his wife have sued DC Soccer LLC d/b/a DC United and former United coach Tom Soehn.  The Complaint alleges that Namoff suffered a hit to his head in 2009 during  a match against Kansas City.   After completing the game, Namoff was allegedly diagnosed with a concussion.The Complaint alleges that appropriate tests were not conducted to evaluate Namoff’s post concussion condition.  Three days later, Namoff played in match against Seattle.  The Complaint sounds in counts of medical malpractice, negligent training and others. The Complaint, a copy of which is attached here, courtesy of Courthouse News, is seeking in excess of $10 million.   There is also a claim for loss of consortium brought by Namoff’s wife seeking an additional $2 million. A Judge has denied a motion to dismiss filed by United in that case (a standard tactic for defendants).  The decision addressed the interesting issue of whether DC United needs to carry Comp insurance.  Now the case will proceed into the discovery phase, where the parties will have the right to exchange documents, take depositions and investigate the facts.

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There are few American brands as iconic as Chevrolet.  The GM product has long been associated with baseball, football and the US heartland.  Given that background, soccer seems an unlikely partner for the vehicle that promoted itself by the lyrical stylings of John Cougar Mellancamp.  Yet over the last couple of years, Chevy has aligned itself with some of the biggest soccer properties in the world.

Last year, Chevy aligned (for a measly $500 million plus) with Manchester United, one of the most iconic sporting brands in the world.  The deal put Chevy on the front of the  Man U jersey and  put the brand before millions of Red Devil fans worldwide.  Although the move was controversial (and cost Joel Ewanick his job), there is no question that Chevy grabbed a significant spot on the soccer landscape. “The brand hoped to parlay Manchester United’s fame in China (and its almost 400 million fans over there) into  Automakers sold 19.2 million vehicles in China last year, almost 5 million more than were sold in the U.S. That is expected to reach 30 million annually by the end of the decade. A large portion of those sales were in the largest cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.“

Now comes news that Chevy has joined forces with US Soccer making it the official soccer partner of US Soccer.  Per the Detroit News,  Chevy is hoping its sponsorship with U.S. Soccer will help boost the brand in the country as soccer’s popularity here increases. GM said a soccer player lives in 30 percent of households in the U.S. Chevy already has a Youth Soccer sponsorship program that includes nearly 1,000 dealers and 850,000 youngsters across the U.S.” Per the official press release, “Through the Founding Sponsorship of One World Futbol Project, Chevrolet is donating 1.5 million virtually indestructible One World Futbols to youth in war-stricken zones, refugee camps, disaster areas, and underprivileged communities around the world.  The One World Futbol never goes flat and never needs a pump, even when punctured, providing endless play to children who need it most.”

This is big news for soccer in the United States.  Chevy is a bedrock brand in the United States and a recognized part of American sporting life.  An association with Chevy is an association with Americana and an important relationship for soccer in the USA.

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A limited weekend of matches in MLS with World Cup Qualifying matches across the globe.  Before we get to attendance, here are a couple of stories from the last couple of days.   USA Today has become the official photo partner of MLS and Soccer United Marketing.  According to SBJ, the mult-year deal “calls for USA Today Sports Images (a branch of the USA Today Sports Media Group) to be the preferred photo provider for all MLS clubs as well as the league’s sponsors and licensees. It will service all MLS editorial properties, including the league’s official website and Kick TV, MLS’s YouTube channel focused on international soccer coverage. Each of those outlets features still photos in addition to its video offerings.”    This is USA Today Images’ first deal with a sports property.

One other note.  The Friday night match between USA and Jamaica was exciting and available on beIN Sport in the USA.  Suffice to say, the quality of the telecast was poor and the network made the odd decision to cut to taped highlights of other matches during the run of play.  The full screen highlights interrupted the flow of play and invoked the ire of many fans following the game on Twitter.

On to attendance, where the weekend started with just over 14k at Gillettte for a dull draw on a beautiful night between DC and the Revs.  However, both the crowds and quality of soccer picked up significantly over the course of the evening.   The Chicago crowd was just over 15k, but it certainly was a lively and energetic group at at Toyota Park on Saturday night.   RSL managed a crowd of almost 19k at Rio Tinto for an exciting game against defending champions Los Angeles Galaxy.  The night ended with more than 50k in attendance at Century Link for the Cascadia matchup between Vancouver and Seattle.

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