Footiebusiness

Reports are flying around the soccer media about upcoming revisions to Major League Soccer’s Designated Player rule.  The league is expected to announce changes to the rule on Tuesday that will permit teams some salary budget relief for younger designated players.  The DP initiative has continued to evolve since David Beckham first signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy.  Teams can now add up to three such players while absorbing a salary budget hit well below the players’ wage.  According to reports breaking Monday afternoon, the league will now change the rule to encourage teams to purchase younger players typically beyond the reach of MLS teams.  The expected change will lessen the salary budget hit (now $325,000) for bringing in such players.

Fox Soccer is about to continue its ongoing coverage of the CONCACAF Champions League. The coverage takes on new meaning given the recent signing of the Versus/MLS deal and diminishing role Fox soccer will have with MLS.   As we said last Summer, Fox pours significant resources into televising an event that has yet to interest a significant portion of American Soccer Fans.  Games from Honduras, El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago do not grab the imaginations of fans focused on European soccer and the MLS regular season.  The stands are typically empty for these games (whether in the US or abroad) and field conditions are typically terrible   While ratings are tough to come by, it is almost certain that far less than 100k people (and likely less than 50k) tune in to watch the CONCACAF Champions League matches.

Despite these challenges, Fox Soccer has made a devoted and dedicated effort to broadcast these matches from all reaches of the region.   Fox Soccer’s coverage may not be ideal, but it is important.  If the tournament wasn’t televised, it would fade into obscurity and irrelevance.  Improved camera work and commentary are inexpensive enhancements that will come with time.  Until then, celebrate Fox’s broadcasts of the Champions League.

One final note.  Kudos to ESPN for promoting MLS through its EPL broadcasts.  Ian Darke and ESPN’s production crew have made multiple references to MLS during the opening weekend of soccer across the pond.  It is this kind of cross promotion that is expected to be the hallmark of the MLS/NBC deal and it is a positive for the league to see the same promotion from ESPN.

Full slate of games in Major League Soccer and WPS.   Before we get our regular look at attendance, here are a couple of other business stories from the weekend.  One quick note. Special thanks to the folks at World Football Daily and American Soccer Show for having me on in the last couple of days to talk about some of the big business issues in American soccer.  Not surprisingly, the focus of the calls was the big NBC/MLS deal.  I will post links to those interviews going forward.

The MLS Summer transfer window has closed and the silly season provided MLS fans with hours of mindless entertainment as rumors came and went or became reality.  Once again, Twitter was the perfect vehicle for fans to follow the action as names like Keane, Adu and Tagoe were passed around the Twitterverse by journalists, bloggers and fans alike.  More big salaries came to MLS as the new collective bargaining agreement has provided teams more flexibility to pursue big name signings.

On to attendance…The weekend started in Toronto, where the struggling Reds earned a win and performed before a great crowd of mor ethan 21,500.   Later in the day more than 36k packed Qwest to watch the Sounders while more than 25k filled Red Bull Arena.  DC saw a disaapointing  crowd of just over 11k despite a rising team and a typically solid fanbase.  Just over 13k came to Columbus to see the Crew knock off the Revs while almost 19k were at PPL Park for Adu’s debut.  10,500 saw San Jose on Saturday night and 13k came to DSG Park.

The big news in the world of American soccer was the announced return of Freddy Adu to Major League Soccer.  For better or worse, Adu remains one of the most recognizable soccer names to most American soccer fans.  After a few years of moving about Europe, Adu is reportedly coming to Philadelphia on a multi-year contract.  Whatever his ability on the field, Adu still has the ability to sell jerseys and attract eyeballs.  Both on the road and at PPL Park, Adu’s presence promises to drive fans to the stadiums.  At the same time, any nationally televised games featuring  Adu will certainly draw casual fans and generate interest in the media. Few American soccer players have the ability to move the publicity needle in the United States like Freddy Adu.

The Cover of FIFA ’12 has been revealed and Landon Donovan is front and center.  The Galaxy star centers Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney and Red Bull defender Rafa Marquez.   Soccer has long been one of the easier sports to translate into video games (along with hockey and football), and thus millions of American males will dutifully purchase the game regardless of whether they know anything about soccer.  We’ve long believe that the less they know about soccer, the more likely they are to play with teams from Major League Soccer (many soccer fans migrate to the EPL). As a result, it is these fans that may embrace the teams and players from MLS.

A couple of final notes about the MLS/NBC deal.  The deal includes full digital rights over multiple platforms for NBC which suggests streaming over NBC’s website.  NBC executives have also promised to promote their MLS coverage across multiple NBC properties, including the Olympics.

As most American soccer fans are now aware, MLS and NBC have announced a three year television rights agreement that will put Major League Soccer on the Peacock and its affiliated sports channel from 2012-2014.  The three year deal is worth an estimated 10-12 million dollars per year and will replace the league’s current $6 million + deal with FSC.  As part of the agreement, NBC and Versus (soon to be NBC Sports Network), will air regular season and playoff matches from MLS and USMNT games.  Specifically, the cable channel will air 38 regular season games, 3 playoff games and 2 USMNT matches.  The broadcast network will show 2 regular season matches, 2 playoff games and 2 USMNT games in each of the three seasons.  All games will include pre and post game coverage.

The deal is obviously a coup for MLS which now moves from a network in less than 40 million homes to one almost 80 million homes.  Games on NBCSN are more readily available in HD and are typically placed in a more prominent line-up location than FSC, which is typically relegated to a special tier and a high number designation. Games on NBC’s broadcast outlet  will reach almost every American home and will mark a return to over the air telvision after a multi-year absence.  NBC has also promised to promote its MLS coverage across multiple programs and broadcasts.

The promotion aspect is key.  According to Commissioner Garber and NBC representatives, NBC’s promotional efforts will include references on Sunday Night Football, Notre Dame games and more.  NBC now has rights to three of the major team professional sports and its cross promotional efforts can only benefit Major League Soccer.

MLS has timed the expiration of its newest deal to coincide with the end of the ESPN and Univision deals as well.  Conventional wisdom suggests that this is a calculated risk that will allow the league to maximize it s future tv revenue by negotiating rights deals in the glow of a World Cup year.  However, that approach puts MLS in the unenviable position of entering the negotiations with no security blanket.  If one its primary partners declines to participate in the discussions, the league will lack leverage.

It also appears that the big loser is Fox Soccer.  Days away from its rebrand, the network has lost its toehold in America’s premier soccer league and creates an enormous hole in the network’s Summer lineup.

2011 has been a banner year at gate across Major League Soccer.  The league is averaging  more than 17,300  fans per game in 2011.   This is the first time since the league’s inagural season that average attendance has crested the 17k figure. Perhaps even more impressive, the median attendance in 2011 is at an all time high, easily surpassing the previous high (1996) of  approximately 16,100. To put the averages in an American sports perspective, the MLS average has eclipsed both the NBA and NHL and lags only MLB and NFL among US based professional team sports.  While its true that many MLS stadiums enjoy a capacity far in excess of their indoor cousins, soccer attendance is also limited by the reduced capacity in San Jose.  Perhaps most impressively, the league is enjoying these fantastic numbers despite the presence of world soccer powers criscrossing the nation filling stadiums at a clip of more than 40k per game.

Not surprisingly, much of the credit for the fantastic attendance numbers rests in the trio of franchises in the Pacific Northwest.  Seattle is averaging more than 37k per game, Vancouver just over 20k and Portland more than 18,600.  Both Dallas and Colorado (the 2010 MLS Cup participants) have seen attendance increases well in excess of 10% while traditional attendance powers Los Angeles and New York (if tradition can be a one year run), have managed an increase in 2011.  Kansas City’s attendance has increased in dramatic fashion (more than 70%), also a significant contributing factor.  Most of the other teams (with two notable exceptions) have managed slight gains or limited drops suggesting a committed and vested base of fans.

Unfortunately, the news is not all positive.  Chicago and Columbus, two of the league’s first teams to sport soccer specfic stadiums, are also suffering at the gate. The Fire’s attendance has declined by more than 2,000 gans (about 13%) in dropping below 14,000 per game.  Yet the league’s worst performer sits about 350 miles to the South and East of Bridgeview.  The Columbus Crew, just a couple of years removed from a championship and currently sitting atop the Eastern Conference are at the bottom of the league’s attendance table.  Remarkably, the team is averaging less than 10,500 per match, more than 20% off their 2010 pace.  The numbers are even more startling, because Columbuss has typically averaged more than 15k per game. As reported by the Columbus Dispatch, the team once had a season ticket base of 9,000. As the linked article indicates, the team is  now exploringa a variety of new pricing options to reverse the trend.

Yet despite the news out of Columbus, the attendance picture in MLS is extremely positive.  The average has been trending upward steadily since 2005 (there was a quick up and down in 2008 thanks to Mr. Beckham) and has been creeping back towards the 1996 peek since 2000 (the only year below 14k).  We’ll continue to monitor these trends until the end of the 2011 campaign, but with Montreal set to kick off in 2012 and fans flocking to new stadiums around the league, the MLS future at the gate looks extremely bright.

Over the last year or so, we have discussed MLS’ efforts to measure the value of its television exposure through various local and national broadcasts.  Through the website criticalmention.com, MLS tries to alert media  to the “value” of its presence on various television programs.  Since a few weeks have passed since we last checked in on this metric, we thought providing a snapshot of this metric of MLS media exposure. Today, the Critical Mention report suggests that MLS related clips reached just over 850,000 television viewers for an estimated publicity value of approximately $40,000.

With respect to total free publicity, the most value clip came out of Houston, where the local CBS affiliate ran a morning program on August 6 titled Houston Dynamo “Corner Kick”.  The spot is a regular feature on the show and includes highlights and commentary of recenty Dynamo action.  The broadcast also takes a look at the standings, roster moves and fluff (including clips from the team’s go-kart adventure).  Lasting more than 5 minutes, the clip also includes interviews and some detailed information about the squad.  Click here to see the spot.  The broadcast is part of the team’s relationship with the station.

In the nation’s 13th biggest market, almost 150,000 people saw a nice highlight package of the Sounders’ comeback victory over Sporting Kansas City.  Lasting just over 90 seconds, the clip captures all three goals from the match and a postgame interview with the head coach.  According to Critical Mention, the spot, which was part of the 11:00 local news, was worth almost $10k in free publicity.  To see the clip, click here.

We’ll end in Portland, the 22nd largest market, where the local ABC affliate provided coverage of the recent Timbers’ tie with a brief highlight and interview package.  To see the clip click here. According to Critical Mention, more than 75k viewers saw the highlights for a free publicity value of $4500.

Time for our weekly roundup of the weekend that was in MLS. In Montreal, the Impact moved one more marketing step closer to their 2012 kick-off, with the unveiling of their new logo.  Click here to check out an image.  According to the officials involved, the logo has eight distinct elements heavily focused on the history and traditions of Quebec, Montreal and soccer.  For those intersted in the renovated Stade Saputo,  click here for a great virtual tour of the facility.

Before we get to the numbers, we had a request for a list of stadium capacity around the league.  Click here for all of the Soccer Specific Stadiums in a convenient format.  On the attendance front, the week got started on Wednesday with 18,500 in KC and just over 10,500 in Chicago.  Seattle also managed more than 21k for the CCL game at CenturyLink Field.  Portland also managed more than 18k for their mid-week tilt against the Galaxy.  On Friday night, Colorado showed well to a national television audience with more than 14.500 at DSG for the Friday night Fox Soccer broadcast.

On Saturday, only 11,600 made it out to RFK for one of the stranger MLS matches in recent history.  In Philly, PPL Park played host to an excellent crowd of over 18,500.  Approximately 11,500 Revolution fans can say they were at Foxboro when the first DP and homegrown player in team history take the field.  More than 19k saw RSL whitewash New York, more than 21,500 made it out to the HDC for a Galaxy victory and San Jose had 10.500 at their Saturday night home game.

Finding WPS attendance remains something of a challenge (odd because attendance is way up), but reports indicate that the Breakers saw an enormous crowd in excess of 7k on Saturday night.  Atlanta enjoyed a similarly big attendance night with just over 7k for their match against Western New York.

As we do every so often, here is a quick look at some of the promotional efforts going on around Major League Soccer.  We’ll start in Colorado, where the Rapids are hosting the nationally televised Friday night game on FSC.  For that match, the Rapids are continuing their”Lads Night Out” promotion that was so popular last year.  The 2011 version includes two tickets, two beers and two shirts for $44.  The offerings in this deal have evolved over time, but it remains a good bargain for fans looking to get something more than tickets as part of their game day experience.

On Saturday night, DC United hosts TFC and the team will offer an RFK Meal Deal for the match.  Starting at $94, the package includes four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas. The package goes up to $186 for those seeking seats in the Mezz section.  There are other ticket pricing options and price points for the promotions.

We’ll finish up in Philly, where the Union are partnering with Boeing to honor the military with their “Tickets for Troops” promotion.  The team is encouraging fans to purchase and donate tickets to members of the military, their families and veterans.  The team will match all donations in of 15 tickets or more and the first 500 folks who receive donated tickets will also receive a Union scarf. This promotion makes public relations and business sense for the team.

Over the last few weeks, I have received some e-mails and comments asking for more detail on certain topics, more coverage of certain issues and requests for interviews with front office and sponsor representatives.  Let me say that I really appreciate the feedback and I will try and add those items (and more) over the coming weeks.  This site is an evolving enterprise (after 2 1/2 years) and reader input is the primary catalyst for determining the type of content I provide. 

To that end, I decided to stray from my usual posting protocol to put out a request to you for more thoughts on what types of stories you want to see as Footiebusiness.com continues to grow and mature.  Please drop a line in the comments section below or send me an e-mail to footiebusiness@gmail.com and let me know what you want to see in the coming months.  I am certain that there are business stories out there that deserve coverage that I have neglected; please let me know.

Along the same line, please also touch base if you are interested in authoring a guest post or posts about a specific  topic or general area of soccer business interest.  Over the years, some of the most interesting and detailed content on this site has come from readers with passion or knowledge of a soccer business issue that is extraordinary. There have been a number of guest authors and all have added really rich and thought provoking content.  Even if you don’t want to write a full length post, I really enjoy reading the comments this site has accumlated over the years.  Sometimes the best discussions are generated from a comment rather than a post.  Feel free to add a business thought in the comments section of a post (no matter how off topic). 

As always, thanks so much for reading. 

Ben

It’s been a while since our last look at stadium construction around MLS.  We’ll start in Houston, where the Dynamo’s efforts to build in downtown Houston has progressed far enough to warrant a webcam. The Dynamo are expected to contribute $60 million to the project.  The proposed stadium will be shared with Texas Southern Football and other local events. The team  hopes to open in 2012.  Total cost of the projected 21k seat stadium is expected to be about $95 million with the Dynamo ownership (primarily AEG and Golden Boy Promotions) funding about $60 million.  The rest of the funds could come from tax credits,  Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (“TIRZ”) money and from some of the stimulus money floating around.

In San Jose, stadium construction efforts continue to plod forward.  A link to the Earthquake’s page looking at the stadium design is here. A couple of months back, the team held a ceremonial ground breaking at the start of the demo process.   Although the event included a fair amount of pomp and circumstance, the demolition does not guarantee construction.  Financing and ownership commitment still need to be confirmed before the job moves forward

We’ll stop our stadium look in Vancouver, where renovations continue at BC Place, with an expected Summer of 2011 re-opening.  Until then, the Whitecaps will continue to play their games at Empire Field, a 20k seat venue. The new BC Place will have a retractable roof that can open and close in 20 minutes minutes.  The stadium will also feature movable loge boxes that will bring fans of the Whitecaps directly down to the field level.   The stadium will also have a four sided HD television that will be visible from every seat. Vancouver webcams are here.