Last night the US Men played the Czech Republic in our backyard before more than 36k. Because we were at the game last night, we thought we would revisit some of the business aspects of the match in East Hartford. The total attendance was extremely impressive and the crowd was dominated by fans of the American team. The crowd was an interesting mix of 20 somethings, youth soccer teams, soccer fans and locals out for the unique experience.
The price point was quite high for tickets, but that didn’t prevents fans from turning out in big numbers. The parking lots were open 4 hours before game time and filled quickly with tailgaters and early arrivals. Stadium prices were high; a hamburger, fries and water cost $14. Beers were selling for $10 for a 10oz draft and parking was $15 a car.
Stadium signage included the usual USSF sponsors, including Castrol, Gatorade, Jose Cuervo and others. McDonald’s sponsored the pre-game ceremonies with all 22 kids involved with the starting lineups wearing shirts with the Golden Arches. The new Nike commerical ran at least twice in the stadium in its entirety and the ESPN feed ran throughout the game on the big screen.
Coverage in the local media was fairly extensive, especially after the game. Most of the major networks ran multiple stories following the game both as part of their news coverage and sports reporting. The local paper, the Hartford Courant ran photos of the game on both the front page and sports page, but pregame coverage in the paper was lacking. The local ESPN affiliate broadcast its drive time show from the stadium, and guests included Sunil Gulati and Alexi Lalas.
Overall it was great night for the Greater Hartford area and a great audition for a future games with US Soccer. The US Women will be in East Hartford in July.
Posted by Ben Berger 

Some quick hits from around American soccer, starting with DC United, where efforts are ongoing to find a permanent home for the team. We have previously written about efforts to build in various parts of Virginia, DC proper or Maryland. Now, Steve Goff is reporting that DCU is now in talks
American soccer fans will be treated to a soccer doubleheader tonight as ESPN2 will televise both the USA/Costa Rica match and the RSL/Red Bulls MLS match. The lead in offers MLS a great chance for exposure to fans of the US Men who are reluctant to watch MLS matches. MLS can showcase its product in one of its premier stadiums. Unfortunately, the teams are near the bottom of the table and not necessarily the best advertisement for the League. It will be interesting to see what steps ESPN takes to promote the MLS match to its Nats audience. If nothing else, RSL fans can feel pretty certain that there won’t be some other sporting event cutting out the first 15 minutes of the match.
With the Mexico/USA qualifier set for Wednesday on MUN2, we posed a couple of questions about the broadcast and the channel to Kevin Dugan of NBC Universal/Mun2 digital media. Please see his thoughts below:
With all the tumolt surrounding Portland’s 2011 expansion effort, its cousin in MLS expansion, Vancouver, has quietly slid under the radar. With opening kick for Vancouver just 86 weeks away, thinks are quietly moving towards a successful opening. Vancouver is well set up for success. The ownership group seems solid. Billionaire Greg Kerfoot has long been a friend of soccer and Steve Nash adds glamor and splash to the ownership. The Whitecaps have done well at the gate and the market is hungry for higher level soccer. BC Place is well situated and funding is in place for a substantial renovation (well over $200 million U.S.) that will add a retractable roof. Soccer capacity will be limited to 20k.
Overnight