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Still traveling, so here is another part of our 2009 series looking at efforts to bring more fans to Major League Soccer.

They are the bane of many an MLS fan, yet they continue to represent a substantial portion of Americn soccer crowds.  Teams cater to them, by offering special four packs, pre-game soccer celebrations and mascots. Who are these fans?  They are familes.  Kids, soccer moms minivans and more.

This is part two of our MLS attendance series.  You can see part I here. We have collected anecdotes from hundreds of friends, coworkers, fans, famiiles, store owners and acquaintances in an effort to determine what will bring more fans to MLS. We have asked these questions at soccer matches of all levels, dinner parties, social gatherings and board meetings.  We have been asking these questions since February with an eye towards seeking out trends about MLS fandom and what brings people to Major League Soccer League stadiums.

“Hard core” MLS fans have railed against the presence of families for years.  Complaints against these fans include: “they are too quiet”  “they don’t care about the game”  “the don’t let me have fun” “they come once a year and don’t support the team” “they get up every 20 minutes” and “the stadium doesn’t let me do x because of families.”

So we asked these families (moms and dads), what they wanted from the MLS experience.   Overwhelmingly, they want their kids to have fun.  These parents are looking for a night out, and the bounce houses, mascots and T-shirt tosses are part of that.  They are looking for affordability and fun.  Many are shocked about how “professional” the MLS experience is and that the matches are “big-time.”  They are “amused” by the supporters groups, but don’t want to sit with them. They are also very willing to purchase team gear for their kids.

But perhaps more interesting was the number of these parents who desperately wanted to both understand the game and have their children understand the game.  Like the non-soccer fans discussed earlier this week, many of these parents wanted someone to explain the nuance of a sport unfamiliar to many of them.  They wanted to know the back stories of the players and whom to cheer. For many, they wanted to comprehend the intricacies of a game their kids devote hours per week to playing and appreciate more than the distance of a goalie’s punts. They view MLS as a way to connect with their kids and enter their world, but need the information to get there.

Unlike many soccer fans, MLS is not competing with European soccer clubs for the attention of these families.  While most will not become season ticket holders right away, they will come back if they enjoy the experience and if the game means something to them.  The “quality” of the game is not that important, because the level of play is far higher than anything they have seen before. They think they can co-exist with the hard core supporters and actually appreciate the atmosphere and noise they bring.

So what do we think?  Are families an important part of the MLS fanbase?  Should the League turn away from efforts to bring familes to games in lieu of younger, more passionate fans?  Can these families become those passionate fans?  Let us know your thoughts.

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With Major League Soccer moving full speed ahead with its second New York franchise the promotion happy Cosmos were briefly pushed into the background despite their aggressive attempts to seek the spotlight.  That changed on Monday, with the highly publicized announcement that the team had signed a sponsorship agreement with Emirates Airline.  Emirates will be feature on the Cosmos jersey and the big news was released at a press conference with honorary league President Pele in attendance.  The Cosmos start play on August 3 at their temporary home at Hofstra University on Long Island.

Last week the story broke that ratings for ESPN’s EPL broadcast had dropped significantly.  The early morning weekend staple averaged just over 250,000 viewers over 51 games during the 2012/2013 season.  This represents a significant decline from the 320k the broadcasts had averaged during the previous season. Recall that NBC announced  that it will be come the new television home of the EPL beginning in August thanks to a $250 million deal for three years of exclusivity.  If this purchase represents a declining property, the EPL could represent yet another soccer property that fails to deliver significant returns. Whether the decline is due to a lack of interest in EPL, a lack of competition or a network (ESPN) with lessened motivation to televise the games, the downward trend is troubling.

Finally, it was announced on Tuesday that Fox and ESPN will have joint rights to broadcast World Cup and Euro Qualifiers for the next several years.  According to Johnathan Tannewald, “Fox and ESPN will each have rights to 129 Euro 2016 qualifiers, 129 World Cup 2018 qualifiers and 15 friendlies between 2014 and 2018.”

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Every so often we like to take a look at what teams around Major League Soccer are doing to market their teams and sell tickets.  It has been a while since we have looked at these efforts.  Let’s start with the struggling second citizens of Los Angeles, Chivas USA.  The tottering franchise hosts it’s local rivals on June 23.  The team is partnering with video provider Red Box to offer discounted tickets to the SuperClassico.  Tickets under the deal  start at just $12 and are available at more than 1,800 Red Box locations around the City of Angels.  The highest price ticket in the package is only $19 per seat, a $5 discount from standard pricing.  The Classico match-up is an important for the league and the June 23 date represents the best chance for Chivas to managed a decent crowd this season.

The Revs have been a revelation on and off the field so far in 2013 and the team is promoting its brand through 4 and six game plans in 2013.  The discounted packages start at just $88 in the Fort and allow fans to choose which games the select.  The tickets can be printed from home and used in any combination to attend matches at Gillette.  The Revs have been down for so long, that the seemingly revitalized unit has drawn some interest over the last few weeks.  Success on the field never translated to great ticket sales, even during the glory years of Twellman, Dempsey, etc…, but is New England ready to now embrace their soccer team?

RSL is offering discounted seats as part of its Maverick Mayhem Corner. The tickets are only $16 and can be purchased at more than 60 Maverick locations in the Salt Lake City area.  The promotion also encourages fans to to scan their Maverick rewards cards in order to earn additional free and discounted gear and tickets.

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It is no secret that Chivas USA has been something of a mess this year both on and off the field.  Attendance is lousy, the coach has been fired and the team has divested itself of a number of talented players in an apparent attempt to return the team to its Mexican roots.  It is this last issue that is now causing the team some problems in the courts.  Former Chivas USA coaches Dan Calichman and Ted Chronopoulos have brought suit against Chivas USA and its affiliated  entities alleging that their firing was discriminatory and founded in the franchise’s intention to latin-ize the team.  We will examine the complaint in detail on another night, but you can read it in its entirety here.  It is interesting that the plaintiffs elected to sue Chivas and not MLS as prior plaintiffs have elected to do in cases involving MLS franchises.

In other news, the league’s All-Star Game opponent has been announced.  The 2013 version will feature the MLS All-Stars and Italian Club Roma.  Roma features former MLS stalwart Michael Bradley and recently faltered in the Italian version of the US Open Cup.  The game will be live from Sporting Kansas City’s new home as the league continues to reward franchises that build new stadiums with premier events.

One final note tonight.  This little blurb from Legal Week discusses some of the law firms involvement in the creation of the joint venture between Manchester City and the New York Yankees.  Lawyers will be heavily involved in this process and this article provides some insight into what is required.

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On the road tonight, so here is a piece (part of a 5 part series) from 2009 looking  at ways to increase interest in MLS.  Part I looked at efforts to convert sports fans into soccer fans.

We’ve seen it all summer;  90k in the Rose Bowl, 80k in Seattle, 80k in Dallas and more.  Huge numbers tuned into the American run through the Confederations Cup and the  Gold Cup drew well nationwide.  Yet, MLS numbers remain fairly stagnant both on television and at the gate.  How can Major League Soccer tap into this multitude of soccer fans?  Should they?  Should the League be happy with crowds of 15k in smaller stadiums with limited TV ratings?

As announced, we are jumping into the business of MLS attendance.  Over the next couple of weeks we will be taking a look at different groups of people:  MLS fans, fans of the US National team, fans of European club teams, etc…  We’ve been talking to people in all of these groups about MLS and what MLS needs to do to get them to games.  Here are their thoughts.

Somewhat paradoxically, we are starting with the non-soccer fans.  These are people that are not soccer haters, but also not soccer fans.  Perhaps most interestingly, among this group, we found baseball fans most willing to give MLS a try. Those who had been to games found that they had “surprisingly” enjoyed the experience.  Perhaps second among the “willing” were hockey fans.  Far and away, the least interested were NFL fans.

Perhaps it’s the low scoring of these sports, but none of these people see put off by the relative low number of goals in soccer.  When asked what would keep them interested in MLS, a couple of consistent themes emerged.  First, they wanted atmosphere.  Those who had attended games in smaller MLS stadiums or had soccer experiences with loud and noisy crowds were far more likely to go back.  This was a different environment than what they had seen at other sporting events, and they liked it.  At the same time, these non-soccer fans wanted someone to explain what was going on in front of them.  This was true for the soccer, but more important for the “story lines” that many soccer fans hate.  They wanted to know about the players, the rivalries and the back stories.

When asked about whether MLS should be shooting for 80k at all of their games, the universal answer from these non-soccer fans  was “no”.  They all believed that 15-20k in small stadiums was a worthy target and that bigger doesn’t equal better.  Not surprisingly, these fans were not worried about the quality of play, the presence of turf or the nicknames of teams.  They wanted to have fun at the games and have a plot line to remember and cheer for (or boo).  In other words, they see no reason for the product to change.  The status quo is sufficient for them to come back…but they won’t go on their own.  They need someone to bring them to the game.

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Following the long weekend,  back to our originally scheduled programming.  Before we get to attendance, there were a couple of newsworthy stories from the soccer weekend. The first was the nationally televised Champions League Final.  The match-up featured two German clubs vying for the European Championship.  The match was carried on Fox’s main channel and was the fourth straight year that the main network has broadcasted the game.  The game last year drew a 1.1 national rating.

It is not very often that a mid-season MLS match becomes one of the top stories on SportsCenter, yet the Galaxy/Sounders game was featured across the sports spectrum.  Soccer and non-soccer media alike featured the debut of Robbie Rogers during the 4-0 Galaxy victory.  The event provided  remarkable publicity for the league and (at least for the weekend), MLS was treated as one of the major sports in the country by media from all manner of outlets.  The league also did a great job ensuring that the debut game was a nationally televised affair.

On to attendance, and the weekend started with a soft crowd of just over 14k at RFK for the struggling United. Later in the day, just over 17k were treated to a fantastic game at Stade Saputo as well as the league’s first hat trick of 2013.  FC Dallas managed a solid 15k plus for their home game, while a rainy night in Foxboro saw a small crowd of just over 10k.  RSL and Colorado managed nearly identical crowds in excess of 18k.  This is an especially big number for the Rapids and the fans were treated to a solid 2-0 win for the home side.

The big numbers continued in KC, with a standing room only crowd well over 20k for the team’s draw with the Dynamo.  The announcement of a new team coming to New York City did nothing for the Red Bulls’ Sunday attendance, with less than 15k at Red Bull Arena. The Sunday night ESPN2 game featured the Galaxy and Sounders (and of course Robbie Rogers).  The match also drew a very solid crowd of more than 24k.

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