Toronto FC -- The latest MLSE franchise that will suck

[HaywoodJabloemy]

On the surface it sounds promising. There's probably more kids playing soccer than any other sport, including hockey. And there's obviously many people here who pay attention to the sport during the World Cup. But that has been the situation for 30 years or more, and every attempt at pro soccer in Toronto has failed. The USL team owners in Montreal and Toronto described the situation in the National Post article I mentioned in the earlier post:

Saputo also warns that Toronto's ethnic communities will ignore MLS. He thinks they're too spread out and enmeshed in their own soccer clubs. Meanwhile, Hartrell says few kids who play soccer have passion for the game. Parents see it as babysitting and won't pay to sit in the stands. "Unless they put hockey players on the team, they're not going to get the people they think they're going to get," he says.

 

[Big Michael]

I think it has a chance if it connects with youth soccer leagues as mentioned in the article and they are able to generate group sales. I hope the team thrives since it may provide motivation for some of the kids to consider staying in soccer after they turn 12 years old and that will ultimately help the National Team. The article also mentions that they will keep ticket costs around $20 which is not a bad pricepoint and they also realize that it may be a 10 year project. Also, I am not sure who the previous owners of Toronto Soccer teams were, but i doubt that any had the deep pockets and marketing savvy of MLSEL.

Go Toronto FC.

 

[tightfit]

previous owners..Leons...york hanover...
deep pockets but used the toronto franchise as a tax writeoff...or so I was told when I went to pick up my cheque.
I only hope that this 10 year project is not just more of the BS that seems to surround the soccer management environment in Canada.
Good Luck Toronto!

 

[luckyjackson]

I'm getting season tickets, if they're around $350.00 or so. Otherwise, I'll go see the occasional game. I'm hoping this works. It'd be nice to have the option of seeing a good game LIVE once in a while.

 

[HaywoodJabloemy]

...Toronto is made up of foreigners that love soccer. It wouldn't be too hard to fill a 20,000 person field. Again, it is all in the marketing...

You think sell-out crowds of 20,000 will regularly show up to watch the Columbus Crew, New England Revolution, and Colorado Rapids? Other than this thread, do you see any mention of "Major League Soccer" on this board? Even the people who like soccer ignore this league. You don't hear MLS discussed on radio and TV, and the standings are in tiny print at the back of the sports section.

By all accounts the level of soccer in this league seems to be approximately what AAA is to baseball or the AHL is to hockey. The fact that Toronto FC is owned by MLSEL will get them more attention than it would otherwise receive. But it will really take a successful marketing campaign to fill the stadium, when they get less than 3000 per game for the AHL Marlies (same ownership, also at CNE location), and a slightly lower level of pro soccer plays at a mostly empty 2500 seat facility.

from November 2005:
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/indepth/mls_toronto/point_molinaro.html

...fans packed the Skydome (now Rogers Centre) for a pair of exhibition matches involving top European clubs...
And yet, where were these same soccer fans two days later when the Lynx played in a virtually empty Centennial Stadium?..

MLS will always be a second-rate product in the hearts and minds of Toronto soccer fans...

Starless night bad omen for MLS team

Portugal's Sporting Lisbon met Santos of Brazil... Rogers Centre... attendance — 14,673...

...give MLS a chance?
``Sporting is 100 years of tradition,´´ Moniz said, shocked at the comparison. ``MLS is an amateur team compared to this.´´
...Many Portuguese fans shrugged when asked about MLS...