Orlando would make more sense because Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and even San Antonio aren't very far.Originally Posted by -Hammer-
The Orlando ownership has close ties to the USL. They are not going anywhere. Rochester is having financial problems and wanted to move down to D3. They are also not going anywhere.
Charleston and Wilmington also outdraw every NASL club except San Antonio which is getting the new team bump. Interestingly, of the top 5 drawing lower division teams in North America, USL-Pro has 4 of them(Orlando/Rochester/Wilmington/Charleston) while the NASL only has one(San Antonio).
Last edited by Opie; 06-10-2012 at 08:35 PM.
No that is not correct, the top 5 drawing teams are in order San Antonio, Orlando, Rochester, Atlanta and Minnesota. Three of those teams are NASL teams. The sixth and seventh best drawing teams are USL teams, Wilmington and Charleston, and are not far off the attendance of Minnesota. However, the USL has only one more team above 3000 while NASL has 3 more teams above 3000. The USL has 6 teams with very low attendance while the NASL has 2 teams with low attendance though that seems to be largely due to temporary stadium difficulties. Overall the NASL attendance seems healthier and more sustainable than the USL attendance. That was not the case last year so it is nice to see things stabilize in the league.
Last edited by Grizzly; 06-11-2012 at 12:41 AM.
Minnesota had a game in the Metrodome that had an announced crowd of 8,693. Back in their home stadium they have drawn crowds of 1692 and 2168 for an average of 1930. That is more in line with what Minnesota usually draws. Clearly their number is greatly inflated by the Metrodome game. Their true average attendance would be well below Wilmington and Charleston. They are not one of the top 5 drawing minor league teams in North America. Even with adding the Metrodome game, their average will likely catch up to them. That is why you have to look more into the numbers.
As for Atlanta, very good piece on the recent shakeup in their FO.
http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2012/0...ing-in-new-gm/
Apparently, they are known to heavily paper their attendance and give away lots of tickets to youth groups. So they are not generating any real revenue with their attendance. And their "true" crowds would be in the 2000 to 3000 range. Although to be fair, Rochester apparently also heavily inflates their average attendance.
I wouldn't be so sure. It is true that FCE and PR are bringing down NASL attendance. But there are some troubling signs.
The Strikers have been losing fans since the beginning of last year. The excitement of the rebrand is long gone. They are averaging about 2800 this year. Tampa is a stagnant franchise stuck around 3000. Even calling them the Rowdies again has done nothing. Minnesota cannot draw fans out to Blaine. Carolina is doing similar numbers to last year. Hosting both the LA Galaxy and Chivas USA in the U.S. Open Cup, they drew crowds of 7900 and 7100. Their first NASL game after that they drew 2580. Which means fans in the area will come out to see MLS teams, but not really support Carolina against other NASL clubs. Even SA's numbers are starting to drop.
The NASL is a long way from being stable. Right now it is in survival mode.
Last edited by Opie; 06-11-2012 at 06:30 PM.
^ Survival been to hang around long enought to get those Kids in the 13-15 age bracket, who drag their parents to each and every game, to a point where they can finacially do it themselves, potentially bringing along their own offspring as well.
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