7/27 News

[Stucki]

I wonder if Bill Gates enjoys the beautiful game. Seattle would be a good place for them to relocate.

[SoccerPrime]

Personally, if it is pleasing to the soccer gods, I believe the best thing here is for the Quakes to stay in San Jose.
I am sure Houston and maybe Seattle would make good MLS sites, but the Bay Area deserves and needs MLS.

Its nice to read "Club America has NOT contacted us" and "AEG hasn't ruled out leaving the Quakes in SJ or retaining ownership".
Nice!
:D

[Rover]

Originally Posted by SoccerPrime

I am sure Houston and maybe Seattle would make good MLS sites, but the Bay Area deserves and needs MLS.

Absolutely. We need to keep a team in NoCal--great fans, good market.

Originally Posted by SoccerPrime

Its nice to read "Club America has NOT contacted us" and "AEG hasn't ruled out leaving the Quakes in SJ or retaining ownership".
Nice!

Yeah, good news, and that's been rare in San Jose lately--at least off the field.

[Deuce]

Originally Posted by SoccerPrime

Personally, if it is pleasing to the soccer gods, I believe the best thing here is for the Quakes to stay in San Jose.
I am sure Houston and maybe Seattle would make good MLS sites, but the Bay Area deserves and needs MLS.

Its nice to read "Club America has NOT contacted us" and "AEG hasn't ruled out leaving the Quakes in SJ or retaining ownership".
Nice!
:D

I agree with both of you on the statements that the Quakes need to stay in the Bay Area.

I disagree with the statement that they "deserve" a team. Isn't this whole thing about butts in seats?
If they were selling out every match and the owners were still talking "sale" or "move" then I could see where that statement would make sense... but aren't the quakes averaging around 10,000 per game...
Hardly a "deserving" candidate...
Same with the Wizards... averaging roughly 9000 per match.
I want the Wizards to stay in KC but if the fans are not coming out to the games then move them both where they will have fan support...

This is not a new thing for either of these teams... KC and SJ both have MLS Cups under their belts and still can't do better than 9-10k in the seats...



my $0.02

[SoccerPrime]

Sorry, by "deserves" I meant the Northern Cal/Bay Area population in general. They have such a long and rich history of pro soccer there it would be a shame to lose it.

MLS and its ownership plans with SJ have greatly hurt the marketing ability of the team. Garber admitted to it yesterday. Utahns are being spoiled by RSL on the "right way" to market the soccer team. SJ is pretty much the polar opposite. Only the Wizards could claim to be marketed worse than the Quakes.

Plus it would hurt MLS's overall credibilty to have a team relocate. I live in Florida. If you don't think relocation or contraction makes you look bush-league, look no further than the Sunshine state. Even with Glazer (owner of the NFL Bucs) buying ManU for over a billion bones, the local media still thinks soccer is a joke and makes sly comments about the Mutiny and the Fusion.
🙁
Quakes in SJ, forever!

[Rover]

Originally Posted by Deuce

I agree with both of you on the statements that the Quakes need to stay in the Bay Area.

I disagree with the statement that they "deserve" a team. Isn't this whole thing about butts in seats?
If they were selling out every match and the owners were still talking "sale" or "move" then I could see where that statement would make sense... but aren't the quakes averaging around 10,000 per game...
Hardly a "deserving" candidate...
Same with the Wizards... averaging roughly 9000 per match.
I want the Wizards to stay in KC but if the fans are not coming out to the games then move them both where they will have fan support...

This is not a new thing for either of these teams... KC and SJ both have MLS Cups under their belts and still can't do better than 9-10k in the seats...



my $0.02

I can see your point, and I agree that in the end the soccer public has earn their team by showing up to games.

I'm a little biased because I've lived in the Bay Area several times, the last move being a few years ago. I took my family to a number of games at Spartan Stadium and always enjoyed the experience (even the 90 minute drive). I was not a Quakes fan--we were Galaxy fans back then, but I was always impressed by the passion and knowledge of the fans there.

They drew fairly well, even in those bad early years of Clashdom. Ironically, the revolving door of ownership and weak commitment by the city and Santa Clara County put a dent in attendance at the same time the team changed their name and colors, acquired Donovan, and starting winning MLS Cups. They still haven't recovered, and the body blows this year haven't helped (Donovan and Lalas bailing on them, the whole "Houston Club America Quakes" thing, etc.). They even had a potential buyer last year who turned out to be bogus.

So I guess I'm saying it's more complicated than just attendance in NoCal. But in the final analysis you are right--if they want to keep their team, it doesn't help to stay away from games.

[AreliusII]

MLS Commissioner Garber to Give State of the League Address
http://oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3200811

[SoccerPrime]

In the DC press conference yesterday, AEG announced that they are still considering moving the Quakes to a place that can provide a SSS plan...