I guess that’s why FC Dallas refused to take part in this article

http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/61406

^ That was an interesting article. Good to see MLS is mostly strong right now. Actually surprising to see the Rapids up, considering how poorly they drew last season.

As for what’s happening in Dallas, though — wow. That’s just pathetic.

I honestly can’t even tell you what is opening day.

I’ll be there on opening day

I don’t mean to pile on, but FCD has had almost zero public/ad presence in advance of this season. I’ve just come back from trips to the Bay Area and Seattle, and while those teams are newer than ours — you see mentions of their teams everywhere. And not just on billboards: on restaurant windows, in sporting goods shops, on concert-style flyers, on frakkin supermarket endcaps. I can’t tell you the last time I saw anything FCD out in the public — and the 1 billboard on DNT or the 3 jerseys at Dick’s don’t count.

Oh, and not that I’m a grammar/spelling nazi or anything (which is ironic, given that I’m a professional linguist), but is it too much to ask to receive email from the FO that’s doesn’t have spelling mistakes? Subject lines of the last two emails I’ve received from FCD:

Season Ticket’s (sic) are in the Mail!!
FC Dallas sign Columbian (sic) international David Ferreira

I’m not Bob the Angry Flower or anything, but really what would someone on the outside think of the level of organization (and intelligence, soccer and otherwise) of an org that can’t spell the name of the country that their new signing came from. Makes me wonder if we couldn’t get in touch with Rocha because we were trying to call Brazile (and I don’t mean Donna).

The fans are speaking loud and clear. They have given HSG the benefit of the doubt since they took over but are now in show me mode. What I don’t understand is how the Hunts don’t understand how much money they are leaving off the table by sticking with there decades old targeting of the youth market whom they actually run off if they ever grow up and become rowdy. Sigh.

Any chance of the team drawing large crowds or getting a big following was doomed when they moved to Frisco. Seattle and Toronto sell out because the fields are downtown. Frisco might as well be in Oklahoma.

LOL SteveToro!.. but you really need a new moniker.. Morrow has been gone for nearly a year now

Hey.. I did my part.. I ordered 4 additional tickets for the season opener, so it’s all you lamers and part-time supporters not pulling your weight and putting poor Hitch in the dog house.

On a more serious note.. I would like to know if we’re going to let in less than 4 goals on season opening day so I can start mentally preparing myself .. keep that positive mental attitude.

Have the supporters group(s) thought about moving to the sideline (ala D.C. Barra Brava). I remember it happened during a US Open Cup game, and it made the whole crowd a little livelier at Frisco. Part of why people come to soccer games are the supporters groups.

The FO did move the supporters group to the sideline for that very reason, so yes. I don’t know how lively things will be if less than 5k are in the stands, though. That’s what you get when you put a team on the field that wins all of their games on the road, as we did last year.

I really don’t understand this at all. Wasn’t Hitch the ticket miracle worker when he got here 3 years ago after winning awards for his efforts at other teams? Obviously the added responsibilities of being GM has taken away from his strengths (?). Why not remove the “soccer side” and have him focus on selling…if you’ve ever met him he is always in sales mode anyway. If he’s failed at selling…why is he still there? they let others go last winter…maybe its time to finish wiping the slate clean??? Just a thought.

So who is in charge of selling now? Wagner? Isn’t he just the HSG bad decision maker and bean counter? Just curious from afar.

Is it just me, or does it seem like the fan base was slowly but consistently growing pre-HSG days, and now after they took over, it’s been regressing every year. I hate to say it, but “running the franchise in the ground” comes to mind. Maybe Wagner is the problem.

Wagner was the genius behind the Southlake fiasco for sure. The Dallas Tornado learned the hard way that marketing to the soccermoms and kids does’nt work, never has, never will. The lack of media coverage is absolutley mind boggling and one wonders if FCD even has a P.R. director and if so just what exactly is he/she doing?

I bought a 5 game pack (plus an additional pair of tickets for the Seattle game). This is my first set of season tickets (although it is just a partial plan). I am probably in the minority of new ticket holders.

How much of the low ticket sales are related to the economy? I would guess quite a bit. Going to an MLS game is a luxury.

[...] “According to multiple 3rd Degree sources, FC Dallas front office personnel were informed at a meeting just over a week ago (give or take) that General Manager Michael Hitchcock was removed from responsibility for ticket sales.  The impetus for the move, according to our sources, is that as of a week ago less than 5000 tickets had been sold for the FCD opening game against the Chicago Fire.” [...]

How much of the 5000 are season ticket holders? Do I really want to know? It’s sad that I’m actually more hyped for the Seattle opener than I am for FCD.

“Build it and they will come” was line in a movie, not a viable marketing strategy. It has been 4 years since the move, and the higher ups at HSG still haven’t figured that one out.

That’s really disheartening news. Given the dearth of advertising in the DFW area, the FCD advertising people are either on a shoestring budget, or they just don’t care.

FCD is one of the few clubs in the league to turn a profit, and they should be using at least some of those funds to increase advertising in the Metroplex. Between the free parking and cheap tickets, going to PHP is a great value in this economy, prob. People need to know this.

That’s really disheartening news. Given the dearth of advertising in the DFW area, the FCD advertising people are either on a shoestring budget, or they just don’t care. FCD is one of the few clubs in the league to turn a profit, and they should be using at least some of those funds to increase advertising in the Metroplex.

Between the free parking and cheap tickets, going to PHP is a great value in this economy – a lot cheaper than driving out to Arlington this summer to see the Rangers. People need to know this.

Unfortunately “driving out to Arlington” is more feasible than driving out to PHP for most of the metroplex.

A couple of thoughts.

The team drops developing players that i found exciting to watch. They lose, lose, lose. They get rid of Colin Clarke.

So far not exciting for a team that locates in the suburbs for what is a minority dominated game.

Then, i buy multiple years of season tickets for my family. Who sits next to me? People who bought $5 end zone seats and switched 15 minutes into the first half. Now i am paying top $ to sit right in front of the club…am i nuts?

I tell the club and they respond by doing nothing.

I dare you to try to take your end zone seats at Jerry World and try to sit 5 rows up at the 50 yard line…you could end up in jail.

Bottom line is that the club does not give a plugged you know what about the season ticket holders and fields a boring, losing product.

Not a recipe for me to shell out any hard earned recession dough.

Bring Dallas back to Dallas.

[...] the partake in the article. Evidence as to why Dallas chose not to participate may have recently been reported. According to 3rd Degree it appears that FC Dallas has sold less than 5,000 tickets to it’s [...]

isn’t this what we thought would happen after a disastrous season when hitch and the FO kept trying to sell the fans magic beans w/ another failed DP and bad soccer? fans have been voicing their opinions about the organization, but it seems like only now they’re starting to turn an ear.

but the problems are obvious. it is the how this team is being run and the location. nice stadium, but out of sight – out of mind for the city of dallas. seems like HSG has no clue…they only want to make money thru concert tickets. since their franchise is so far out, it’s away from the mainstream for people to really even care about.

Brilliant post Buzz! With any luck they will fold the franchise and we can all get on a Southwest flight to Kansas City to watch our pro soccer.

Any chance of the Hunts putting the franshise up for sale?

[...] game promotion is an opening night fireworks display.  With 3rd Degree reporting that less than 5,000 tickets have been sold for the Dallas home opener, it might be time for the Dallas Front Office to reach [...]

What a bunch of racist you all are. I mean, Hitch is simply stimulating ticket sales for two years down the line. Just be patient. We cannot measure success on the daily gyrations of ticket sales. Maybe if the vendors were more concerned with the environment, we’d have a full house every night.

good one stevo!

Sad…but I don’t really see an end to this any time soon.

Frisco should be the poster child (er, stadium) for why not to build SSS at the expense of location. Controlling revenue streams is all good and well, but a fundamental absence of supporters in the stands is much greater an issue.

Of course, it’s also something that COULD be fixed…

i think lack of success on the field has more of an impact. You guys were saying that cooper needed to stay here for the fans, but now no one is going to show? When SH became coach it looked like there was no direction for the club and the team ended in a downward spiral. I think if we are soccer fans we need to support our team, good times and bad.

OK, you’re the man in a family of 4. You wife lost her job and you don’t get overtime any more. Would you spend Saturday night with the family watching a soccer game at PHP or pop in a video and eat homemade popcorn.

Hey now Adam, I live in southern Oklahoma and I have had season tickets the past 3 years. These tickets are not so expensive that one couldn’t be able to go to a game every weekend. Its not location as much as it is advertisement and reaching out to the correct demographic. And Stevo, what evidence is there that Hitch is stimulating ticket sales for two years down the line?

… Tom …. he was kidding ….

I’m voting with my wallet and my butt. Instead of the short season ticket package I usually get, I will be at the NASCAR race at TMS. When I want to watch a real soccer team, I’ll go to Houston. It’s obvious FCD is now the Crew’s stepsister.

Move FCD to Grand Prairie by the the racetrack (I know there isn’t anything there yet, but there could be) That place would be near capacity almost every game.

[...] Degree’s report from earlier this month that said, in essence, that less than 5000 tickets had been sold for the home opener generated a lot of heat on the FCD front office. As is should have.  Given what has been going on [...]

[...] in their weekend tilt against Toronto.  We have previously discussed the problems in Dallas, when this story raised some issues about the team’s pre-sale [...]