Brad Sims to Lead NYCFC as CEO | Matt Goodman as COO

[mgarbowski]

The team is hemorrhaging season ticket holders because fan service reps don't return calls, and people don't get emails, and City Points are worthless and don't work and they generally don't do enough to make being a STH worthwhile. Attendance keeps dropping and there's not enough buzz in the city about the team.
* * * * *
The team just hired a guy with a track record of improving attendance and fan engagement for a losing team and that's bad because it means they just want to make more money from fans.

Both are valid points of view but I think you have to pick one.

 

[Fantazma]

The team is hemorrhaging season ticket holders because fan service reps don't return calls, and people don't get emails, and City Points are worthless and don't work and they generally don't do enough to make being a STH worthwhile. Attendance keeps dropping and there's not enough buzz in the city about the team.
* * * * *
The team just hired a guy with a track record of improving attendance and fan engagement for a losing team and that's bad because it means they just want to make more money from fans.

Both are valid points of view but I think you have to pick one.

cant do much on a baseball stadium, and his track record is in a smaller market. even when team in big four sports suck they still get talked about massively the buzz is difficult to obtain.

This is why you need a stadium to create that buzz and try to get back those STH you lost because they all wanted a SSS.

 

[LionNYC]

the optics of it just seem like he was not successful. doesnt it look better if it said CEO Patricof instead of Board Member Patricof. Im still not convinced he has it secured.

There is a bigger issue here. Patricof was never CEO. He always listed as President.

You know who the CEO of NYCFC is? Ferran Soriano (at least according to Wikipedia), scouting for other CFG websites to get confirmation.

Another transparency blunder by the front office with their organizational chart.

So Sims isn't replacing Patricof. Who is taking over for Patricof?

 

[Fantazma]

There is a bigger issue here. Patricof was never CEO. He always listed as President.

You know who the CEO of NYCFC is? Ferran Soriano (at least according to Wikipedia), scouting for other CFG websites to get confirmation.

Another transparency blunder by the front office with their organizational chart.

So Sims isn't replacing Patricof. Who is taking over for Patricof?
View attachment 9361

just another day at CFG

 

[dummyrun]

There is a bigger issue here. Patricof was never CEO. He always listed as President.

You know who the CEO of NYCFC is? Ferran Soriano (at least according to Wikipedia), scouting for other CFG websites to get confirmation.

Another transparency blunder by the front office with their organizational chart.

So Sims isn't replacing Patricof. Who is taking over for Patricof?
View attachment 9361

Sims is replacing Patricof, which is why the article ends with "A smooth transition is assured with Jon Patricof." It's just not clear why they're replacing a president with a CEO or whether their job descriptions will be significantly different.

 

[LionNYC]

Sims is replacing Patricof, which is why the article ends with "A smooth transition is assured with Jon Patricof." It's just not clear why they're replacing a president with a CEO or whether their job descriptions will be significantly different.

Maybe they're just paying him less than Patricof, so they are giving him a different title. But the Soriano issue is more concerning. Two CEOs? That's never worked well in business.

Anyway, the guy is here to boost revenue. Although, we've been running heavy losses every year and Abu Dhabi is fine with that for now.

So, aside from a stadium or a star player, what else is there to do (without pissing off the old fans).

 

[dummyrun]

Maybe they're just paying him less than Patricof, so they are giving him a different title. But the Soriano issue is more concerning. Two CEOs? That's never worked well in business.

My guess is Sims has a broader role than Patricof, allowing Soriano to stay upstairs and ditch the nominal NYCFC title. But I don't know much about our FO's org chart or what exactly Patricof did besides not doing the thing he was hired for.

 

[Gotham Gator]

The team is hemorrhaging season ticket holders because fan service reps don't return calls, and people don't get emails, and City Points are worthless and don't work and they generally don't do enough to make being a STH worthwhile. Attendance keeps dropping and there's not enough buzz in the city about the team.
* * * * *
The team just hired a guy with a track record of improving attendance and fan engagement for a losing team and that's bad because it means they just want to make more money from fans.

Both are valid points of view but I think you have to pick one.

Exactly. If you are tired of the resale value of your season tickets falling through the floor, then you should be happy they hired a guy like this.

 

[LionNYC]

There's also going to be a huge expansion effort with revenue generation when we open a stadium in terms of sponsorship, ticket sales, and premium sales. So maybe they're getting him as being ready for that...soon...

 

[Kjbert]

There's also going to be a huge expansion effort with revenue generation when we open a stadium in terms of sponsorship, ticket sales, and premium sales. So maybe they're getting him as being ready for that...soon...

That’s feasible. If you look at the 3 Presidents, it was Pernetti’s job to get the business end off the ground. He connected the Club to various sponsors and streams of revenue much as he did while as the AD at Rutgers.

Patricof was here to get a stadium. Maybe that’s done. Who knows?

If it is, bringing in another revenue guy would make sense.

 

[mgarbowski]

Exactly. If you are tired of the resale value of your season tickets falling through the floor, then you should be happy they hired a guy like this.

Yes.
And to be clear, I of course think it's fair to continue to criticize the team for not improving its sporting performance since 2016, or for no stadium, etc. I just don't think this hire has anything to do with that. It doesn't mean those areas are on the right track but doesn't mean they're being ignored either.

 

[roxfontaine]

I'll give him a chance. Experience is a plus but I do worry that the number of things competing for people's attention and $$ in Cleveland is substantially different that it is in NYC, he will need to adapt.

This. He's definitely going to hit some brick walls and that will be the real test of his ability. He's been in NYC before with the NBA league office. That's the role that sticks out most to me. I really hope he has some great ideas that he can execute without running into objection from CFG or the Yankees.

Let's see what happens...

 

[BxLio91]

He does have experience with a team whose star player just left. Hope we do better than LeBronless Cavs.

 

[Christopher Jee]

Any Cavs fans who can offer more introspection on his time with them I wonder?

I agree a focus on branding is a positive direction.

Maybe I'm just anchored by my experience, but when I see "database marketing and analytics" and the rest of the stuff on his write-up, I immediately think of someone who may be less focused on branding vs. the more quantifiable stuff (essentially digital marketing). There's definitely a lot of work to do in the latter department, but I'm not sure I would say it's the critical issue for the club right now IMO.

 

[Christopher Jee]

Y'all are sleeping on the key paragraph:

"Sims has been an avid soccer fan from a young age and was part of the 69,000 strong crowd at the Rose Bowl during the opening weekend of Major League Soccer’s inaugural season in 1996. He has been following the League’s growth as well and international soccer ever since."

Could be bullshit but at least it's the right bullshit.

Can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. I read this as patronizing fluff.

 

[dummyrun]

Can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. I read this as patronizing fluff.

Because you don't believe that he knows and cares about soccer, or because you don't believe it's important that the club be led by someone who knows and cares about soccer? I'm not ruling out patronizing fluff on the first part. The second part matters to me.

 

[Fabio]

I wish a soccer stadium in NYC!!!

 

[Christopher Jee]

Because you don't believe that he knows and cares about soccer, or because you don't believe it's important that the club be led by someone who knows and cares about soccer?

On the first, I don't think that this paragraph necessarily proved either to me. I couldn't say those things about any of the US soccer super fans I'm aware of, and I could imagine that those things also apply to people who don't particularly know or care about soccer.

On the second, I think it's preferable, and of arguable importance, but not "key" to me.

To be completely candid and open, I probably bristled a little at your suggestion that "w'all" (my half baked attempt at inverting "y'all" to account for perspective ) were sleeping for not thinking it was important. I hope I wasn't too dickish about it, as I meant specifically not to be.

 

[Korker]

This is a pretty good move, IMO. Proven himself in a big 4 league, with a team that was struggling with attendance and revenues pre-Lebron. JP was here to get a stadium, is it done, who knows. (I'd like to think if it was, we'd hear a little something by now). Could be that he was unable to secure a location, and the team is now pivoting to try to make the most of the current situation, by trying to increase revenues while in YS. Hopefully this is wrong and we get an announcement after MLS Cup saying "NYCFC secure stadium deal in *Insert Borough that isn't Staten Island*"

But for now, with what we have in front of us, this points to trying to increase revenues within YS.

 

[Fantazma]

But for now, with what we have in front of us, this points to trying to increase revenues within YS.

so stadium not coming any time soon then.