Stadium Discussion

[Fantazma]

Honestly, it's not crazy to see MLS growing very rapidly within the next two to three decades. The NFL is going to have a serious problem concerning head injuries and there are some who believe that the league will not exist at some point because of this problem. The NFL can't get safer despite all the improvements to the equipment, rules, etc. The fans, tv, etc. will want something to replace it. With the growing interest in European football and more so the World Cup as the USMNT improves and goes deeper and hopefully eventually wins, people may gravitate more to the sport. And with a similar schedule of football which is soccer, one a week games, typically on the weekend, it will grab that football audience. Consider also demographic changes in the country with the growing Spanish speaking population and MLS in 2050 may be the biggest sports in league in America. It's not crazy. It's sports.

funny you mention this, recently i have been seeing quite a few articles ( the NY times, and i forget what otehr site) regarding head injuries and concussions in soccer and saying how basically this sport is almost equally as dangerous as football because they dont wear gear and mention cases of teens who have sadly passed away due to constant concussions.

so not sure if now that they see more soccer they want to bring it bad press as well to prevent its popularity from growing?

 

[FredMertz]

I would not quite say delusional.....

When you post something this long and you have a single like from Fabio, it's time to reevaluate some of your life choices.

 

[FredMertz]

Yeah, we're going to be bigger than the NFL.

Trivia question: how many NFL teams drew more than 80k fans per game last year?

If you answered "1", you are correct. The Cowboys and there was no other team close.

 

[Seth]

Trivia question: how many NFL teams drew more than 80k fans per game last year?

If you answered "1", you are correct. The Cowboys and there was no other team close.

Well, to be fair there's only three NFL stadiums that can hold that many people (Dallas, Green Bay, ours). At least according to Wikipedia. But on the other hand, given that you only have eight chances to fill your stadium, having even one go above 80,000 is pretty impressive. Consider how many people we had Sunday, then double that.

 

[FredMertz]

Well, to be fair there's only three NFL stadiums that can hold that many people (Dallas, Green Bay, ours). At least according to Wikipedia. But on the other hand, given that you only have eight chances to fill your stadium, having even one go above 80,000 is pretty impressive. Consider how many people we had Sunday, then double that.

Having only 8 games makes it more likely to draw big crowds, not less. If the Yankees played 8 home games a year they could draw 100,000.

 

[The Toe]

The Green Bay Packers also have a STH list that's backed up 100 years. Literally, you have to live 100 years to get STHs there.

 

[Tiger Jones]

Whoa!.. Since when did we start talking 80k stadiums

It was mentioned in an earlier post. I didn't quote it although i should've.

I would not quite say delusional, but extremely optimistic. The game and league has grown tremendously over my lifetime. Seattle draws 40k+ regularly, and they started off in the 20's their first season. 80k is not as crazy as you think, but it would require pretty much all of the following criteria to be met, and most of these are huge reaches and probably won't happen until the current young hipsters supporting this league are telling the kids to get off their lawn.

• MLS would have to be the top league in the world, and by a good margin.
• MLS would have to grow in popularity to rival the current level of NFL support.
• The club must build a strong history and become the pre-eminent brand in football.
• Probably share an NYC proper stadium with the Jets (who are locked into a long deal I think with MetLife
• A crazy mayor would have to make crazy concessions to get it built.

It's also unlikely that 80k would make the most sense economically, even if we could draw that. 60k would be more likely.
Obviously, it's nothing but a pipedream. However I could see this club, or some future version of it, playing in 60k stadium when i'm an old man. 80k if we build a joint stadium with one of the NFL teams. I'm not betting on it though, and we will be playing in our own 30k stadium long before we could even imagine playing in a bigger park.

This is exactly my point, everything has to fall into place. I agree that this league is going to be huge but it's going to take a long time. Maybe when teams start building their second stadiums in 50-60 years we can start talking about 50k-60k but not now, not even close. I think some of you drastically overestimate the current popularity of MLS and soccer in this country. Most traditional sports fans still shit on it (although the tide is turning).

Honestly, it's not crazy to see MLS growing very rapidly within the next two to three decades. The NFL is going to have a serious problem concerning head injuries and there are some who believe that the league will not exist at some point because of this problem. The NFL can't get safer despite all the improvements to the equipment, rules, etc. The fans, tv, etc. will want something to replace it. With the growing interest in European football and more so the World Cup as the USMNT improves and goes deeper and hopefully eventually wins, people may gravitate more to the sport. And with a similar schedule of football which is soccer, one a week games, typically on the weekend, it will grab that football audience. Consider also demographic changes in the country with the growing Spanish speaking population and MLS in 2050 may be the biggest sports in league in America. It's not crazy. It's sports.

The NFL is not going anywhere. I'm not sure where you would get that idea. And I'm not some NFL apologist, I think football is horrible. The possibility of serious injury is not going to stop people from playing or watching the sport. Instead (and this is already happening), league officials, players and the general public have a greater awareness and treat concussions with a more seriousness. MLS is going to explode within the next two to three decades but I still think you're overreaching a bit here.

 

[The Toe]

So, NYU just spent $6bil on some land/facilities in the city, and some that was a gray area of "parkland".

 

[Tyler Durden]

Attendance numbers are so irrelevant for the NFL... truly not worth discussing

 

[Tyler Durden]

So, NYU just spent $6bil on some land/facilities in the city, and some that was a gray area of "parkland".

where?

 

[ldent42]

where?

New York University’s plan to bulk up its Greenwich Village presence with four huge towers — roughly two-million square feet of commercial real estate — crammed onto the two residential blocks just south of Washington Square.

Though the plan is overwhelmingly opposed by NYU’s faculty and neighbors, the city, under Mayor Bloomberg, finally blessed it, handing the university four strips of public parkland for its private use, ostensibly for academic purposes.

http://m.nydailynews.com/opinion/mark-ruffalo-protect-city-parks-article-1.2246763

 

[Keith Putnam]

http://m.nydailynews.com/opinion/mark-ruffalo-protect-city-parks-article-1.2246763

I'm an NYU alumnus, and the truth is that NYU is basically a real estate development corporation which happens to hold the occasional class. This project sounds awful.

 

[NYCFCFan10]

The death of the NFL due to concussins is wishful thinking.

I mean, how many boxers have died in the ring over the years? Yet, it's still here.

How many racers, cars/bikes, have died in races over the years? But its still here.

Soccer has its own concussion issues, too. A former US womens player has an organization calling for a U-14 ban on heading the ball.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Don't fool yourself. Concussions are an existential issue for American football. Do you know how much the numbers of youth playing football have fallen off? Some little league programs and even high schools are unable to find enough players to field teams. Sure, any serious decline in attendance and ratings is a long way off, but the issue is serious.

 

[NYCFCFan10]

Don't fool yourself. Concussions are an existential issue for American football. Do you know how much the numbers of youth playing football have fallen off? Some little league programs and even high schools are unable to find enough players to field teams. Sure, any serious decline in attendance and ratings is a long way off, but the issue is serious.

If by falling, you mean rising, then yes, it's a crisis.

http://www.nfhs.org/articles/high-school-participation-increases-for-25th-consecutive-year

Among the top 10 boys sports, baseball registered the largest gain with an additional 7,838 participants, followed by football (6,607) and soccer (6,437). The top 10 boys sports remained unchanged from last year: football, outdoor track and field, basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling, cross country, tennis, golf, and swimming and diving.

It likely won't be as dominate in the future but to call it an "existential issue" is comical. You're drinking that media fear-mongering kool-aid.

Wait, Baseball had the highest gain? But so many people have been telling me baseball's already dead? Huh.

 

[FootyLovin]

Wait, Baseball had the highest gain? But so many people have been telling me baseball's already dead? Huh.

Not dead. Sucks.

There's no accounting for taste.

 

[NYCFCFan10]

I will say, I'm legitimately shocked baseball, football and soccer are all outpacing basketball.

 

[413Blue]

I will say, I'm legitimately shocked baseball, football and soccer are all outpacing basketball.

Those numbers were based on organized high school participation. Since Basketball only fields 5, I think that is the reason for the lower pace. Also, those numbers don't include street ball!

 

[NYCFCFan10]

Oh

Those numbers were based on organized high school participation. Since Basketball only fields 5, I think that is the reason for the lower pace. Also, those numbers don't include street ball!

oh yeah, true.

In fact, when I was in middle school, our school had two full basketball teams named after our school colors. Gold and Maroon. Didn't have that in high school though, not sure its allowed.

It should be for some large schools, I think.

 

[FredMertz]

If by falling, you mean rising, then yes, it's a crisis.

http://www.nfhs.org/articles/high-school-participation-increases-for-25th-consecutive-year

Great example of cherry-picking stats to defend your position.

Pop Warner participation is down more than 10% from its peak. There is a lag before this will impact high school, making high school participation a backward-looking stat.

I'm betting you realized that but posted this anyway.