Honest Question - Do you think having a soccer specific stadium in the five boroughs will cure all the woes fans have with the front office? Because I think it possibly could only get worse.
I think a stadium solves most of our issues. Definitely agree with Mark and others here that some of the problems are related purely to management, so won’t change. But to my view, the primary troubles are: (i) gameday atmosphere; (ii) scheduling; and (iii) mental real estate.
(i) The atmosphere at el Yankees sucks not necessarily because of the supporters, but because, physically, the space isn’t built for this sport. The stands are half full even when we’re pulling top-tier-for-MLS crowds. Most of the seats are angled oddly relative to the field and the shoulda-been-prime midfield seats have some of the worst views. Fans are clumped oddly throughout the stadium based on these factors. Crowd noise escapes straight out the wide open roof. Fans are too exposed to the elements when we play non-baseball season games in February. The field suffers constant slap-dash conversions, to the detriment of the sport and the look of the surface. And, relatedly, the camera angle sucks on the broadcast, adding to a broader bad look and public perception.
(ii) The scheduling is bad and NYCFC/Yankees/MLS should feel bad. We have, what 6 midweek games out of 17 home games? I don’t know about y’all but 6:00 on a Wednesday doesn’t often work for me, and doesn’t seem like a good setup in this city. Weird gaps in the schedule mean you’re never quite sure when to expect the next game and can lead to lapses in attention in the middle of the season. Then we have these brutal runs at the end of the season with too many games right as our players are wearing out so of course we have injuries and an entirely predictable dip in form right when we should be building momentum for the playoffs. Oh, and who knows if we’ll manage to host our own playoff games or if one day we’re going to have an MLS Cup in Hartford.
(iii) Until the team builds in the city it’s always going to be, on some level, only contingent in the city. They can rent all they want, but the general public just sees minor league. If we have our own stadium, then it gets real. People will invest time, attention, money, care in a team if it feels like an actual fixture. Until then, we’re all just weirdos as far as the big picture goes around here.
Oh, and better gameday atmosphere and scheduling and mental real estate probably goes a long way toward better attendance and righting the ticket pricing problems (i.e., primary market is way overpriced currently).
So, yeah, I think a stadium fixes a lot. It’s not sufficient to solve everything, but it’s certainly necessary to the endeavor.
By the way, my six-year-old son asked me this morning, “Why are the Red Bulls called the *New York* Red Bulls if they play in New Jersey?” I explained metropolitan regions and sports markets, and he basically got it, but he still cheered when I answered his follow up question, No, we don’t have to go to Jersey this weekend. The game’s at home in the Bronx. Home means something, and NYCFC needs it.
