McCarthy's Musings: Stretching the Dollar

By Kyle McCarthy

Just what MLS clubs needed: more competition for ticket sales in a down economy.

The World Football Challenge added six high-profile games to an already packed summer calendar after unveiling a round-robin tournament in a New York City press conference on Tuesday.

With MLS, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and the World Football Challenge all on the schedule for July, fans in four MLS markets (Dallas, Boston, San Jose and Los Angeles) may have to make some decisions about where they can best spend their sporting dollar.

The problem may be most acute in Dallas, a market which has struggled to generate fan interest after the club hopscotched around the Dallas area before settling into a suburban stadium in Frisco.

On-field struggles, persistent moves and the suburban location of Pizza Hut Park have given FCD attendance headaches. The Hoops' 2008 average of 13,024 finished 13th out of 14 teams, even ranking below capacity-hamstrung San Jose. Reports of poor early ticket sales for the home opener – and further reports of subsequent front office shuffling to remove general manager Michael Hitchcock from ticket sales duties – were masked by an announced crowd of 15,905 for Saturday's opener

The situation in Dallas provides a necessary reminder that not every market in the league is as strong as the oft-cited examples in Seattle and Toronto. MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a conference call on Tuesday that the league bolstered its club services group – headed by former NBA executive Paul Mott – last year to help establish best practices and cultivate atmosphere around the league.

“It's not easy,” Garber said of reinvigorating fans in established markets. “We have to continue to be creative and provide value for our fans, both in the stadium and in our stadium locations. It's easy to be the last guy in. It's a lot harder to be around for years and years and manage a sports team through a lot of trials and tribulations over the years.”

It is even harder to make a case that Dallas-area soccer fans should give FCD another try with Gold Cup play and a friendly between Chelsea and Club America at the brand-spanking new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. While MLS has the advantage in terms of price point and staying power, the dollars only go so far in a slow economy.

“At some point, [that dollar] will get stretched,” Garber said. “I don't think we've reached that point yet. All of us in the business have to be smart enough to manage the market in a way that delivers value to the fan and delivers value to those in the business. We have to be smart and ensure that we're working in a way that we're growing the market so everyone involved can benefit from that.”

That market appears increasingly crowded, particularly given the fact that the World Football Challenge isn't promoted by SUM and doesn't benefit the MLS financially unless the investor/operator also owns the facility. But saying the market is crowded doesn't necessarily mean the four MLS teams in those three markets will take a hit in the box office during the crowded July period, according to one MLS team executive.

New England chief operating officer Brian Bilello said the series of events held at Gillette Stadium this summer – including a Gold Cup tripleheader on July 11 and A.C. Milan v. Inter Milan on July 26 –will end up complementing each other rather than detracting from the Revolution's attendance for stand-alone matches.

“In general, we are concerned about the economy, but this is a different type of event,” Bilello said. “We have our Revolution events that cater to our MLS fans. With the Gold Cup, that event caters more to the international community for each of the countries involved and the U.S. national team fans. This event caters to other international fans and fans of both of these clubs. It's very complimentary to what we have going on already.”

Around The League

- FC Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala will miss the next four to six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, the club announced on Tuesday.

- Real Salt Lake defender Ian Joy is expected to miss the next month after injuring his hamstring in last Saturday's friendly against Austin, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Luis Miguel Escalada will also miss this weekend's match with an ankle injury.

- Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers told the Columbus Dispatch that he expects to miss this weekend's game against Toronto with a slight left hamstring strain.

- Speaking of missing players, it's worth nothing that this weekend is an international weekend. That means a few key international players around the league won't be involved in the league slate. More on this in Friday's column.

- "He really didn’t have a preseason,” D.C. United general manager Dave Kasper told The Washington Examiner about the status of first-choice goalkeeper Louis Crayton. “He played ten minutes in a game. He didn’t really have that great of an offseason. His condition when he came into camp, he wasn’t fit, and then he missed some time. Obviously, he had the injury down in South Carolina. He’s behind the eight ball. He’s got to work himself, and he’s not sharp right now. It’s going to come. But it’s going to take some time.”

- "It's disgusting,” Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad told The Houston Chronicle about the surface at Robertson Stadium. “The field's awful. There's no other way to describe it. We're playing on a beach. It's embarrassing and I'm embarrassed that is our home field. Hopefully someone starts putting some grass in there. It was terrible. For the way we like to play and Columbus, it didn't help either team.”

- Former Revolution first-rounder Ryan Maxwell is on trial in San Jose, according to Center Line Soccer. Maxwell, 25, may find the road difficult with his Jamaican citizenship and with right midfielders Arturo Alvarez and Shea Salinas already in house.

Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com.