Post by QPR Report on Feb 28, 2009 1:25:31 GMT
Meanwhile in North America...
Soccer 365/Richard Snowden
Getting Things Right Where It Counts
Feb 23, 2009
Despite the economic concerns, Major League Soccer appears in a good position to weather the storm and Soccer 365’s Richard Snowden points out how MLS’ decision to grow slowly is now paying off.
As with virtually anything else under the sun, there are a lot of different things one could say about Major League Soccer, some of them complimentary, some not so much.
As America's latest grand experiment with the world's game gears up for its 14th season, there is still much that needs improvement. TV ratings remain stubbornly poor; many domestic fans of the sport (natives and immigrants alike) continue to ignore the league; the caliber of play is still too often less than compelling. And so it goes for our fledgling first-division circuit.
Much of the time, analysis of MLS focuses on things the league could do better, or that the brass seem to be getting wrong. But at the end of the day, it should also be noted that, whatever its shortcomings, the league is getting the most important things right.
And that's more than some of the bigger players on the professional sports scene can say.
Take, for example, this recent tidbit from the Toronto Star newspaper: "The NHL will likely find itself on financial thin ice if the recession deepens, according to many leading economists and financiers in the sports community."
Citing faltering franchises in questionable markets, heavily indebted owners, and the NHL's lack of a massive TV rights deal as primary contributors to pro hockey's current woes, the article points out that the NHL's expansion plans have been particularly detrimental to its prospects.
"This is [the result of NHL commissioner] Gary Bettman's wacky national footprint strategy, which put teams in places where people don't know hockey," one sports industry financier told the Star.
Contrast this with MLS, where expansion is being executed in a careful, methodical manner and interest in new MLS franchises remains high even as the league's asking price has continued to rise. So committed is MLS to smart expansion that, even with a stadium deal in place, the soccer hotbed of St. Louis may end up out in the cold due to lingering concerns about the financial wherewithal of its ownership group.
And while the NHL suffers for want of a lucrative TV deal, MLS has a modest yet viable domestic TV deal in place with both English- and Spanish-language outlets and sold its international TV rights to MP & Silva for an eight-figure sum in December.
"We saw a potential in Major League Soccer and see a really good potential internationally because of the involvement of new players from outside, good players," MP & Silva CEO Carlo Pozzali told Sports Business Journal, referring to foreign stars such as David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
Although players like Beckham and Blanco have had a relatively modest impact on the pitch, their marketability has been huge for the league. The two have combined to rake in millions in sponsorships and merchandising for MLS in the past couple of years, money that will go far toward helping the league weather the current economic downturn.
And even if the so-called "Beckham circus" is the epitome of silly season, the league deserves credit for showing the ambition to go out and sign the world's most recognizable athlete. Some may argue that Beckham has made MLS look bad in recent weeks with his want-away behavior, but the increase in revenues and interest he has generated for the league easily makes his signing one of MLS's best-ever business moves.
Meanwhile, the soccer stadiums that are MLS's long-term lifeblood are continuing to come online. Ten MLS clubs now play in facilities where they control revenues, with five more on the way (including Philadelphia, which will join MLS in 2010). Add in D.C. United's recent announcement of a burgeoning stadium deal, and every MLS club could conceivably be in a revenue-positive facility within the next five years.
Better still, while America's highest-profile sports are anticipating a hit at the box office as the recession grinds on, MLS is not only holding steady with ticket sales in most markets, some are actually doing even better than last year.
"Business executives at 10 of the league's 15 clubs who could be reached for comment reported that season-ticket renewals were flat or ahead of last year," Sports Business Journal recently wrote. "Only the Houston Dynamo reported being behind compared with renewals at the same time in 2008, while several clubs reported being ahead, including the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake."
MLS's steadfast commitment to operating on a shoestring may not always benefit the league in every respect, but with the "big four" leagues reportedly expecting attendance declines driven by the high ticket prices needed to pay their players' huge wages, MLS's ability to offer affordable tickets thanks to its cost controls will certainly prove helpful.
"We're cautiously optimistic [about ticket sales] because I believe there will be a flight to value and we offer value," Rapids managing director Jeff Plush told Sports Business Journal. "That’s important in times like these."
Indeed, so relatively healthy is MLS that, in a financial climate so challenging that even the Super Bowl has seen many of its sponsors cut back on spending, MLS is experiencing the reverse.
During MLS Cup weekend in November, MLS commissioner Don Garber told reporters that none of the league's sponsors "on a macro" level had reneged on their commitments. Since then, American Airlines and Panasonic have renewed their MLS sponsorships, while the San Jose Earthquakes have cut a deal to add the Amway logo to their jerseys for a tidy sum starting this season.
"These are challenging times for the sports industry," Garber noted in his address. "We and our clubs are working hard to make sure we can weather that storm, watching what we spend and how we spend it, ensuring that we're doing as much as we can to drive as much revenue as we can over the next year or two or three, or however long this economic crisis lasts."
And MLS is well positioned to do exactly that thanks to the able stewardship and hard work of its executives at both league and club levels. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed; despite MLS's relative obscurity in the crowded U.S. sports landscape, the league was named Sports Business Journal's 2008 Professional Sports League of the Year, while Garber earned the publication's Sports Leadership award.
To be sure, MLS has a long way to go yet before it will be able to compete favorably with the top U.S. sports leagues and the world's premier soccer circuits. But even with a sagging global economy, the league is making steady progress toward that goal by getting things right where it counts.
soccer365.com/features/story_23209222412.php
Soccer 365/Richard Snowden
Getting Things Right Where It Counts
Feb 23, 2009
Despite the economic concerns, Major League Soccer appears in a good position to weather the storm and Soccer 365’s Richard Snowden points out how MLS’ decision to grow slowly is now paying off.
As with virtually anything else under the sun, there are a lot of different things one could say about Major League Soccer, some of them complimentary, some not so much.
As America's latest grand experiment with the world's game gears up for its 14th season, there is still much that needs improvement. TV ratings remain stubbornly poor; many domestic fans of the sport (natives and immigrants alike) continue to ignore the league; the caliber of play is still too often less than compelling. And so it goes for our fledgling first-division circuit.
Much of the time, analysis of MLS focuses on things the league could do better, or that the brass seem to be getting wrong. But at the end of the day, it should also be noted that, whatever its shortcomings, the league is getting the most important things right.
And that's more than some of the bigger players on the professional sports scene can say.
Take, for example, this recent tidbit from the Toronto Star newspaper: "The NHL will likely find itself on financial thin ice if the recession deepens, according to many leading economists and financiers in the sports community."
Citing faltering franchises in questionable markets, heavily indebted owners, and the NHL's lack of a massive TV rights deal as primary contributors to pro hockey's current woes, the article points out that the NHL's expansion plans have been particularly detrimental to its prospects.
"This is [the result of NHL commissioner] Gary Bettman's wacky national footprint strategy, which put teams in places where people don't know hockey," one sports industry financier told the Star.
Contrast this with MLS, where expansion is being executed in a careful, methodical manner and interest in new MLS franchises remains high even as the league's asking price has continued to rise. So committed is MLS to smart expansion that, even with a stadium deal in place, the soccer hotbed of St. Louis may end up out in the cold due to lingering concerns about the financial wherewithal of its ownership group.
And while the NHL suffers for want of a lucrative TV deal, MLS has a modest yet viable domestic TV deal in place with both English- and Spanish-language outlets and sold its international TV rights to MP & Silva for an eight-figure sum in December.
"We saw a potential in Major League Soccer and see a really good potential internationally because of the involvement of new players from outside, good players," MP & Silva CEO Carlo Pozzali told Sports Business Journal, referring to foreign stars such as David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
Although players like Beckham and Blanco have had a relatively modest impact on the pitch, their marketability has been huge for the league. The two have combined to rake in millions in sponsorships and merchandising for MLS in the past couple of years, money that will go far toward helping the league weather the current economic downturn.
And even if the so-called "Beckham circus" is the epitome of silly season, the league deserves credit for showing the ambition to go out and sign the world's most recognizable athlete. Some may argue that Beckham has made MLS look bad in recent weeks with his want-away behavior, but the increase in revenues and interest he has generated for the league easily makes his signing one of MLS's best-ever business moves.
Meanwhile, the soccer stadiums that are MLS's long-term lifeblood are continuing to come online. Ten MLS clubs now play in facilities where they control revenues, with five more on the way (including Philadelphia, which will join MLS in 2010). Add in D.C. United's recent announcement of a burgeoning stadium deal, and every MLS club could conceivably be in a revenue-positive facility within the next five years.
Better still, while America's highest-profile sports are anticipating a hit at the box office as the recession grinds on, MLS is not only holding steady with ticket sales in most markets, some are actually doing even better than last year.
"Business executives at 10 of the league's 15 clubs who could be reached for comment reported that season-ticket renewals were flat or ahead of last year," Sports Business Journal recently wrote. "Only the Houston Dynamo reported being behind compared with renewals at the same time in 2008, while several clubs reported being ahead, including the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake."
MLS's steadfast commitment to operating on a shoestring may not always benefit the league in every respect, but with the "big four" leagues reportedly expecting attendance declines driven by the high ticket prices needed to pay their players' huge wages, MLS's ability to offer affordable tickets thanks to its cost controls will certainly prove helpful.
"We're cautiously optimistic [about ticket sales] because I believe there will be a flight to value and we offer value," Rapids managing director Jeff Plush told Sports Business Journal. "That’s important in times like these."
Indeed, so relatively healthy is MLS that, in a financial climate so challenging that even the Super Bowl has seen many of its sponsors cut back on spending, MLS is experiencing the reverse.
During MLS Cup weekend in November, MLS commissioner Don Garber told reporters that none of the league's sponsors "on a macro" level had reneged on their commitments. Since then, American Airlines and Panasonic have renewed their MLS sponsorships, while the San Jose Earthquakes have cut a deal to add the Amway logo to their jerseys for a tidy sum starting this season.
"These are challenging times for the sports industry," Garber noted in his address. "We and our clubs are working hard to make sure we can weather that storm, watching what we spend and how we spend it, ensuring that we're doing as much as we can to drive as much revenue as we can over the next year or two or three, or however long this economic crisis lasts."
And MLS is well positioned to do exactly that thanks to the able stewardship and hard work of its executives at both league and club levels. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed; despite MLS's relative obscurity in the crowded U.S. sports landscape, the league was named Sports Business Journal's 2008 Professional Sports League of the Year, while Garber earned the publication's Sports Leadership award.
To be sure, MLS has a long way to go yet before it will be able to compete favorably with the top U.S. sports leagues and the world's premier soccer circuits. But even with a sagging global economy, the league is making steady progress toward that goal by getting things right where it counts.
soccer365.com/features/story_23209222412.php