SUMmer of Soccer Continues
The ‘Summer of Soccer’ which began on June 20, rolls on. After this past weekend, 41 events, including 15 doubleheaders comprising 56 matches have drawn 1,306,902, for an average of 31,876.
Since my last post on the SUMmer of Soccer, the big guns were on display and the attendances reflect that. Here’s how the events fared …
| Summer of Soccer Attendances | ||||
| Opponents | Venue | Date | Event | Att |
| Real Madrid v DC United |
FedEx Field Landover, MD |
Sun, Aug 09 | Friendly | 72,368 |
| Barcelona v Chivas de Guadalajara |
Candlestick Park San Francisco, CA |
Sat, Aug 08 | Friendly | 61,572 |
| Barcelona v Seattle |
Qwest Field Seattle, WA |
Wed, Aug 05 | Friendly | 66,848 |
| Barcelona v LA Galaxy |
Rose Bowl LA, CA |
Sat, Aug 01 | Friendly | 93,137 |
| Mexico v USA |
Giants Stadium E Rutherford, NJ |
Sun, Jul 26 | Gold Cup | 79,156 |
| Chelsea v Club America |
Cowboys Stadium Dallas, TX |
Sun, Jul 26 | WFC | 57,229 |
| Inter Milan v AC Milan |
Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA |
Sun, Jul 26 | WFC | 42,531 |
|
semi-Mexico v Costa Rica semi-USA v Honduras |
Soldier Field Chicago, IL |
Thu, Jul 23 | Gold Cup | 55,173 |
| Club America v AC Milan |
Georgia Dome Atlanta GA |
Wed, Jul 22 | WFC | 53,600 |
| Chelsea v Inter Milan |
Rose Bowl Los Angeles, CA |
Tue, Jul 21 | WFC | 81,224 |
| total | 662,838 | |||
| average | 66,284 | |||
More ch-ching for Soccer United Marketing(SUM). This was the first year of the 3 year agreement between Barcelona and SUM. They’ll return next summer, especially given the report that they took home over $8.5 million for their little USA preseason excursion.
Hello! Barca and the Galaxy pack the Rose Bowl. SUM has US marketing agreements with both Barca and Chivas; must have been some payday. Hopefully some of it will make it to the players in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement(CBA).
Gold Cup Total Attendance
| Gold Cup 2009 | ||||
| Mexico v USA |
Giants Stadium E Rutherford, NJ |
Sun, Jul 26 | Final | 79,156 |
|
Mexico v Costa Rica USA v Honduras |
Soldier Field Chicago, IL |
Thu, Jul 23 | Semifinal | 55,173 |
|
Guadeloupe v Costa Rica Mexico v Haiti |
Cowboys Stadium Dallas, TX |
Sun, Jul 19 | Quarterfinal | 82,252 |
|
Hondura v Canada Panama v USA |
Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA |
Sat, Jul 18 | Quarterfinal | 31,087 |
|
Panama vs. Nicaragua Mexico vs. Guadeloupe |
U of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, AZ |
Sun, Jul 12 | Group Play | 23,876 |
|
USA v Haiti Honduras v Grenada |
Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA |
Sat, Jul 11 | Group Play | 24,137 |
|
Costa Rica v Canada El Salvador v Jamaica |
FIU Stadium Miami, FL |
Fri, Jul 10 | Group Play | 17,269 |
|
Guadeloupe v Nicaragua Mexico v Panama |
Reliant Stadium Houston, TX |
Thu, Jul 09 | Group Play | 47,713 |
|
Haiti v Grenada USA v Honduras |
RFK Stadium Washington, DC |
Wed, Jul 08 | Group Play | 26,079 |
|
Jamaica v Costa Rica El Salvador v Canada |
Crew Stadium Columbus, OH |
Tue, Jul 07 | Group Play | 7,059 |
|
Panama v Guadeloupe Nicaragua v Mexico |
Oakland-Alameda Cty Col. Oakland, CA |
Sun, Jul 05 | Group Play | 32,500 |
|
Honduras v Haiti Grenada v USA |
Qwest Field Seattle, WA |
Sat, Jul 04 | Group Play | 15,387 |
|
Costa Rica v El Salvador Canada v Jamaica |
Home Depot Center Los Angeles, CA |
Fri, Jul 03 | Group Play | 27,000 |
| total | 468,688 | |||
| average | 36,053 | |||
World Football Challenge
| World Football Challenge | ||||
| Chelsea v Club America |
Cowboys Stadium Dallas, TX |
Sun, Jul 26 | WFC | 57,229 |
| Inter Milan v AC Milan |
Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA |
Sun, Jul 26 | WFC | 42,531 |
| Chelsea v AC Milan |
M&T Bank Stadium Baltimore, MD |
Fri, Jul 24 | WFC | 71,203 |
| Club America v AC Milan |
Georgia Dome Atlanta GA |
Wed, Jul 22 | WFC | 53,600 |
| Chelsea v Inter Milan |
Rose Bowl LA, CA |
Tue, Jul 21 | WFC | 81,224 |
| Club America v Inter Milan |
Stanford Stadium Palo Alto, CA |
Sun, Jul 19 | WFC | 31,026 |
| total | 336,813 | |||
| average | 56,136 | |||
SuperLiga Final Totals
| SuperLiga Totals | |||
| Total | Game Dates | Average | |
| 2007 | 247,251 | 15 | 16,483 |
| 2008 | 195,380 | 15 | 13,025 |
| 2009 | 114,163 | 12 | 9,514 |
|
3 Doubleheaders in 2009 meant 3 fewer separate game dates |
|||
Congestion Eases Significantly, But Not for All
Although they would have preferred winning, Chicago must be glad that SuperLiga is over. They are poised for a strong finish, having recovered from a 4 game losing skein with 3 wins and 2 draws before dropping a decision at Houston.
Don Garber has already stated that the SuperLiga will be back in 2010, a World Cup year. It’s a sure indication that live attendance and wide distribution of English language coverage in the US are irrelevant. It demonstrates where the real money comes from; sponsorships and Spanish language TV. SuperLiga in August or September next year?
| US Open | |
| Sep 2 | |
| Final | |
| DCU vs Seattle | |
Both teams played on July 25th. DCU had a CONCACAF Champions league game on July 28, an MLS game on August 1, a CONCACAF Champions league game on August 4, Real Madrid on August 9, back to league play on the 15th, and having advanced in the CONCACAF Champions League, a group phase CCL game on August 18, back to league play on August 22 and then game 2 of the group phase of the CCL on August 25 and back to MLS on August 29. DCU’s schedule remains busy after the Open final
with league matches on Sept 5, 8 and 12. That will make 14 matches in 50 days, and average of one match every 3.6 days for seven weeks.
DCU has earned only 16 of 39 points and with a weaker Eastern Conference are in the thick of a playoff race. As noted, DCU advanced in the CONCACAF Champions League with its preliminary win and will play on August 18 and 25, certainly making them the club most susceptible to stumbling in either MLS, the CCL or both.
Seattle will play DC United in its bid to win its first trophy as an MLS club. Seattle played an exhibition v Barcelona on August 5, and an MLS match on August 8, with league games on the 15th, 20th, 23rd and 29th leading up to the Open final.
| CONCACAF Champions League | |
| Aug 18-20 | Aug 25 – Aug 27 |
| Group Game 1 | Group Game 2 |
| DCU, Houston, Columbus | |
I’ve documented DCU’s schedule above. Houston and Columbus have it easier as they won’t have the Open to worry about nor did they need to qualify for the group stages.
Houston will have the tougher go. By the time they play there 2nd group phase CCL match against Arabe Unido in Panama, they will have played 6 matches in 21 days.
Columbus, whose 2nd group match will be away to Cruz Azul of Mexico, will have played 4 matches in 19 days, having the week of August 23rd off from league play.
Random Stats
86.58% of MLS games have been played on the weekend(Sat-Sun), leaving 13.42% of games played on weekdays. These numbers jibe with MLS’s attitude that weekday games lose too much revenue for clubs. In an earlier post, I think I disproved that theory with the caveat that creative marketing is the key to maintaining decent gate receipts for weekday matches.
No team is averging 2 goals per game, for or against. DC United top the offensive chart with 1.70 goals for but are 13th in defense, allowing 1.60.
Of the 6 fifteen minute segments in a match, minutes 76-90 have seen the most goals scored. The end of the first half, minutes 30-45 is second highest in this category.
Chivas USA’s fall from top of the table to 8th can’t be blamed on their defense. They are allowing the 2nd fewest goals per game, 0.88, but their offense is 13th, scoring 1.12.
It looks like the Dynamo wanna get a piece of the action. According to Dynamo’s Chris Canetti:
We are also close to announcing an international friendly that we will host at Robertson Stadium. The Dynamo will take on a top Mexican first division club in October. You can expect this announcement within the next week.
Believe it or not, but I think this will be the Dynamo’s first ever international friendly. It’s very interesting timing though, right in the middle of meaningful international matches via Champions League.
Which matches from the above set were sponsored by SUM? I know the US Open Cup and Gold Cup were not and SuperLigas is, but what about the WFC?
I want SUM to make as much money as possible since the MLS owners basically own SUM.
SUM is good for MLS, and MLS is good for American/Canadian soccer growth.
Mike,
Of the matches listed in the post, SUM would get a piece of the Barcelona matches as well as, I suspect, the DCU/Real Madrid match.
And according to their website, “Soccer United Marketing manages marketing, public relations and operations for the Gold Cup tournament.”
In addition, “SUM manages the commercial aspects the Champions League.”
The World Football Challenge was promoted by Creative Artists Agency.
And yes, SUM is what keeps the league going, which has been the point of this series of posts.
Is this deal with the Premiership done or not???
I’ve been checking my guide and the games are still not posted
Does anybody know if these games are gonna be on ESPN2???????????????//
Greg,
If you are in North America, it appears that Setanta will continue to broadcast its EPL package in Canada and the US.
ESPN will begin its Great Britain EPL broadcasts(the former Setanta UK package) this weekend.
Great news, maybe MLS will take the cash it’s been given to turn the league into a better one.
Greg,
Late breaking news update regarding ESPN and EPL in the US.
ESPN WILL be broadcasting EPL matches this season.
http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/epl-on-espn-in-the-us/