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Monday MLS Breakdown: Bright Future Is Now For Ambitious Sounders FC
By Kyle McCarthy, Goal.com Aug 24, 8:32 am EDT
SEATTLE, Washington – When Seattle general manager Adrian Hanauer looked into the future of his new expansion team, he envisioned Sounders FC as a major player in the Emerald City sports scene.
He didn't anticipate that the future – the sold-out crowds, the rabid fan support and the community-wide engagement – would arrive immediately.
“I don't think anyone imagined this kind of success,” Hanauer said as he watched his team train in Tukwila on Wednesday morning. “Long-term, we did. We thought we would build this into a franchise that felt like a major league franchise in the market that was relevant beyond the hardcore soccer fan and that had a fan base that was committed. … We didn't necessarily think it would be there from day one.”
Surprise, surprise.
Sounders FC turned into an overnight hit in a city reeling from the Sonics' departure to Oklahoma City and a couple of underachieving years from the Mariners and Seahawks. Every MLS franchise craves the staggering off-the-field success Seattle has achieved in its inaugural season. Sounders FC will almost certainly break the average attendance record set by Los Angeles in 1996 and will do so in a community that embraces its side like a small British city would support its long-established club.
In some quarters, Seattle's success is somewhat dismissively chalked up to the right place, right time theorem. Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid said that characterization uses a broad stroke when an intricate explanation is required.
“Sometimes, other teams around the league try to slough it off and say we were lucky,” Schmid said. “You always need a little bit of luck, but I always say that luck is where preparation meets opportunity. I think we were prepared and the opportunity was here, so I think that other teams should look at the preparation that we put in and maybe that could be emulated in some other places.”
As both Hanauer and Schmid pointed out, the success wouldn't be there if Sounders FC didn't have the plan, the personnel and the resources in place to seize the opportunity presented to it.
The investor/operators – actor Drew Carey, local businessman and former USL Sounders owner Hanauer, Hollywood producer Joe Roth and Vulcan Sports and Entertainment, a group headed up by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen – backed the team financially by acquiring Schmid from Columbus and shelling out big bucks to Freddie Ljungberg to give the team pedigree on the sidelines and on the field. The Seahawks (also owned by Allen) provided the business acumen and the additional manpower to promote and run the new franchise off of it.
In order to best take advantage of the available resources, Seattle also studied the rousing success Toronto has had in building its fervent following and incorporated some of those practices into its own planning, according to Schmid.
“I know the Sounders people here learned some things from looking at Toronto and how they launched their franchise,” Schmid said. “There's nothing wrong with borrowing. You don't have to reinvent the wheel if something is successful. You borrow from that and hopefully other franchises are looking at what's being done here.”
The tempting option for those observing the Seattle phenomenon is to gently query why other MLS markets aren't doing exactly what Schmid suggests and generating the same type of the success. That line of questioning isn't entirely fair to the other 14 franchises because it tries to compare apples to oranges and places unrealistic expectations on entrenched markets. While teams around the league are certainly trying to adjust their best practices to generate fan interest and revenue with Seattle in mind and meeting with Sounders FC personnel to pick up any tips they can, no amount of copying from the Seattle blueprint can fix the inherent problems in some established markets.
In the brand building game, a good plan influenced by the success of others only goes so far without the correct infrastructure and the financial resources to back it. Part of the reason why Seattle has enjoyed such rousing success is its willingness to seize upon its inherent advantages (stadium location, soccer interest in the market and a clean slate) by stepping up to the plate financially, an approach not necessarily shared by other teams around the league.
Monday MLS Breakdown: Bright Future Is Now For Ambitious Sounders FC
By Kyle McCarthy, Goal.com Aug 24, 8:32 am EDT
MLS is trying to help its teams do more with less by beefing up and emphasizing its team services department and developing strategies to increase revenue and attendance. While that approach will help in some respects, the logistical differences from market-to-market – soccer pedigree in the city, stadium location and entrenched beliefs previously developed about the existing team – make translating the Seattle blueprint and other league-wide best practices difficult in certain markets.
Hanauer and Sounders FC won't have to worry about trying to rectify a project that has run off the rails for the foreseeable future. With the right plan and the necessary resources in place, Seattle took advantage of a fertile soccer market and an urban and accessible stadium location to achieve the success most thought would take considerably more time to develop.
The future, at least in Seattle, thrives in the present.
By Kyle McCarthy, Goal.com Aug 24, 8:32 am EDT
SEATTLE, Washington – When Seattle general manager Adrian Hanauer looked into the future of his new expansion team, he envisioned Sounders FC as a major player in the Emerald City sports scene.
He didn't anticipate that the future – the sold-out crowds, the rabid fan support and the community-wide engagement – would arrive immediately.
“I don't think anyone imagined this kind of success,” Hanauer said as he watched his team train in Tukwila on Wednesday morning. “Long-term, we did. We thought we would build this into a franchise that felt like a major league franchise in the market that was relevant beyond the hardcore soccer fan and that had a fan base that was committed. … We didn't necessarily think it would be there from day one.”
Surprise, surprise.
Sounders FC turned into an overnight hit in a city reeling from the Sonics' departure to Oklahoma City and a couple of underachieving years from the Mariners and Seahawks. Every MLS franchise craves the staggering off-the-field success Seattle has achieved in its inaugural season. Sounders FC will almost certainly break the average attendance record set by Los Angeles in 1996 and will do so in a community that embraces its side like a small British city would support its long-established club.
In some quarters, Seattle's success is somewhat dismissively chalked up to the right place, right time theorem. Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid said that characterization uses a broad stroke when an intricate explanation is required.
“Sometimes, other teams around the league try to slough it off and say we were lucky,” Schmid said. “You always need a little bit of luck, but I always say that luck is where preparation meets opportunity. I think we were prepared and the opportunity was here, so I think that other teams should look at the preparation that we put in and maybe that could be emulated in some other places.”
As both Hanauer and Schmid pointed out, the success wouldn't be there if Sounders FC didn't have the plan, the personnel and the resources in place to seize the opportunity presented to it.
The investor/operators – actor Drew Carey, local businessman and former USL Sounders owner Hanauer, Hollywood producer Joe Roth and Vulcan Sports and Entertainment, a group headed up by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen – backed the team financially by acquiring Schmid from Columbus and shelling out big bucks to Freddie Ljungberg to give the team pedigree on the sidelines and on the field. The Seahawks (also owned by Allen) provided the business acumen and the additional manpower to promote and run the new franchise off of it.
In order to best take advantage of the available resources, Seattle also studied the rousing success Toronto has had in building its fervent following and incorporated some of those practices into its own planning, according to Schmid.
“I know the Sounders people here learned some things from looking at Toronto and how they launched their franchise,” Schmid said. “There's nothing wrong with borrowing. You don't have to reinvent the wheel if something is successful. You borrow from that and hopefully other franchises are looking at what's being done here.”
The tempting option for those observing the Seattle phenomenon is to gently query why other MLS markets aren't doing exactly what Schmid suggests and generating the same type of the success. That line of questioning isn't entirely fair to the other 14 franchises because it tries to compare apples to oranges and places unrealistic expectations on entrenched markets. While teams around the league are certainly trying to adjust their best practices to generate fan interest and revenue with Seattle in mind and meeting with Sounders FC personnel to pick up any tips they can, no amount of copying from the Seattle blueprint can fix the inherent problems in some established markets.
In the brand building game, a good plan influenced by the success of others only goes so far without the correct infrastructure and the financial resources to back it. Part of the reason why Seattle has enjoyed such rousing success is its willingness to seize upon its inherent advantages (stadium location, soccer interest in the market and a clean slate) by stepping up to the plate financially, an approach not necessarily shared by other teams around the league.
Monday MLS Breakdown: Bright Future Is Now For Ambitious Sounders FC
By Kyle McCarthy, Goal.com Aug 24, 8:32 am EDT
MLS is trying to help its teams do more with less by beefing up and emphasizing its team services department and developing strategies to increase revenue and attendance. While that approach will help in some respects, the logistical differences from market-to-market – soccer pedigree in the city, stadium location and entrenched beliefs previously developed about the existing team – make translating the Seattle blueprint and other league-wide best practices difficult in certain markets.
Hanauer and Sounders FC won't have to worry about trying to rectify a project that has run off the rails for the foreseeable future. With the right plan and the necessary resources in place, Seattle took advantage of a fertile soccer market and an urban and accessible stadium location to achieve the success most thought would take considerably more time to develop.
The future, at least in Seattle, thrives in the present.
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Re: Good on ya Seattle!
Fri, August 28, 2009 - 4:51 PMIt really is amazing. More than 32,000 people at every game. Word on the street is that SSFC have a waiting list for season tickets for next year. I can't foresee anyone giving up the tickets that they have already. Wish I had tickets for tomorrow's game. Gotta go to a stinky wedding instead. feh.
