Saturday, June 30, 2012
Vacation Update - Montreal falls from attendance graces
This is the first time I have posted from my iPhone so be wary. I am currently camping in Colorado until July 9th. I will be away from a computer and my database, so there will be no updates till then. Till then I hope everyone keeps watching some great MLS games. I will continue to ponder the Impact's fall from attendance grace. They hosted crowds of 58,000+ and 60,000+ and at one point lead the league in attendance. Since moving to Stade Saputo, they have recorded some terrible attendance. Their first game in the stadium wasn't a sellout and a mere 17,000 people showed up to see them beat the Sounders. Since then they have seen crowds of 12,000 for a 4-2 drubbing of Houston and 14,000 in a 3-0 loss to Toronto. I don't get it. This team is winning. They just played two of the most interesting teams in the MLS with some great talent to mediocre crowds. Oh and isn't there a source of rivalry between Toronto and Montreal? This fan base has fallen from the graces. What more can you ask for then a fun and exciting team that is winning as an expansion team. Was I asking too much to expect Montreal to continue the Canadian ways of hosting consistent crowds of 20,000+? Comments please.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I dont get it... The new stadium is in the same facility as the dome, its not like it even moved. Do the fans not like the outdoor stadium? Maybe they dont want the weather or dont like the architecture?
ReplyDeleteI dont get it... The new stadium is in the same facility as the dome, its not like it even moved. Do the fans not like the outdoor stadium? Maybe they dont want the weather or dont like the architecture?
ReplyDeleteMontreal set a CFl attendance record in 1977, by 1981 the team was bankrupt
ReplyDeleteFolks from Montreal are pretty fickle. They usually don't make plans in advance and arrive to sports game late. The big thing though is that because its the summer, Montrealers tend to escape the city on the weekends by driving off to homes in the countryside. If you go to Montreal in July or August, the city can feel like a scene from a zombie movie where the streets are deserted and you're expecting a horde to come running at you from around the corner.
ReplyDeletehttp://cfl-scrapbook.no-ip.org/CFL-Attendance.php
ReplyDeleteFor a team that's 5-10-3, getting 14000 people to travel to the Olympic Stadium site for anythito watch is pretty fantastic. Did you ever see the Expos' attendance?
ReplyDeleteYou also have to remember that their stadium only held 13000 last year and averaged 11000/game in attendance. Even with promotion from NASL to MLS, you can't expect their fanbase to double in one year, especially when they are losing.
I remember going to an Impact game in 1994 at the Claude Robillard Centre, a field with a grandstand on one side and a grassy hill on the other. I think there were 2400 fans there. It's taken a long time for this team to increase its attendance, but give them time and a better product on the field and people will start to show up regularly.
The subway run under Olympic Stadium, travel is a red hearing. You can park anywhere in the city and be at Olympic Stadium or Downtown within minutes
Deletedon't forget Montreal fans have twice as many home matches to attend in 2012 compared to 2011 - the thing to look for is total attendance for the year.
ReplyDeleteI think you have to look at it a little differently. While it's true that season ticket holders are going to go to all the games, plus or minus, I'm guessing they only account for 9,000 or so fans. On the other hand, the rest of the population are only going to go to a few select games in the season. This year, they all chose to go to the big games at the Big O.
ReplyDeleteNext year, fans will spread out more throughout the season and will likely mean Saputo Stadium will be more full.
The other problem is that Saputo Stadium is far off in Montreal's East End. Montrealers like to spend the summer partying downtown. I think the Impact would have done better to work out a deal to play at Molson Stadium downtown rather than expand Saputo Stadium.
No soccer at Molson - that is a football field
DeleteI think a lot of people made the mistake that Canada MUST ABSOLUTELY EQUAL big attendance numbers. It may just not be the case in Montreal.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to accentuate the negative and ignore the positive. In post after post, you harp on whatever separates MLS from whatever your platonic ideal of Europe is. For example, this weeks post is all about Montreal. Clearly, Montreal is not a Portland or Toronto. It's more like a Salt Lake or Houston (prior to new stadium). Okay, I don't understand why Montreal has been good but not great, but I understand better after the comments on this blog from people with more Montreal experience than me. Fine.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't understand is how Montreal summarizes MLS attendance for the past week. How did MLS not kick ass this week? Look at the lineup. There were 9 MLS games this week: 3 were hosted by the worst drawing teams in the league (NE, Col, and SJ), 2 by middle of the pack teams (DC and Colorado), 1 wild card (Montreal), and 3 MLS 2.0 teams (Toronto, KC, and Houston). Basically every single one of these games exceeded the season the average of each team, except for Montreal, which is enhanced by its inaugural and first Beckham games, and Houston, which has sold out almost every game in its new stadium. Otherwise, Columbus and DC delivered their best crowds of the season, and Toronto and KC lived up to high expectations. NE and Colorado had above average crowds. Montreal could be better, but let's face it, you are complaining about a midweek crowd of 14,000+ plus. That is only a disappointment in light of recent MLS expansion teams like Portland and Philadelphia.
Bottom line: you totally missed the BIG STORY: San Jose showed what they can do when not limited by a tiny minor league baseball stadium: drawing 50,000 for a rivalry game with LA.
In my view, MLS attendance has been AWESOME in the three weeks since the international break. Yet, every week your posts have been emphasizing the negative. It's pretty disappointing. For example, you emphasized MLS's "decent" week last week. Do you realize there were 4 out of 6 MIDWEEK games with crowds over 20,000, including Seattle's best crowd of the year?
Missing this makes you look bad.
I read these comments, and none of them get to the root of the issue - Firstly, the problem in Montreal has absolutely nothing to do with a lack of interest. On the contrary, we've got fans of Italian descent, French folks from France, English ex-pats and South Americans of all stripes in the city who absolutely love soccer, and who love the fact that we've finally established the beginnings of a world-class team.
ReplyDeleteTHE REAL PROBLEM here is a crucial one - it has to do with the location of the sporting venue - Both Stade Saputo and the Olympic stadium are 10 minutes outside of the downtown core when taking the subway ("metro"). What's the key to success in any business? "Location, location, location"! If Joey Saputo built the Saputo Stadium within walking distance of Montreal's downtown area, we would absolutely have the best attendance in the league. Unfortunately, the venues are much to much out of the way - Saputo didn't learn from the mistakes of the Montreal Expos... Who relocated due to lack of attendance, to become the dismal Washington Nationals.
10 minutes is a deal breaker? Who doesn't have ten minutes?
DeleteMontreal is an Alouette and Canadian city
ReplyDeleteThe fans just like faster moving hockey more
ReplyDelete