Rather that relying just on my opinion, earlier this morning I asked my Twitter network, “What does the #USWNT loss yesterday mean for the WPS and soccer in the US in general?” Let’s take a look at some of the different replies I received, ranging from quite positive to pretty gloomy…

From @timingle:  Loss is unfortunate but gives increased motivation to continue developing program. A strong, well-funded professional women’s league can only help the future of the #USWNT, it certainly can’t hurt it. Recent fans of the #USWNT need to be made AWARE of WPS. ‘Strike while the iron’s hot’, so to speak, capitalize on excitement.

From @gx5:  Means nothing for soccer in the US. Was never big, will never be that big here. Nothing changes. Huge hit for WPS though. People will continue to not care. Another Cup win could’ve temporarily boosted attendance.

From @andrewhfine:  Definitely a hit to lose, but game was well played and very entertaining. As far as attracting fans, thats better than 3-0 win.

From @ShekBorkowski:  Probably nothing. US fans are big event fans and a typical womens football club match just will not excite them. Not really possible to sustain that level of interest without media coverage we have witnessed since the BRA match.

From @Chris_Lesley:  It meant WPS being marketable for 3 months to not being marketable at all.

From @parkour_knox: As much as I loved them being there, even a win for #USWNT would have done very little for WPS or womens soccer in the US. The hype around the game was more about national pride and less about people caring about womens soccer #inmyopinion.

From @jonathan_norman: I think the strong overnights bode well for the long-term health of soccer. I still see growth potential, honestly. #sportsbiz

From @spencerlueders: Millions in $ and lost potential of young girls picking up the sport. London 2012 is next chance.

From @JoshuaABoren: Long term it benefits the game. Added lots of new fans & drove interest. Short term though, people will forget when NFL is back.

In addition, this was the first topic discussed in last night’s weekly #sbchat. You can check out the transcript here (thanks to @cannonjw for sending this over). What do you think the short- and long-term impact of yesterday’s match will be?

Of all the leagues that I receive email from, I have to say that MLS does some of the best work in providing sponsor value via this important communication channel (and this is an area that I’ve criticized other organizations about in the past). Take a look at some of the examples below that I think you can learn from:

Home Depot – Drives participation in their Community MVP program, which is a key component in how Home Depot activates around MLS, and rewards entrants with a chance to win.

American Airlines – Great integration between the idea of being a soccer fan and traveling the world (look at the names on the departure board), driving valuable opt-ins for both organizations.

Castol – Back to the basics with an email that directly encourages Castol product sales and rewards MLS fans with a valuable incentive.

I also love the simple, clean and effective footers they use in their emails to drive more engagement via social media outlets. These are great examples to follow when driving sponsor value with your email communications.

Major League Soccer’s National Sales Center (MLSNSC), which I wrote about almost eight months ago, recently sent their fifth set of graduates into the difficult environment of selling soccer tickets in a down economy. To refresh your memory, the MLSNSC is (and I quote from their official website) “a highly selective 45 day sales training program, this experience provides a one-of-kind learning environment and exposure to the fundamentals of MLS ticket selling. Trainees will have the opportunity to apply what they are learning to actual selling of season, group and mini plan ticket inventory for different MLS clubs during the program. At the conclusion of the session, those trainees earning specific benchmarks throughout the program will have the opportunity to interview for sales positions at MLS clubs.”

Bryant Pfeiffer, Vice President of Club Services for MLS, commented on the changes that were made over the course of the first five sessions. “Initially we were thinking we would try to facilitate close to 6-7 sessions in 2011,” commented Pfeiffer. “After getting a better handle on both recruiting and placement flow in 2010 we felt it worked better to run four total sessions in 2011 that were more spaced out in between them.”

In terms of placement for the first four sessions, 40 candidates went through the program with 39 of those securing employment with an MLS club. Many of those graduates continue to keep tabs on each other. Jacob Hanselman, a graduate of Session IV, was hired by the Chicago Fire in March 2011. “Since we have been out at teams we keep an email chain that we are able to share stories with the entire group about different situations that have occurred or tips on questions some people have,” said Hansleman. “We grew to be very close and there hasn’t been a week were you won’t get a phone call from someone in the session or talk on Facebook comparing numbers and how everyone has been successful. I wouldn’t have been able to have the success that I have had thus far without any of the other 10 people that were in session IV not having a profound impact on me.”

One of the most valuable tools in the program is the instant feedback each candidate gets regarding their techniques. The feedback is not based solely on whether a sale was made or not. Pfeiffer mentioned, “We have added much more emphasis on video and audio recording of sales calls as an instant feedback tool. Trainees have consistently highly rated the impact this technology has on their development.” For Hanselman, the feedback was invaluable. “The most challenging part of the session for me was the refining of the sales process,” commented Hanselman. “Every one of our calls at the MLSNSC was taped, so even when you did make what you thought was a good call, we could go back and analyze and break it down; much like watching game tape. After each one you would see that we still had a lot of room for improvement.”

It’s easy to see after the first five sessions that the MLSNSC is going strong. “Fourteen MLS clubs have either hired or interviewed National Sales Center graduates,” said Pfeiffer. “Dallas and Houston have both hired six graduates so far.” With the blessing of the MLS head office, and strong recommendations from it’s previous graduates, MLSNSC will begin it’s sixth session on July 25th.

A successful candidate will “show a strong to desire to keep improving themselves, a strong competitive spirit, and refuse to be outworked wherever they are.” If that describes you, you can apply by visiting the MLSNSC website, scrolling to the bottom and clicking ‘Apply now.’

With the NHL Playoffs starting today, it’s a great time to look at how the NHL differs from other major American sports leagues in crowning their champion.

National Football League (NFL)

Only 12 of 32 NFL teams make the playoffs each year. At 37.5%, the NFL has one of the lowest percentages of teams allowed into the postseason. Four division winners from each conference automatically qualify, plus two Wild Card teams (non-division winners with the best record). At times, this can make for interesting seeding. In 2011, for example, the Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West with a 7-9 record. They were slated to host the first round matchup against the 11-5 New Orleans Saints, the non-division winner Wild Card out of the NFC South. There was quite an uproar about whether Seattle deserved to host that game, but they quieted  (most of) the critics when they pulled out a 41-36 win.

National Basketball Association (NBA)

In the NBA, 16 out of 30 teams (a whopping 53.3%), make the playoffs. Once those 16 teams are seeded, the bracket will never change, regardless of any upsets that occur.

Major League Baseball (MLB)

MLB doesn’t refer to their tournament as the ‘playoffs.’ For baseball, it’s the ‘postseason’ that determines the champion. Only 8 of the 30 MLB teams (the lowest of all major American sports leagues at 26.7%), make the postseason, often coming down to the very last game, and occasionally needing an extra game as a tiebreaker.

Major League Soccer (MLS)

The youngest of the major American leagues, MLS advances 10 of their current 18 teams (55.5%) to the playoffs. Five teams from each conference are seeded, and while the first three seeds get byes, the #4 and #5 seeds play each other for the right to face the #1 seed. Once the bracket is set, no changes are made to account for upsets.

National Hockey League (NHL)

The NHL may just be the most fair when it comes to their playoff system. While they do allow a large percentage of their teams in (16 out of 30 – 53.3%), teams are re-seeded after each round. What this takes into account, that no other major American league does, is the regular season. A lower-seeded team that didn’t perform as well over the course of the 82-game season, doesn’t get an easier path to the Stanley Cup Finals just because they upset the higher seed. Kudos to the NHL for keeping the regular season more relevant than the other four leagues.

What is your favorite playoff system? Do any of these five leagues get it right? Should MLS consider going to the European-style of crowning the regular-season champion and forgoing any regular season?

Image courtesy of NHL.com

In one of the last sessions from last week’s Global Sports Forum, Sandro Rosell, the President of FC Barcelona, talked about what it means for his team to be “més que un club” (more than a club). From the few days I spent in Barcelona, there is no arguing how important Barca is to the local sports culture. Fans live and breathe with the team (it happened to be a pleasant week since they had just defeated Arsenal in a Champions League game earlier in the week).

Here are some of the insights shared by Rosell about the culture and identity of the club:

• Fans that cannot afford to buy tickets find a way to do so. There is an added value to being there live at the games. The fans identify on a personal level with the ups and downs of the team. This symbolizes what it means to be “more than a club.”
• It’s not just about winning – it’s how you won. It’s part of the culture. What do you show on the pitch.
• People around the globe want to see Barca because of the values of good players and good people. This is a fundamental philosophy across all FC Barcelona clubs, and that comes through on the field. Also, the global expansion of media let’s everyone see it. It’s very real to the team and the players, not just a show for the cameras.
• FC Barcelona has more than the normal mission for a club – they want to use the power the club has to create social change. For example, in their UNICEF agreement, their team was actually paying money to UNICEF, not the other way around. (Note: with their new deal with the Qatar Foundations, they will be receiving payment. According to Rosell, the organization needed additional resources to put into the club and this was the best option without losing solidarity on the team’s mission)

Rosell also fielded some questions from the audience on other business topics:

• On the stadium name, Camp Nou:  We will never take the name from the stadium. We do want to get the best financial return that we can from everything. Ideally, we want to get more from less with our sponsorships. (Note: as one Twitter follower mentioned, similar statements may have previously been made about their jerseys)
• What is the brand essence:  “Feeling. ” I’d like to say, it’s more than what we try to sell, it’s what the customers want to buy.
• My question on their previous interest in a potential MLS investment:  That initiative from previous management. We don’t agree with that approach and we definitely will not do that. “There is only one Barca and it’s in Barcelona.”
• On the formation of a Euro-super-league: I don’t like the idea personally. That’s not to say it couldn’t happen in time, but it’s not my preference. The spanish season is long.  We should trim the length of this league and allow more time for the European league.

As someone without much knowledge of European soccer leagues, this session was quite enjoyable, and Rosell is definitely an iconic figure in Spain. Once the session ended, he was available for a 5-10 minute session with the media in attendance, and within seconds he was surrounded by a herd of media holding microphones and recorders as close as possible, so trying to ask additional questions was impossible. I was hoping to ask him what U.S. soccer clubs can learn from the success of FC Barcelona, but that question will have to wait for another day!

On a fun note, if you’ve ever wanted to walk out onto the pitch at Camp Nou, watch this video I was able to take at the Thursday night reception!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y51QIVmA_2s

We’re halfway through the first full day of the conference and there have been lot of great comments from the panelists. Here are some general remarks from some our today’s speakers (these aren’t specific quotes, but I tried to attribute the best I could). You can also see my photo recap of the event in the Global Sports Forum Barcelona photo album on our Facebook page. Finally, check back later for videos from each session – I’m working on uploading them all ASAP!

Opening Remarks from Sergey Bubka:

• Sport and the Olympic spirit has an incredible ability to impact society and reach a global audience.
• We can use sport to help overcome the obesity problem that has spread to the east.
• When we consider “what’s next” for sport, we must always think first about our youth.
• The expansive reach of Facebook and socail media is now an important tool to promote sport and communicate with fans around the world.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSSkwGzp1-Q

Women Who Make a Difference in Sport:

On the current state of women’s sports:

• Donna De Verona: On how far women’s sports has come: We have the expansion of womens swimming race options, growth of women’s soccer, the Women’s world cup, netball, a female minister of sports, women who sailed around the world, women competing more than ever. We’re up to 43 percent of all Olympic athletes and we have women serving on the IOC.
• Chantal Jouanno: There’s still aa big difference in the percent of women vs. men that competes in athletic competitions, ten percent of women to 25 percent for men. Cultural reasons and young women having children definitely impact this number.
• Mia Hamm: There are still a lot of “firsts” when referring to women and sports, including a panel like this. I want to see women’s sports just be another part of the conference.  I’m hopeful for the opportunities for my girls have as they get older.
• Samantha Davies: I’m making the most of being a leader for women in sports. For me, in a sport where women compete on same field as men, we gets a lot of media coverage. Two women competed out of 30 racers in last competition and we finished fourth and sixth.
• Katerina Witt: Figure skating is a historically female sport. Only recently have I seen on the business and television side, and in viewing other female sports how much the discrepancy exists in terms of male vs. female involvement.

On the topic of a recent ESPN nude photo layout:

• Katerina Witt: In the end, its about tv ratings. We need to get people to watch. It is possible for something provocative to be done well and tastefully, and in a way that can promote the athletes and the sport.
• Samantha Davies: Men’s rugby teams have done similar things. It creates buzz and interest. It creates and communicates an image, and builds a following.

Why do womens sports get less media coverage:

• Chantal Jouanno: Current male sports already dominate a large percentage of existing coverage, leaving less hours for womens sports coverage.
• Donna De Varona: The men at television networks are making the decisions. Even the Women’s World Cup was a hard sell at first, but it was a huge success. We need leadership in place to push for it.

The Yahoo! Experience

• Yahoo is number one for sports content online in the world. A completely advertiser supported model but they want their ad content to be an additive experience for the user.

Four components to digital content:

1. Maximize your content:  Leveraging your content across multiple digital channels along with offline integrations and events for buzz and traditional media exposure.
2. Personalize your content:  Making that content relevant for each person. People wants a custom experience but the don’t want to take the time to edit things themselves, so do it for them. They also want to connect with fans with similar interests via social media, which makes the content personal. Finally, local is very personal, whether its little league or niche sports (the long tail of sports content).
3. Build your brand:  How does the digital canvas tell a story in a way that makes an impact for a brand. Incorporate the brand into the online experience for the user.
4. Be Everywhere:  The mobile internet has grown and is now a real channel to consume sports content. This means custom applications to deliver content via these mobile options.

Adidas and the UEFA: For this panel, I sent several Twitter updates, as did the other attendees (search for #GSFB). Here were some observations:

• For adidas, the Champions League ball is the iconic element. And the partnership with UEFA is a big platform for them. #GSFB
• Adidas introduces ball, footwear & apparel every year tied to the Champions League platform. Opening dedicated retail store this year. #gsfb
• UEFA: Decisions on format changes are purely based on the game. They discuss with partners, but decisions aren’t designed for them. #GSFB
• adidas admits that they’d love to see adidas on an FC Barcelona jersey. Not too shocking I’d imagine. #GSFB
• I really get a feel from current panel that adidas+UEFA really is a true partnership. Deep investment and strong value to both sides. #GSFB
• From @krisgotsch: UEFA at #GSFB; ‘What Adidas call customers, we call fans’
• From @martina_lacey: It would be hard for Adidas to walk away from UEFA & see someone else w/ their hands on their balls #GSFB

In the past months, Under Armour has ramped up their football endorsement profile, signing major deals with Tom Brady, Cam Newton and Julio Jones, to go along with existing endorsement deals for Ray Lewis, Anquan Boldin and Miles Austin. They also have an expanding footprint in college football, featuring major Division I programs such as Auburn, Boston College, Maryland, South Carolina and Utah.

Now, it seems like Under Armour is ready to expand from football to fútbol! Earlier today, the company announced a five-year global partnership with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club of the Barclays Premier League. This is their first Premier League deal and their largest European partnership.

According to the press release, “Beginning with the 2012/2013 season, Under Armour will provide Tottenham Hotspur with performance apparel, including training wear and playing kit for the Club’s First and Academy teams, together with replica product for the Club’s supporters around the world.”

Both organizations seem very excited about the new partnership:

• Daniel Levy, Chairman Tottenham Hotspur: “We are delighted that Under Armour will become our new technical partner from 2012 onwards. They are an extremely ambitious brand with global aspirations, making them ideal partners for Tottenham Hotspur.”
• Under Armour CEO and Founder, Kevin Plank: “This is a highly significant and exciting partnership for Under Armour. Aligning with an elite organization like Tottenham Hotspur demonstrates our deep commitment to growing the Under Armour brand in the UK and to showcasing our apparel and footwear on the world’s most prestigious athletic stages.”

This is a very significant moment for UA. While we’ve seen their steady growth within U.S. sports over the past few years, a deal like this shows that they are ready to start competing with larger brands on the global stage. One of the sessions I hope to attend at the Global Sports Forum on Thursday is specifically discussing the partnership between adidas and UEFA. While the scale of adidas’ relationship with UEFA and European soccer clubs is much larger, I’m curious to find out what they think of UA’s new deal.

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Peter Amador.

Mexicans don’t drink Coors Light.

A lesson I learned growing up in San Diego.  Therefore, you could understand my befuddlement at Coors Light’s decision to become the presenting sponsor of the Mexican Football Federation’s (FMF), Primera Division (First Division soccer).  The Coors Light / Primera Division poster that has greeted me at the subway entrance every morning since December 1 has caused me to question: A) whether the anecdotal experience of my childhood is correct and B) if I am correct, is the sponsorship the best way for the brand to improve its image with Mexicans / Mexican-Americans?

According to Scarborough Research’s first report of 2010 (Q: beers drank in the past 30 days), Coors Light has the fourth largest market share with Hispanics in the United States, trailing Bud Light, Corona and Budweiser, respectively.  However, with Hispanics that have watched or listened to a Mexican soccer league match in the past 30 days, Coors Light’s market position drops to 7^th with only 1.6 percent of fans (see graph).  To put this result into perspective, Hispanics that have watched or listened to a Mexican soccer league match in the past 12 months are 76 percent less likely than the general Hispanic population to drink Coors Light.

The answer to question A: Fans of the FMF’s Primera Division are less likely than the average Hispanic consumer to drink Coors Light. The answer to question B is purely subjective.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, there are 30,746,000 Mexican / Mexican-Americans living in the United States, representing 66 percent of the Hispanic population.  Unfortunately for Coors Light, fans of the Primera Division represent a small fragment of the Mexican / Mexican-American community.

Scarborough Research reports that 658,000 Hispanics have watched or listened to a Primera Division match in the past 12 months; this number reflects a 24 percent increase from 2008.  However, is this audience large enough to fundamentally alter the brand’s image with Mexicans / Mexican-Americans?

Consider this: if the league was to maintain its current growth rate and raise its audience numbers to 817,000 by 2012, AND Coors Light was able to double its market share in the same time span, Coors Light would increase the number of Primera Division fans drinking its beer from 10,400 to 26,100.  The Primera Division does not offer the scale necessary to justify the initial investment of the sponsorship and the associated media buys.

Coors Light has invested heavily into a branding strategy which utilizes the league’s marks in television, radio, online and out-of-home advertising.  The brand’s image will be enhanced by its association with the league’s marks, but I do not believe the mark’s carry enough equity in the hearts of consumers to dramatically enhance the brand’s image.

Coors Light is working on reversing decades of being stigmatized as a brand that does not represent the Mexican / Mexican-American identity.  The brand’s investment in the Primera Division is the first step in an ongoing effort to improve its brand image with Mexicans / Mexican-Americans, and should be one piece of a much larger and broader strategy.  The Primera Division investment will not yield a positive ROI for Coors Light, but will help to improve its standing in the community.  After all, it only can go up.

Peter Amador has spent the past six months interning in Soccer United Marketing’s, Partnership Marketing department.  You can follow him on Twitter (@petervamador), connect with him on LinkedIn, visit his blog (petervamador.wordpress.com), or email him with your comments (pvamador@usfca.edu).

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Ryan Knapp.

Disappointment was the name of the game last Thursday when Sepp Blatter opened the envelope to announce Qatar was the host of the 2022 World Cup. The United States was unsuccessful in securing the second World Cup in our country’s history.

The question now is: How does the decision affect soccer in the United States?

Immediately, the loss to Qatar takes away the 2022 World Cup, shining brightly in the distance and inspiring new players and coaches for the next 12 years. Young players around the ages of 10 would be thinking about featuring for the USMNT when they were 22 years old on their nation’s home soil. While we can argue about the profitability factor, there is no arguing the prestige and the sheer passion hosting the World Cup brings to a country. Passion does not have a price tag.

Losing the bid proved we need to stop worrying about the growth of soccer in the United States and rather focus on maturing the game at all levels. Instead of focusing on the 2022 World Cup event, this should be the time look at some key factors in the game currently.

Start from the ground up and the way it is structured at the lowest levels. Coaches need to be better trained to simply teach the youngest children, while letting them enjoy the game. Not every child will become the next Landon Donovan, but every child who is taught the game correctly and enjoys it is one more child who is likely to become a fan later on.

Higher up the scale,  MLS teams are rewarded with their academy systems with MLS lifting the Home-Grown player system. The US Soccer Development Academy has rewarded teams who place player development at the forefront of their club structure. Futsal is beginning to move into the US landscape to provide another form of development at an early stage.

Which feeds into the professional game and

Which rolls into…

Start asking tough questions. Promotion and relegation should happen. Maybe not in two years, maybe not in five, but serious thought needs to be given or else Division 2 and 3 soccer in the United States will continue in the tradition of teams coming and going each year. Same with amateur leagues like the NPSL and PDL.

This will take an enormous amount of work. Revenues will drop for MLS teams who would be sent down and expenses (notable travel) would sky rocket for teams promoted. But, we are working on long term solutions, not short term band-aid solutions. Along with this is the MLS single-entity structure, how college and high-school soccer fit in.

Feelings will get hurt, but we need this honest and open discussion in the soccer community.

Which rolls into…

Start working together. Soccer is such a small family in the United States, but yet everyone builds huge walls around their projects and refuses to collaborate to get at the heart of problems. The more people with the same vision work together, the more the game will mature and come into it’s own.

From World Cup 1994 until now, we have seen the rise of a national soccer league where one did not exist. Fast forward to 2010, were we have soccer specific stadiums, several high-profile stars and a league which continues to grow and push forward despite being told 100 times it would never work while operating a single-entity system. We have more people than ever looking to invest in the game, and sponsorships are at their highest ever.

Twenty-two FIFA delegates decided we will not host the best 32 teams from around the world in 2022. However, they did not decide we cannot take these next 12 years and move into a new era of soccer in the United States with maturity at the forefront, long term solutions as a goal and a focus on change from the ground up.

Ryan Knapp (@ryanknapp) is Manager of NSCAA Digital at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Along with the NSCAA, Ryan is active in the United States soccer landscape as owner and founder of FC Buffalo and VP Business Development for Statzpack. You can find out more about Ryan at http://www.ryanjknapp.com/blog.

Rather than just giving you my opinions of the this morning’s World Cup host location announcements, I decided to ask everyone on Twitter what they thought. I felt that this would be a more accurate gauge of what other sports business professionals are thinking.  Feel free to share your own reaction in the comments below, and thank you to everyone that responded to my Twitter request!

Question: “What is your #sportsbiz reaction to today’s world cup host announcements?”

• andymorr – Hard to believe that FIFA thinks they could make more $$ in Qatar than US. Sponsorships, ticket sales, etc.
• nolabongz – To be frank, the majority of people outside the US don’t really care what the US thinks about football either
• jaredmelzer – Surprised that it was not going to a traditional European football centric country in 2018. Think it’s a lock for 2026.
• Ryan_ALSD – On the premium side I am very curious to see what packages and approaches are taken, especially in Qatar. #sportsbiz
• mwteller – Big economic blow to US. Would’ve been a cash cow given the fact stadiums/infrastructure already built.
• PatMacBaseball - @mwteller is that true though? Olympics, I’ve heard is a financial burden on host cities.
• cannonjw – Limited $ in US bid for infrastructure dev. #FIFA‘s way of saying: Don’t care how much $ you have. If #soccer ain’t #1, buh-bye
• dsaggio – It shows global economy in sport. Much like F1, it’s about all markets, not just major ones. It’s about expansion & acquisition. And $$$
• JoshuaABoren – World Cup decision very encouraging for US sports architects/engineers/builders as provides lots of job opps since US venues already built!
• akafie – Re: World Cups – #FIFA continues trend to expand into new markets, Qatar infrastructure concerning, U.S. fav 4 #2026 #sportsbiz
• Sponczar – Somewhere in the learnings from lost US bids for World Cup and Olympic hosting is a bid sales manual that needs to be shredded & rewritten

Here are some additional takes on the announcement, not in reply to my question, but quite valuable:

• bhofheimer_espn – What are the chances we launch ESPNQatar by the end of the decade? Hmm.
• sportsmktgguy – So England loses World Cup bid to Russia & US loses to Qatar? When do sponsors & TV partners challenge FIFA?
• ryanknapp – Next 12 years with the World Cup on the horizon in the US would have been huge growth of the game. Not the end, but a large setback.
• AshRead14 – I like the idea of reaching out to new areas. But World Cup should also be about history and heritage.
• TSBX – Breakdown of votes http://bit.ly/ef9S6X #FIFA #worldcup

And finally, from Joe Favorito…

• joefav – Antarctica, Easter Island become the faves for the 2026, 2030 World Cup, FIFA asks 4 a commitment from NASA to get Mars for 2034

Today’s guest post is from Christopher Lamberth. Chris is the Director of Sports Business Development for Kansas City, Missouri-based 360 Architecture, a national leader in sports & athletic facility design. Recent projects include the new home of MLS’ San Jose Earthquakes, New Meadowlands Stadium (at right), Auburn Arena, BB&T Ballpark, and Basra Sports City.

It’s fall in America.

The MLB postseason is in full swing. NFL and college football seasons are settling in. NHL and NBA seasons are beginning this month. Do you know what is going on in Major League Soccer (MLS)? Remember the World Cup?

Momentum for soccer awareness and support in the U.S. has certainly gained steam from this past summer’s 2010 World Cup. The skeptical U.S. media and general populous were captivated by the relative success of the U.S. Men’s team in South Africa as well as the charm, power and presence of various international teams and their colorful, expressive and loyal countryman.

We all watched some coverage or highlights even factoring in the time zone lapse almost half a world away. Friends posted comments, pictures and video from travels to the various venues around South Africa or just as commentary to the action from the broadcast. YouTube, Twitter and Facebook were blowing up with World Cup content. Surprisingly, many of us in the sports industry likely know at least one colleague that made a trip to Africa during the competition. My firm even had a delegation attend the finals match.

No doubt the American MLS stars featured on the U.S. Men’s Team have become important ambassadors for MLS and their assorted teams. For those players and the whole league, their regular season is winding down and by late October will be staging the first leg of the playoffs.

MLS is the United States’ first-division professional soccer league. Basically it’s the top of the professional soccer hierarchy in the United States and Canada. The inaugural MLS season began in 1996 with 10 teams. In the past five years the league has expanded to 16 teams via relocation and expansion. On the horizon, expansion teams will play in 2011 in Portland and Vancouver, and in 2012 in Montreal.

The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) also has a 10-team, second-division league. What? Another league you say? Now, I did not grow up a soccer fan and I never played organized soccer as a kid or adult. Michael Hitchcock of Playbook Management International (PMI) is a 12+ year veteran of MLS. He rose from the ranks of several clubs beginning in the league’s infancy before forming PMI, an international sports & entertainment consultant group. To help clarify the world of professional soccer in the states, Hitch shared, “the sport has developed to the point that we’re close to having a true four-division professional league hierarchy with MLS as the 1st Division… This is great for the game in this country.”

The USSF 2nd division league, whose championship series is set for the end of October, will continue as the NASL in 2011 and as the next-tier feeder to the MLS clubs. NASL, itself a reincarnation in name of the former North American Soccer League that dissolved in the mid-80’s, is also inclusive of breakaway teams from the former United Soccer Leagues (USL) 1^st Division.

As a sports architect, I have been to numerous sporting events and venues. However, it was not until 2007 that I saw my first professional soccer game in the stadium where Hitch was the GM. I was at Pizza Hut Park, on a warm, sunny Sunday with my two preschool-aged boys. The experience was electric and the place was packed with fans of all ages and walks of life. Drums were rhythmically pounding and cheering sections erupting. Although comparative to the international game and those premier leagues, this was likely a small, tame crowd. But it made an impact and I began to understand that the soccer revolution in the U.S. was already here.

What you may not realize is that going back to the first new soccer specific venue built in Columbus, Ohio in 1999, MLS has seen surprisingly rapid stadium development comparative to the four other major league professional sports here in the US. The trend for soccer specific or shared soccer/American football use is set to outpace the other venue types.

Many of you can tell me that since 2006 we have seen four new NFL stadiums open in Arizona, Indianapolis, Dallas and New York/New Jersey. There have been five new MLB stadiums for the Cardinals, Nationals, Yankees, Mets and Twins, and three new NBA/NHL Arenas in New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Orlando. Did you know that six new MLS stadiums have opened since 2006 in Chicago, Toronto, Colorado, Salt Lake City, New Jersey, Philadelphia? There are several more on the horizon.

Hitch adds, “Relative to venues; 2nd and 3rd Division teams are exploring soccer specific stadiums that will be used for other events to include concerts. Similar to the Minor League Baseball stadium boom, we’re about to see that in Pro Soccer.” That means even more potential new soccer venues. In turn, the influence of the game will help develop a few more fans, players and sponsors.

Soccer is here to stay. And I am telling you now, the revived rivalry in the Pacific Northwest coming to MLS in 2011 will create a few headlines. The Seattle Sounders are already doing it now. For those who have not been to a match, the game is very accessible as a spectator sport and more exciting in person. Check out a game on TV. Don’t wait for the 2014 World Cup. Although the professional season is winding down in the states, here are a few events to keep an eye open for:

• MLS Cup, November 21st, Toronto, Ontario, Canada at BMO Field.
• College Cup, December 10th & 12th. University of California, Santa Barbara at Harder Stadium

ESPN will cover both finals matches live on ESPN and ESPN2 respectively.

Editor’s note: Do you think MLS’ mandate that new teams build soccer-specific stadiums directly correlates to the success of soccer in the U.S.? As a business strategy, how does this set MLS apart from other leagues (besides the MLB, NFL, NHL, or NBA) like Major League Lacrosse or the WNBA?

Everyone knows that the economy has had an effect on ticket sales in sports. From NASCAR to the NBA (unless you’re the Miami Heat), increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of your sales staff is one of the top priorities. Major League Soccer (MLS) is no different, but they are attacking the problem in a unique way. They have created a partnership with the National Sports Center in Blaine, MN, and launched the MLS National Sales Center, headed up by MLS Club Vice President of Club Services, Bryant Pfeiffer. The idea behind the pairing is that many teams don’t have time to train new salespeople. They need their sales staff to hit the ground running. However, many new salesmen and women don’t have the skills or experience to be effective right away.

Pfeiffer mentions that representatives with more then three years’ experience generate five times the ticket revenue of first year hires. With that thought in mind, and with the blessing of MLS Commissioner Don Garber, an intensive 10-week session was created. “Through class room training, role playing and real life sales application we endeavor to expose them and build confidence with as many fundamental ticket sales selling environments which exist,” commented Pfeiffer. “Everything from basic phone skills, managing face to face meetings, online selling, networking events to maximizing game night selling opportunities.” Two real-life selling opportunities the first round of trainees had included selling for a one-off event (the MLS All-Star Game in Houston), and selling multiple-game ticket packages (a two-game package for FC Dallas featuring an appearance by Thierry Henry’s New York Red Bulls).

Ten trainees took part in the inaugural session, which concluded August 21. All 10 were offered (and accepted) sales positions with MLS teams. While a job is not guaranteed at the end of the sessions, MLS teams are kept apprised of scheduled conclusion dates. Some team executives even flew out to meet with the potential employees. The Center can be looked at as a complement to local hiring efforts. In speaking with Pfeiffer, he stressed that they are looking for two things in potential candidates: a passion for the game, and a desire to sell. Applications are submitted via one-minute YouTube videos, which gives a behind-the-scenes look at an applicant. “Seeing which candidates are willing to take the extra effort of filming themselves, downloading it on you tube and submitting is revealing,” mentioned Pfeiffer.

One of the most unique aspects of this program is the amount of work trainees do with a local improv group. Improv training helps the trainees to enter every sales situation with an open mind, and to think fast on their feet.

While the jury is still out on the success of the program, the second session is underway with a new set of candidates. In today’s tough sales climate, this kind of an advantage for a first-year sales rep could be enough to increase their revenues, leading to an increased satisfaction in their job and an increased likelihood to stay within the league. MLS and Pfeiffer will keep an eye on how well these first year reps do compared to those without training. They’ll continue to tweak the topics, special guests, and format as they get feedback from teams and participants.

To me, this seems like a win-win situation for everyone. The team gets a fully trained employee while the sales rep is armed with a cadre of tools to attack their new job. It’s a unique partnership in sports, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see other professional leagues copy this model.

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Dr. Don Sandusky of Primo Sport Inc.

It’s a tough call, but Adidas’ new match ball just might beat out the Vuvuzuela horns as the most polarizing thing on South Africa’s World Cup pitch. The Jabulani ball — translated as “Celebration” — has been criticized for its unpredictable movement, called cheap and been implicated in botched plays. The new ball is heat molded rather than hand stitched, which makes it feel a little more like a toy ball and makes it fly a little less true. FIFA plans to address the ball after world cup. If their approach toward considering public uproar and goal-line technology is any indication, meaningful change may come soon. And although this ball has been named a “nightmare,” its impact extends far beyond the pitch and into a globally-devastating territory.

The center of the soccer ball universe is shifting from the skilled trades of Pakistan to the mass production of China. For decades, Sialkot, Pakistan has been home to the ubiquitous cottage industry of hand-stitched soccer balls. The skilled trades need hand strength and experience but most importantly, technique which is passed-along in a very personal way. The range of expertise in this field causes fierce competition for the most highly skilled workers. In the search for technical competitive advantage Adidas executed a well thought-out plan to innovate away from hand stitching to mass production, protected by a patented monopoly. After getting FIFA on board, their new thermal molded soccer balls started being produced on automated equipment which requires skilled operators rather than skilled trades. The process also requires reliable infrastructure and supply continuity so the assets were deployed in China rather than Pakistan. By all accounts, the thermal molded ball strategy is working well for FIFA, Adidas and their manufacturing partners.

But what about the Pakistani stitchers? Everyone knows that Pakistan is caught-up in chaos. Newsweek recently reported that for 2009, Pakistan surpassed war-torn African nations in the number of newly displaced people. And although two-thirds of the displaced have returned home, most have returned to “grim futures,” facing destroyed homes, livelihoods, families, schools and hospitals. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs supports anecdotes that regular Sialkot residents are focused on basic stuff. But, with the trend away from hand stitched soccer balls toward mass produced thermal molded, skilled tradesmen are losing work to the ever expanding Chinese factory. This may be an unfortunate time to export this kind of work from Sialkot.

So yes, the trend to molded balls has distressed soccer players and coaches across the globe. Molded balls are polarizing but a missed goal is usually not a tragedy. What’s devastating is that the trend to molded balls is undermining the basic needs of the poor folks in Sialkot, Pakistan, whose livelihoods have always depended on work outsourced by the soccer Futball universe. At Primo Sport Inc., we apply our Nitroblock® latex bladder technology exclusively to 32-panel hand stitched soccer balls, made in Pakistan. We can’t castigate FIFA or the makers of molded balls (like the Jabulani). In fact, we’re all about technological innovation. But we can say this: when we talk to our Pakistani vendors, they keep a stiff upper lip and say the best thing we can do for them is to make more ball orders and to keep their people busy. And we believe them, so we will.

Don Sandusky is a Ph.D. Engineer who cut his teeth in the R&D labs at NASA, then hired-on with DuPont. He worked his way up through the ranks for 10 years before setting off on his own to start Primo Sport, Inc, where he invented the Neverflat® technology, which is licensed to Spalding and continues to be the #1 basketball. He enjoys getting his head around a big idea, putting the pieces together and helping a team build a brand. In addition to heading Primo Sport, he works with other entrepreneurs to help structure start-up’s, derive workable commercial transactions and building teams with every reason to overachieve.

By now, you’ve heard about the United States’ Men’s Soccer team’s win over Algeria. If you live under a rock or have no friends, the short story is that even though they had a valid goal disallowed, and Algeria had many solid chances, the U.S.  pulled out a win when Landon Donovan (right) buried a rebound in the 1st minute of stoppage time. This goal not only continued the Yanks’ World Cup hopes, but also had executives for ESPN breathing a sigh of relief.

As a soccer fan, I’d like to commend ESPN for going ‘all-in’ (to use a poker term) for this year’s World Cup. In the past, U.S. games might be shown, but many of the other games were nothing but afterthoughts. This year, every single match (all 64) will be shown on one of the many ESPN/ABC networks. They have been rewarded for their support, with the US/Slovenia match garnering the largest ever audience for an ESPN-televised soccer match (just under 4.7 million viewers) and the U.S./England match, the second-most watched U.S. soccer match of all time behind a U.S./Brazil match in 1994, garnering over 13 million viewers.

If you average all of the games through this past Sunday, you get just over 2.1 million viewers per game. That means that the U.S. playing in a game increased viewership by more than 300%. With higher stakes (single elimination) and the flood of press that Wednesday’s game will bring, I’d guess final numbers will well exceed the U.S./England match.

To put these numbers in some perspective, the 13 million that watched the U.S./England game exceeded the number of viewers for every single game in the NBA Finals except for game 7. The U.S. will be taking on Ghana in a rematch of a first-round tie in 2006. That game also ended in controversy, with Ghana winning 2-1 on a dubious penalty kick.

Add up all the story lines:

• The United States winning their group for the first time since 1930
• The U.S. advancing into the round of 16
• The U.S. taking on Ghana in a revenge match
• Record-breaking ratings for previous matches
• Prime Saturday afternoon (EDT)/morning (PDT) time slot

This adds up to be a great day for ABC/ESPN execs. They took a chance by signing a $100 million deal in 2005 to show six FIFA-sanctioned tournaments. Not including the advertising revenue they’ll rake in for this Saturday, the networks also stand to gain an increased following from soccer-mad Americans who are grateful that their sport is finally getting the coverage it deserves. I know this soccer fan will remember what network brought all this excitement into her living room, and in HD no less.

So congratulations to the U.S. Men’s National Team. Today they made the country proud, and saved a few jobs over in Bristol, CT.

According to Wikipedia, ‘Ambush marketing’ is defined as ‘a marketing campaign that takes place around an event but does not involve payment of a sponsorship fee to this event.’ In South Africa, ambush marketing is a crime. Or more specifically one can violate the ‘Contravention of Merchandise Marks Act.’

On Monday, Denmark and the Netherlands squared off in the World Cup, with the Dutch taking a 2-0 win. Prior to the game, a group of 30+ women entered the game with red and white outfits… skirts, sweaters and scarves. Not long after getting to their seats, they started disrobing, until all 30+ ended up with the same orange dress on, bearing the name of a Dutch brewery – Bavaria. All the women were rounded up and questioned, with two being charged and arrested.

Budweiser is the official FIFA sponsor, but in protecting its marks, did they just draw MORE attention to this marketing stunt? My initial thought was that this was an independent group of women that just wanted to show their bodies team loyalty, but when I saw the video of what they wore into the game, I started to become suspicious that they knew they might not have gotten if they were just wearing the orange dresses. Bavaria is said to be helping the women, insisting that these were promotional items that many other women wore that day.

Ambush marketing is a continuing concern for many large sports events. We heard much about the USOCs many rules for athletes and their non-Olympic sponsors. FIFA is no different. They alledgedly sent out hundreds of letters to Federations, governmental organizations and companies warning them about infringing on the rights of official sponsors of the World Cup. Whether or not Bavaria knowingly infringed on those rights, the fact remains that had FIFA not rounded up all the women, and had South African authorities not pressed charges, this would be a non-story.

Which brings me to my question. What is the best way for organizations to handle ambush marketing? Filing lawsuits and in this case removing ticket-holding fans from the game seems to be counter-productive. The offending brand has gotten more publicity than they would have gotten from 30+ orange-dress wearing fans. My guess is that less than 1,000 people would have seen the group, seen the logo on the dresses, AND remembered what the brand was. Now it is an international story.

My suggestion would be to gather information and evidence, but wait to file any lawsuits until well after the tournament is over. Right now, there is an enormous amount of media attention focused on South Africa. Little will go unnoticed there, so why not wait until after the Final, when journalists have returned to their home countries, the thousands of tourists have dispersed, and it’s possible that getting restitution would not become an international story.

What do you think? Did FIFA/South Africa handle this situation well? Was there anything they should have done differently? How should sporting events handle these issues in the future so as not to bring even more attention to suspected brands?

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Joshua Boren.

As a soccer fanatic, having grown up both playing and watching the game, I have been overcome with excitement as we move closer and closer to kick off of FIFA’s 2010 World Cup in South Africa. However, while I am excited for the event itself and watching with great interest to see the Americans beat expectations, 2010 is the first time I have been more enticed by something else: the venues themselves.

There are a number of elements to consider – the design, beauty, inspiration, political maneuvering, local stories, expectations, etc. – but perhaps the most interesting question will be the one surrounding what to do with the stadiums come July 11th when the final match and FIFA’s closing ceremony is held. It is an issue we grapple with as industry, having seen the inefficient use of the Bird’s Nest post-Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games as a “Winter Wonderland”, but the question is always the same – how do we design these venues to accommodate the large-scale event that they are fabricated for while providing enough flexibility to ensure there is a sustainable economic and financial viability for the facilities’ legacy?

While the architecture, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) teams have done a remarkable job of creating venues that blend in with the natural settings of South Africa and do not compromise the historic context of the region, the primary Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg was renovated at a cost of approximately $430 million (R3.3 billion) alone. That is the cost of just one of ten venues selected to host games, including 5 major renovations and 5 brand new facilities. With such enormous expenditures heavily reliant on government and political contributions, the question of whether or not this is the best use of public funds will always loom. Honestly, we will not be able to make an accurate judgment until many years after the World Cup ends.

These venues are meant to serve a larger purpose than hosting the games – they are meant to accelerate the growth of emerging countries and generate significant economic return for those established hosts. In the case of South Africa, the development of venues like “Soccer City” is looked at as a driver of future growth and economic development in a region needing a “kick” start while uniting an entire continent in the duties of showcasing the world’s most popular sporting event. In the mean time though, the results to date have not been quite as positive as hoped. The Local Organizing Committee has had to deal with strikes from stadium workers, a negative reception from the impact of construction on local businesses, an outcry for better schools for those moved for stadium construction, etc. Additionally, major outlets like ESPN and Sports Illustrated have carried content about how hosting duties have yet to catch on as a continent wide celebration with ticket sales reportedly slow in countries outside of South Africa itself. If the locals are struggling to afford tickets, the ability to utilize these venues post-World Cup may prove difficult. At nearly 95,000 seats, even with legacy plans to downsize, “Soccer City” is going to be a tough stadium to fill on a consistent basis.

This is why ultimate flexibility and innovation is key. Take the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan for example (designed by Dan Meis, FAIA). It is the only building in the world capable of mechanically transforming from a 10,000 seat arena to a 35,000 seat stadium (learn more here). As such, while it permanently hosts a J-League soccer team, the facility addressed the long-term need to sustain financial and economic viability by offering the ability to host as many event days as possible via an extremely flexible configuration. The venue has also become part of the community by hosting swap meets and farmers markets when in the smaller arena mode, ingraining itself in the local culture of the region. Furthermore, the venue solved the issue of reducing costs by developing a facility that, while slightly more expensive than a standalone building, was still less expensive than developing two separate venues. While a unique example, the hope is that these venues specifically built for South Africa’s right to host the 2010 World Cup do help accelerate the transformation of the country. Only time will tell but, while rooting on your country, take a moment during the game to enjoy the architectural beauty and iconic nature of these structures.

Joshua A. Boren is the Business Development Manager for Aedas Sport, an architecture and design firm specializing in new and renovated sports and entertainment facilities. Joshua, a graduate of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, is responsible for leading the firm’s direction into new international business opportunities related to the sports and entertainment industry and establishment of the Aedas Sport brand. He can be contacted at joshua.boren@aedas.com, on Twitter (@AedasSport) or via LinkedIn (Joshua A. Boren).

A friend of mine just passed along this interesting approach to a soccer jersey sponsorship. Please watch this video:

What a creative approach to a jersey sponsorship! They found a way to create positive brand value and a connection with Racing fans by pulling their logo out of the mix. The result was an organic response in support of the brand through other communication and social channels (along with potentially making other team sponsors and competitors look bad).

My question is, is this a sustainable approach? How long will the goodwill from fans last? Without the constant visibility on the jersey, will the sponsor be able to generate equivalent value for the cost of their “jersey sponsorship? What do you think?

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Jenny Schmitt. It originally appeared on her website, CloudSpark.com.

We’ve been telling visual stories for nearly our entire careers. Why? Visual matters because most people are visual learners or can better recall a visual cue than a written one. When YouTube came around 5 years ago, a whole new opportunity came up to tell that story directly to an audience – no media required. We’ve been on board every since.

Now wait, if someone tells you they can make a viral video for you, stop there. You (or your agency) can’t make a video viral, you can make it great. Only your audience, your customers, your fans, can take it viral. No matter, even if you think you have a tough product or service, there is always a visual story.

We’re sharing this new branded YouTube page from The Coca-Cola Company. It’s a soon-to-be-classic example (created by Sapient Nitro – deep talent over there) of just where video can take a customer. Coca-Cola a global leader in the refreshment category has taken the World Cup ritual (the on-field celebrations) and asked fans to share their own celebrations if they were playing on the field. Here’s why we think Coca-Cola succeeds:

1. It lets people (the fans) participate directly: send in video, artwork, photography (branded or not)
2. The content is seemingly new, refreshed, all the time and it’s easy to share
3. Coca-Cola can tie-in the campaign with actual events (note the videos with the branded banner)
4. The music is universally appealing, borrowing beats, harmonies from different cultures
5. For a global brand, the World Cup is a near-perfect opportunity to showcase its near-universal appeal

What videos do you think stand out as examples of a great visual story? What would you add?

Jenny-Rebecca Schmitt is a veteran public relations and marketing professional, trainer and sought-after public speaker. Her 15-year marketing and communications career includes experience in the fields of sports marketing, nonprofit marketing, healthcare communications, and public relations, including work at the collegiate, amateur, Olympic and professional level of sports. You can follow her on Twitter as @cloudspark or visit her website at www.cloudspark.com.

It’s one of the most frustrating things about sports… highly-paid players who don’t get the job done. Who hasn’t thought after a loss ‘I think our team could have played harder’ or ‘if only that player hadn’t given up in the 4th quarter.’ Well, a group of fans in England are going to be reimbursed after having that experience.

Last weekend, Wigan Athletic suffered a horrifying 9 – 1 loss at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. Hundreds of Wigan fans had made the trip to see their team play, only to watch them concede eight second-half goals. In an almost unprecedented move, the Wigan players have offered to reimburse any Wigan fans who purchased a ticket at the stadium that day.

With player salaries in the English Premier League being well above those in Major League Soccer, no one should worry about the Wigan players going hungry. The gesture, however, is one to take note of. These are professional players who realize that they did not do their job, and that their ‘bad day at the office’ cost hard-working people money that in this recession, isn’t easily parted with. It is refreshing to see a group of professional athlete take their responsibility seriously.

Their captain Mario Melchiot was quoted as saying “We feel that as a group of players we badly let down our supporters yesterday (Sunday), and this is a gesture we have to make and pay them back for their tremendous loyalty.” Now, no one gets to choose whether they see Kobe’s 81-point game or Kevin Garnett’s 14-point one (I personally attended the latter), but the recognition by these players that the fans loyalty should not be taken lightly is a lesson that should be learned by all sports business professionals, especially in this economic climate.

We saw a whiff of this last month when wide receiver Chad Ochocinco of the Cincinnati Bengals teamed up with Motorola to purchase the remaining 1,200 tickets to his teams’ home game against the Houston Texans. If those tickets hadn’t been sold, the game would have been blacked out in the Cincinnati area  and many die-hard Bengals fans wouldn’t have been able to see their team play. In these especially hard times, it seems especially important to find a way to make sure fans stay connected to their favorite teams, even if they can’t afford to go to the games. Black-outs are just about the exact opposite of that philosophy, as it removes an important touch-point between fans and their team.

So, what can teams do? Well, here’s an example of what NOT to do. Don’t sue your season ticket holders who have legitimate hardships. The Washington Redskins opened up a huge flap by suing season ticket holders who asked to get out of their contracts. Instead of working out a payment plan, offering to try to re-sell the tickets, or just excusing the fans from their contracts, the Redskins filed lawsuits. Lifelong fans not only lost their coveted tickets, but lost faith in their team.

In these tough times, teams need to continually be on the lookout as to how they can provide better service to their fans. Refunding them after a particularly brutal loss might not be the way to go, but there are certainly opportunities for teams to make their fans feel appreciated. Preventing black-outs, making affordable tickets available, and offering free access to select team events are just a few ways to keep fans connected and ultimately generate greater lifetime value and fan loyalty.

Normally, I don’t like talking about events that take place on the field, but today I’m going to make an exception. On Wednesday night, a World Cup qualifying soccer match was decided by one person who made a mistake that was easily identifiable by a simple video replay. However, because the sport was dependent on an archaic system of in-game governance that was developed decades if not centuries ago, the result of the game and any number of future events has been permanently altered.

This same situation has happened in multiple major sporting events over the past few months, including several prominent errors in the MLB playoffs, but for the most part, the governing bodies for these organizations prefer to stand by and depend on their “traditional” means for making all in-game decisions. This system may have made sense was professional sports was more of a casual pastime, but now it is a multi-billion dollar global industry, and each one of these incorrect decisions can have serious repercussions. A team that misses the next round of playoffs because of a bad call loses out on millions in ticket revenue. A player that is invalidly judged by an official’s decision can lose the chance at significant endorsement money. An entire league can suffer (or benefit) because of an officiating decision that impacts what teams are playing and the television ratings that come with those teams.

Meanwhile, sports organizations have embraced technology in almost every other form, from evaluating the players statistically to refining their business processes. Clearly everyone recognizes the importance of technology as sports have evolved, but yet for some reason, they refuse to let the technology onto the field in the form of instant replay. Would any other industry operate in this manner? Can you imagine if Walmart decided that they needed to use a more “traditional” way to run their checkout lines and made the staff type in each number, because “that’s how they’ve always done it.” The errors that would occur would ultimately have a significant impact on their business, ruining their other technological advantages that they’ve developed in their inventory management processes.

I understand that trying to add instant replay into sports is a complicated process with many potential pitfalls. This is why I give a lot of credit to the NFL for their work in this area. They acknowledged the problem, created a replay system, and constantly work to refine it based on the needs of the sport. I would hope that more sports, like soccer and baseball for example, eventually decide to follow the NFL’s lead and develop their own comparable systems. Putting aside the game for a moment, there is simply too much money riding on what happens on the field for everyone to overlook these issues.

Today’s post is courtesy of Amanda Miller, who has contributed to the blog in the past and will be a regular contributor moving forward. You can read her full bio here.

If the only sports radio you listen to is ‘Jim Rome is Burning,’ you might think professional soccer in the United States is hearing its death knell. To the contrary, skeptics and fans alike can see the growth in popularity of the game, with the most obvious sign being the enormous success of the Seattle Sounders. The Sounders are Major League Soccer’s newest franchise, the 15th in the still-growing league.

While the Sounders inaugural season ended in heartbreak after an overtime loss to the Houston Dynamo on Sunday, they have an enormous amount to be proud of. A few of their 2009 highlights include:

• Having more season ticket holders than any team in MLS’ 13-year existence
• Becoming the first expansion team since the Chicago Fire in 1998 to make the MLS Playoffs
• Winning the 2009 U.S. Open Cup
• Setting a league record for average attendance at 30,943 fans

The Sounders also single-handedly kept MLS attendance numbers from taking a huge hit due to the recession. Without Seattle, Major League Soccer would have seen a 9.5% decline at the gate but instead had only a 3.3% decline (courtesy of SBJ). That number was less than half of the decline that Major League Baseball saw in 2009.

One of the aces up Seattle’s sleeve was popular comedian Drew Carey. Carey fought hard to give Sounders fans a serious voice. Every season ticket holder gets to vote on the direction of the club. If they are not happy with how the front office is being run, they can vote the general manager out, and the owners will need to choose a new one. This gives the fans an enormous amount of buy-in to a team. In most markets, if the team started doing poorly, the fans might feel disenfranchised and walk away, but in Seattle, they have a valid reason to stick out the hard times.

All signs point to 2010 being a year where soccer in the United States is raised to an entirely new level. The World Cup will be held in South Africa and the U.S. has qualified for the sixth consecutive time. While other American teams are used to dominating their sport, the U.S. Men’s National Team didn’t qualify for the World Cup for forty years (1950-1990).

Also in 2010, MLS will welcome its 16th team as the Philadelphia Union begins play, while Vancouver and Portland anxiously await their inaugural matches in 2011. Viewership of MLS games increased on both the ESPN family of channels as well as Fox Soccer Channel (courtesy of SBJ). With the success of the Sounders, the brilliant run of the U.S. Men’s National Team into the finals of the Confederations Cup , and the beginning of U.S. Soccer’s bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, soccer has been in the collective consciousness throughout the year.

So, what do you think? Is all this just sound and fury? Is soccer really becoming more popular in the United States? Are the Seattle Sounders an anomaly, or can other teams copy their success? Will soccer continue to make the Top 10 highlights on SportsCenter even when it’s not a run-up year to the World Cup?

David Beckham recently return to MLS and the Los Angeles Galaxy after his stint in Europe with AC Milan.  Now the first time that Beckham joined the Galaxy, his fans in the U.S. went crazy buying up tickets and merchandise.  He was going to put soccer and MLS on the map in this country, but unfortunately, the impact of his celebrity has only had a short-term effect. It turns out that he didn’t enjoy playing for the Galaxy, and he made these feelings well known during the team’s negotiations with AC Milan.  However, as part of the loan agreement between the two teams, Beckham will continue to play for the Galaxy when AC Milan is not playing.

So he’s back, but this time around, people don’t seem too excited about it.  In a recent match between the Galaxy and the Red Bull New York at Giants Stadium, about 22,000 tickets were sold.  This is just a slight drop-off from the first time Beckham played in Giants Stadium, when over 70,000 tickets were sold!  On top of that, I received this email earlier today:

The first time around, there was no need to discount his merchandise, but things are a little different now.  What do you think Beckham’s ultimate legacy within MLS will be when all is said and done?

This year’s MLS All-Star Game is being held later this month in Salt Lake City, so Home Depot is running  a special program to celebrate Utah’s Community All-Stars.  Fans can visit www.mlsnet.com/works and nominate someone that has helped improve their local community in Utah through any type of volunteer activities.  Their applications will be reviewed and five winners will be selected to win a $1,000 gift card from Home Depot and an MLS All-Star prize pack that includes two tickets to this year’s all-star game.

This might seem like a pretty simple promotion, but it’s a very valuable and effective one.  Home Depot recognized the fact that Utah leads all state in total volunteerism, so this type of program really taps into that volunteer spirit of the all-star hosts. Additionally, anytime you can incorporate and promote the charitable efforts of your team or league (in this case, MLS Works), you build good will towards your fans and encourage them to help support the same charitable initiatives.  Finally, it’s always nice to see how sports teams look for ways to reward their fans and give back to the community at large.

So if you know someone from Utah that deserves some recognition for their community efforts, nominate them for this program and maybe they’ll be rewarded as a community all-star.

This week, the United States national soccer team beat the top-ranked team from Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup.  To call this an upset would be a understatement.  The United States was lucky to even make the semifinals of the tournament, getting in through a three-team tiebreaker, while Spain had won 15 straight matches and had a 35 game unbeaten streak.

Like many other sports fans, I wasn’t able to watch this match because I was in the middle of my workday, but upon hearing that the U.S. had won, my first thought was, “if this is as big a win as it seems, how will it impact soccer in the United States?”  So I asked some of my peers through Twitter and Facebook, and these are the responses I got:

• “No”
• “None whatsoever”
• “Not sure about that but should be huge for WC2010 excitement in US”
• “Ah, no, none whatsoever. BUT if they ever win a World Cup semi-final, that would be a different conversation”
• “Judging by trending topics on twitter, nobody seems to care that it’s the US team that beat Spain, just that Spain lost. In other words: it’s business as usual for soccer in America.”
• “Nope. Hardcore futbol supporters will continue to be there & rest will go on with their lives. Do it in the WC? Much diff story”
• “The US was playing a game? If so then I’m thinking that that is mostly the answer to your question. ”
• “As the most casual of casual fans, I might decide to leave SportsCenter on when they show soccer highlights, instead of simply changing the channel. But I’m going to need a lot more convincing before I pony up the cash for tickets to an MLS game. Especially if I could be spending my money on baseball tickets instead.”
• “doubtful, but if they follow it up with a win against brazil and then go far in the next world cup, its got a chance. the problem is that MLS doesnt have the marketing power it needs to grow the stage at the same rate the quality of play is growing.”

I feel pretty comfortable saying that despite the magnitude of this win, it has practically no effect on the status of soccer in this country.  However, if the U.S. can carry this momentum into their 2010 World Cup appearance, some believe that the attitude could then change.  As a sports business professional, you hate the idea that you have to depend on team performance to generate interest and business success, but is there anything else that MLS and the national team could do right now?  What are your thoughts?  I do not follow the sport very closely (I guess I’m part of the problem in that way), so I need to know what others think.

Red Bull New York has been working on building their new facility for a couple of years now.  They ended up about a year behind schedule, so instead of playing there this season, the team will play one more year in Giants Stadium before moving to Red Bull Arena in 2010.  When that day comes, the allure of the brand new, soccer-only stadium is sure to provide an excellent boost for new season ticket sales.  But what about today? 

Current season ticket holders will clearly get the first chance to lock up their seats in the new building, but is that enough to get people to commit to a 2009 season ticket?  As a customer, you have to imagine that the price of that very same season ticket is going to jump when the team moves, just like what has happened with the Giants, Jets, Yankees and Mets this year. Knowing this, Red Bull has gone one step further.

Red Bull New York has a special offer that does a great job using the new stadium in 2010 to sell season tickets.  Ticket prices for the 2010 season in Red Bull Arena will be frozen for all 2009 season ticket holders. Normally you do not see a price freeze announced this far in advance, but by doing this, they quell any fears that new ticket buyers would have about buying this year, allowing them to start using the benefits of the new facility a full season before it opens. It also helps them in their efforts to overcome the challenges of the today’s tough economy without cutting their existing prices. The team might be sacrificing some amount of potential revenue, but I think this is outweighed by the security of growing the season ticket base today.

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Paulo da Silva, Arizona State Sports Business MBA, Class of 2009.

Major League Soccer (MLS) and its Commissioner Don Garber seem to be committed to take the world of sports by surprise. Since 2006, David Beckham’s transfer to the LA Galaxy and the continuous team-expansion announcements to Seattle and Philadelphia (starting 2009 and 2010, respectively) have given the MLS a year-after-year unprecedented growth not only in retail sales, which has more than doubled from $145 million in 2006 to $300 million in 2007, but also in visibility over the South and Central American leagues worldwide, with an increasing regular season stadium attendance registered at 3.27 million people in 2007. 

Don Garber once said “We don’t know how this is going to work, but I’m excited about it, very much so”. However, Garber seemed to have a very good idea of how he wanted the MLS to proceed and, in order to achieve these results, they decided to implement the following five-point strategy:

1. Raising the level of respect and credibility given to MLS in both North America and around the world: David Beckham made the international community take notice of the league. Most importantly, even though the LA Galaxy haven’t won any competitions since, Beckham’s quality of play on the field has convinced the media and won him the respect of fans across the MLS. At the same time, there is an increasing acknowledgment of the talent generated in North America, as the recent sale of New York Red Bulls youth product and MLS star Jozy Altidore to Spanish club Villarreal confirmed last summer.
2. Get all MLS teams playing in team-owned and operated soccer-only stadiums: Garber said that by 2010, 12 of the league’s 16 teams will be in soccer-specific stadiums, including Real Salt Lake’s new home opening next season, New York in late 2009, Philadelphia in 2010 and new stadium projects underway in San Jose and Kansas City.
3. Continued growth in metrics like TV ratings, attendance and corporate support: 2008 was the first season in which every MLS game was broadcast either locally or nationally on ESPN, ABC, Univision, Fox Soccer Channel, HDNet, and in Canada on Rogers Sportsnet and CBC. These games are shown not just in North America, but also in Mexico, Central America, Europe and parts of Asia. League numbers state that TV ratings are up 20 percent from last season on ESPN, and 10 percent on Univision.
4. Turn North American soccer fans into MLS fans: North American soccer fans, used to watch European and Central and South American soccer, need a solid and attractive league in order to transition to MLS fans. The MLS Designated Player Rule is a step towards better quality and to a better identification with the fans’ sporting culture in the US.
5. Continue to improve the quality of play, and come up with innovative ideas to reaching new levels of quality: The main initiative implemented by the MLS on this matter was the MLS Youth Development Rule that provided a League-wide structure for youth development and positioned the MLS as the leader of the sport that now totals nearly 18 million participants in the United States.

This plan was designed following the strong and determined leadership of Don Garber, who has been League Commissioner since 1999. As a senior vice president/managing director of National Football League International (NFL International), Garber was well aware of the needs and challenges regarding the internationalization of the American sports business’s model and, throughout the years, he has been able to build a strong basis for the league to grow and think as global as the sport of soccer itself.

The outstanding measure undertaken by Garber happened in 2001 when he re-structured the MLS and led the formation of Soccer United Marketing (SUM), a company owned by MLS investors that stands as the preeminent commercial soccer entity in North America. SUM represents several prominent soccer properties, including the U.S. Soccer Federation, the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Mexican Soccer Federation for all sponsorship, marketing and game promotion in the United States. In addition, SUM manages American tours for some of the world’s most powerful soccer clubs, including Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Chivas de Guadalajara.

Most recently, Garber was instrumental in the creation of the SuperLiga, the innovative professional tournament between MLS and Mexico’s First Division club that has both helped Central American clubs and audience to change their perception of MLS soccer and improve its teams’ quality of play by interacting with better teams in a consistent basis.

These outcomes were not but the result of the hard work developed by Don Garber, the MLS and its partners and the benefits from it are starting to show in an unquestionable fashion. Nonetheless, some challenges still lie ahead: Are all league partners and members up to the quality of play and business Garber wants to ultimately implement? Can the competition for the US sports fan market smother MLS’s growth? Is this growth sustainable? If so, when is it going to stop? Hopefully not soon, I’d say.

Today’s post is courtesy of Jackie Adkins, a senior at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC Chapel Hill.

Way back in November, I made a blog post about Miami’s vie for an MLS team and basically, why it was important that they submit a legitimate bid and ultimately get a team with the backing of FC Barcelona, Spain’s soccer equivalent of the New York Yankees. Well, recent reports indicate that the folks at Barcelona are reconsidering their $20 million expenditure to obtain 50% ownership in the future Miami team. Barcelona CEO John Oliver stated the complicated economic situation in the US and their desire to avoid financial risk as the main reason for re-evaluating their commitment. To put this in perspective, their top 3 players, Messi, Eto’o, and Henry, make a combined 23.4 million euro per year. Now I don’t have my exchange rate machine with me, but I know that makes buying an entire team for $20 million look like pocket change.

If Barcelona does end up part owner of the club, it will be very interesting to see exactly how closely they associate Barcelona with the team and how they do it. Jerseys that looked similar to Barcelona’s famous red and blue stripes are the most obvious option to do this. Another consideration is naming the stadium something similar to Camp Nou, the famous Barcelona stadium which seats over 100,000. What would REALLY be cool, and probably would be a long shot, would be to see some FC Barcelona players make guest appearances at games, whether it be as an honorary team member who just sits on the bench, doing an event with fans, etc. The point: the possibilities are endless. Conversely, Barcelona may try to distance the Barcelona name from the MLS team, at least until it proves to be a success, in hopes of not eroding its own brand image.

The willingness of a European super club to commit to help grow soccer in America by owning a portion of a team is a huge step in adding credibility to the MLS, and is an opportunity the MLS should take steps to ensure they capitalize on. Barcelona may be using some “Jedi mind tricks” to get the MLS to lower the $40 million price tag of a new franchise, softening the financial risk they will be taking on. If that’s the case, the MLS should be willing to do so, maybe in exchange for some extra exhibition matches when Barcelona tours the US, which they are already scheduled to do over the next five years. Another option is the MLS could allow Barcelona to postpone its bid for a couple of years to a time where the financial uncertainty isn’t quite as high. This seems a likely scenario, as the MLS has been a league which has taken small, deliberate steps so far to grow.

So, my message to the MLS: Please, please, please don’t let this deal get away!

Thanks to Russell for letting me hijack his blog today! You can visit my blog, Jack and the Biz Talk, at www.jackieadkins.blogspot.com, where you can find even more sports business posts like this one!