Would you want/support an MLS team in Milwaukee?

[kilgore37]

I bet they'd draw more than the Bucks

[trwi7]

I bet they'd draw more than the Bucks

 

The Admirals have been drawing more than the Bucks lately.

[DHonks]

Milwaukee not a soccer town???? Milwaukee has long produced top talent in soccer. Throw in that for the last 15 years, both Marquette High and Brookfield East have regularly made appearances in the top 25 nationally, with MUHS in particular doing quite well against out-of-state nationally ranked talent. The old Milwaukee Kickers soccer club was the model for many other communities in the nation. Throw in the influence of club teams like the Croatians, Bavarians, etc, and it just adds to the overall soccer climate.

 

I am by no means a big soccer fan, but I thought that this was common knowledge in Milwaukee.

[dadofandrew]

I bet they'd draw more than the Bucks

The Admirals have been drawing more than the Bucks lately.

Painfully untrue. From the JS.

 

<<

the Admirals have drawn an average of 4,527 fans through 19 games at the

Bradley Center. That's a decrease of 6.5% from last year.>>>

 

Needless to say, that's as incorrect a statement as one can make. No idea what the Bucks are averaging, but it's in the 14-16K range.

 

As I said, I think many people forget soccer is just one game a week, so it's a couple home games a month, and almost entirely on weekends. Comparing MLS to the NHL or NBA is silly, there is none. 15-17 home games, plus maybe an international "friendly" in a soccer specific 20K stadium MLS will insist on, is barely 10% of the Brewers' total attendance. At most, it would affect Crew's tickets sold by 2-4%.

[trwi7]

I said lately, not all season. Last 8 games they've averaged 8,543 which is around what the Bucks have been at even though their announced attendance is in the 12,000-14,000 range.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

I don't think there is any way Milwaukee could support an MLS team. I was at my first Wave game last weekend, because I had gotten free tickets and my 4 year old daughter likes kicking the soccer ball. It was a bobblehead giveaway also, and there were so many empty seats. If you take away all the families of the hundreds of children/young adults that were doing the national anthem/dancing/ and such before and during the game there may have been 500 people there.

[Bikeage77]

I used to love playing soocer, and I really enjoyed watching the world cup last summer. That said, it's not something I'd go out of my way for. The last time I was at a Wave game I was in middle school, probably 20 years ago. Personally, I think the Wave is a great organization to have around here, but as BSC said above, it's definately a family oriented event. I can't see too many college buddies gearing up for the Wave, and I think the same would hold true for a MLS team. There would probably be excitement and buzz at first, but that would die off.

 

How long did the Milwaukee Rampage stick around for? If they are still here, I apologize for my ignorance.

[dadofandrew]

Indoor soccer is kind of a goofy sport, like arena football.

 

And using announced attendance for one and whatever you feel like saying for another is wrong in a thousand ways. The Bucks average almost 4x the Ads, and 2x "lately".

 

Enough said.

[kilgore37]

The Wave and MLS are 2 totally different things. That's like saying a NFL team wouldn't make it here because the arena league teams couldn't make it here. People will go to see a professional team. I'd pay to see Beckham and Henry even in their twilight.

[trwi7]

Indoor soccer is kind of a goofy sport, like arena football.

 

And using announced attendance for one and whatever you feel like saying for another is wrong in a thousand ways. The Bucks average almost 4x the Ads, and 2x "lately".

 

Enough said.

I have seen both attendance wise lately. The Admirals are right around what the announced attendance is, the Bucks are nowhere close.

 

Enough said.

[paul253]

And I don't think soccer would do very well here. Wisconsin is a football state.

 

Wisconsin is a football state, but I think there'd be a nice bit of support for soccer. It seems like just about every kid who plays a sport plays soccer because it's super easy to organize. You need a big open plot of land and a ball. I think that they could draw a good number of kids to games, especially once school lets out. I also think if the stadium was downtown you'd draw more people because they can walk to nearby bars and restaurants afterwords. I'd be much more likely to attend a game downtown than in say Brookfield or Mequon or one of the suburbs. I don't particularly want a team, but I think it would be nice for the city to have one. I'd also like to see an international game in Milwaukee every now and then and they could have a really competitive high school tournament there as well. Wisconsin has some very good high schools teams (Brookfield East/Central, Marquette, Muskego in boys, Catholic Memorial, DSHA, and Pius for girls)

[ilovebeer]

no, only team i support is the Brewers.

[trwi7]

Isn't soccer a popular sport in the suburbs? I'd imagine they would want to build a stadium in Brookfield or Mequon or someplace like that if they got a team.

[paul253]

Isn't soccer a popular sport in the suburbs? I'd imagine they
would want to build a stadium in Brookfield or Mequon or someplace like
that if they got a team.

I think it probably depends on who builds the stadium. If Milwaukee puts any more towards it it would obviously have to be in Milwaukee. If a private party pays for it, I imagine he could put it anywhere that allows it. I just can't imagine a place like Brookfield or especially Mequon wanting a stadium with all the additional traffic and noise it would bring. Remember when Concordia University in, I believe, Mequon wanted to build a small baseball stadium to allow for a summer league team to play and Mequon wouldn't allow it without very specific rules? And that was just a stadium for maybe 2,000 people.

[twobrewers]

I went to a Columbus Crew game last summer. It is pretty affordable and very family friendly. It appears that they do a lot of marketing tie-ins with local youth soccer clubs.

 

However, the best part was they had $1 beers!

 

Any MLS team in Milwaukee with $1 beers will have no problem getting a sell-out.

[dadofandrew]

The MLS markets itself very well, using kid's soccer, various sponsorships, and so on.

 

I said a year or so ago I expect the MLS to average more than the NBA or NHL in a few years, when they get rid of the 2-3 tiny stadiums they've been stuck with (KC played in a ballpark with like 8500 capacity). Of course, there's far fewer MLS contests, but that will still be impressive. If the Cosmos arrive per planned, that might be the time.

[dadofandrew]

The NBA and NHL both average in the low 17K's. MLS averaged 16675 last year...and if you take out the two teams that play in tiny stadiums, they averaged 17629. Granted, they play a lot more basketball and hockey games, but that's still a surprise.

 

The MLS is one of the quieter success stories in sports in the last couple decades. It's modest, but compared to the fact pro outdoor soccer did not exist a while back (except for a few minor leagues), it's impressive.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

Isn't soccer a popular sport in the suburbs? I'd imagine they would want to build a stadium in Brookfield or Mequon or someplace like that if they got a team.

I think it probably depends on who builds the stadium. If Milwaukee puts any more towards it it would obviously have to be in Milwaukee. If a private party pays for it, I imagine he could put it anywhere that allows it. I just can't imagine a place like Brookfield or especially Mequon wanting a stadium with all the additional traffic and noise it would bring. Remember when Concordia University in, I believe, Mequon wanted to build a small baseball stadium to allow for a summer league team to play and Mequon wouldn't allow it without very specific rules? And that was just a stadium for maybe 2,000 people.

 

I'm pretty sure that plan with the baseball stadium at Concordia is a go for 2012.

[brewtown82]

I want an MLS team sooooooo bad. I would be a season-ticket holder for sure. Milwaukee needs top-flight soccer to cheer for. I'm sick of following English teams. Build it in the empty space by Water Street. I'm on board!

[trwi7]

Milwaukee needs top-flight soccer to cheer for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Wave

[trwi7]

The NBA and NHL both average in the low 17K's. MLS averaged 16675 last year...and if you take out the two teams that play in tiny stadiums, they averaged 17629. Granted, they play a lot more basketball and hockey games, but that's still a surprise.

You can't just "take out" teams that play in tiny stadiums because 8 out of 18 teams in the MLS play in stadiums that are bigger than any NBA or NHL arena.

 

MLS had 72.6% capacity.

 

NBA had 90.8% capacity.

 

NHL had 93.1% capacity.

 

 

 

 

[PKBadger]

Milwaukee needs top-flight soccer to cheer for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Wave

 

He said "top-flight", and he also said "soccer".

 

This is like telling a basketball fan to go watch the And 1 Mixtape tour.

[GB12]

No interest in a soccer team. No interest in keeping the Bucks. Quite interested in an NHL team.

[M Skjellyfetti]

This is like telling a basketball fan to go watch the And 1 Mixtape tour.

 

 

Fair enough, but to continue the analogy, MLS in Milwaukee wouldn't be any better than having a D league team.

[yoshii8]

This is like telling a basketball fan to go watch the And 1 Mixtape tour.

Fair enough, but to continue the analogy, MLS in Milwaukee wouldn't be any better than having a D league team.

I think thats a bad analogy. The MLS may not be great yet, but it would draw a lot more fans than a d league team, and it is the top level of soccer in the United States.