Could Atlanta at any point uphold a MLS establishment? That is the inquiry that Arthur Blank has posed to Dick Sullivan, a previous Home Depot chief who recently had been the Falcons’ Executive Vice President of Marketing.
Mr. Sullivan is on leave from that post to help Mr. Blank with a portion of his other extraordinary tasks. One such venture is a reasonable level of investment work to find what it will take to carry the MLS to Atlanta.
Atlanta, by all accounts, would appear to be a coherent market for development. The city is home to proficient groups in American football, baseball, ball, and hockey. Atlanta is home to a huge number of soccer players of any age dissipated across the Metro region playing in scores of youth and novice associations – making for an enormous and worthwhile soccer proficient populace. Not excessively notice, essentially episodically, soccer guardians have cash. So can Atlanta profit by the greatest development sport in the country?
We should initially view the Silverbacks, Atlanta’s expert USL group. The Backs are somewhat all around upheld by the nearby Atlanta soccer scene. They have a gradually developing soccer explicit arena at REMAX Greater Atlanta Stadium. When the fourth period of development is finished, the arena will have 15,000 seats. Around 10,000 short of MLS’s objective, yet not a terrible setting by any means. Be that as it may, except if MLS and USL take on an advancement/transfer framework, notwithstanding what the US Open Cup shows us, the USL will continuously assume a supporting role.
The genuine test in my view: the Atlanta avid supporter.
Atlanta avid supporters are a famously flighty bundle.
Whether it’s the Falcons, the Braves, or the Hawks; except if they’re winning, Atlanta’s avid supporters simply don’t appear to appear. The work is excessively perfect – the problem offsets the advantage.
With regards to Atlanta avid supporters, a piece of the test is the way that the “city” is really a metro region spread more than 28 districts. Arthur Blank knows that requiring some investment to track down the right arena area; an area that will give sufficient comfort to make the excursion beneficial, is principal to progress.
Put a club in Gwinnett, and you presumably lose Cobb. Put it in Cobb and you undoubtedly lose Gwinnett. Put it in either and you presumably lose all of the Southside. Furthermore, the tradeoffs go on with essentially every situation.
So precisely what is the right blend? Might Atlanta at any point uphold a MLS establishment? I think the response isn’t quite as simple as it appears.
I have an insane thought. I realize it’s insane and that I most likely lose believability in view of my daydream; yet…
Atlanta needs two groups. Indeed, I said two groups. I let you know it was insane, yet listen to me.
I see not an obvious explanation for why a metro region that is generally the size (in populace) of Denmark, can’t uphold more than one expert football club. Two groups wouldn’t weaken Atlanta’s soccer populace and as a matter of fact, my speculation is that two groups would really reinforce fan obligation to their particular group! I have a hypothesis that one of the two keys to genuine observer accomplishment for soccer in America, is more groups in nearer vicinity (the other is advancement and relegation…but that is a subject for another brew).
Arenas, genuine Soccer Specific Stadiums (SSSs), are intended to be close. Atlanta won’t be supporting a Wembley or Stamford Bridge at any point in the near future, yet two or three Craven Cottages are totally sensibly speaking! Furthermore, without the advantage of a celebrated history, fan/player closeness is a basic element for encouraging the sort of fan backing and energy you track down in football from one side of the planet to the other.
Two clubs in arenas key to Northside versus Southside or Eastside versus Westside populace places could without much of a stretch see Atlanta playing host to the primary genuine derby series in American soccer. I realize Texas guarantees a derby between F.C. Dallas and Houston Dynamo – yet come on, New York City and Washington D.C. are nearer than those two Texas goliaths.
My thought is promising certain. In any case, not totally past the real world. London upholds 13 football clubs; five of which are in the Premiership! Most evident fans I know, the folks who awakened at 2:00AM to watch the National Team in Korea, couldn’t want anything more than to pack up with scarves and paint, and go out to help THEIR group – a group with some neighborhood ability – for certain local players who got gotten through THEIR nearby club frameworks, a group with players they could see toward the end of the week at a film or at a café some place. Atlanta’s avid supporters – for sure most American avid supporters, basically haven’t approached this kind of situation.
Numerous Americans on the periphery, whose openness to football is an intermittent European Championship or World Cup match, simply don’t grasp the climate – the responsibility – the tunes – the scarves – the standing – the solidarity – the way that a hundred thousand individuals are at a match, to watch the match, with negligible interruptions.
What numerous Americans may not understand is this equivalent show happens each Saturday and Sunday in club associations all over Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia.