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It's no secret of the financial situation that has taken over the globe. It's also probably no secret that this very situation that has ruined many jobs is also affecting the sports world. One aspect of the sports business world that has truly started to suffer is the naming rights to various stadiums and future stadiums that have plans to be built. With the economy in a mess it's difficult for many big name companies to take over the naming rights of the stadiums. With some teams holding out on choosing a partner until after the economic crisis it's hard to say how this problem will be resolved.
In theory, waiting for the economic crisis to end truly isn't the best solution to this problem. With no real end to this recession in sight, people may need to start thinking of a real solution instead of just waiting. Stadiums are getting more and more expensive whenever they are built, so now it has come down to either finding a reliable partner for naming rights or taking on this burden yourself. Whatever teams decide to choose, hopefully it will be the right one, but for now all the fans can do is sit back and watch as their teams fight through the economic crisis.
This season the MLS suffered its first decline in average attendance in three years. MLS officials believe it is because of Kansas City's stadium only seats 10,385 people. With major drops in Dallas and Colorado with Dallas dropping a league worst 14-percent in average attendance. On a positive note though the Los Angeles Galaxy led the league in attendance and also broke the record for average road attendance. Most of this came from the hype of David Beckham. With the changes is the economy the MLs believes they have been doing alright and look forward to the futur.
From:http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/60481
It is unfortunate that the MLS has never had the following that other sports leagues have had. Soccer is a fun and entertaining game, but it doesnt have the big hits, and lots of scoring that other sports have. It is a gentlemens game and it has grown in popularity with the introduction of David Beckham. The problem is it doesnt have the excitement value and I dont believe that it will ever come close to being as popular as it is in Europe or even as popular as the NFL or NBA.
Tottenham Hotspur is delighted to announce the formation of an extensive partnership with MLS team San Jose Earthquakes.
The agreement will focus on football and commercial development that will see the implementation of a best practice exchange programme, with the objective of creating a lasting bond between the two clubs.
Tottenham Hotspur will invest time and resources into the development of San Jose Earthquakes on and off the pitch as well as working across charity and community based initiatives.
This news boads well for San Jose and Tottenham Hotspur due to the sheer fact that this agreement will not just be in name only. Real Salt Lake and Real Madrid--partners in name but not much more. Chivas USA and Guadalajara--they have the same owners, but that's about it. Tottenham are looking to the future in this partnership and hopefully not just into its monetary gain. Bigger European clubs have often struck up partnerships to prey on smaller clubs for talent and whatnot but I believe that this partnership should be better and according to the article will jumpstart the San Jose youth program and the construction of facilities for both teams.
"This isn't about taking the best talent in the States and exporting it to Europe. It's about helping teams in the U.S. develop talent faster and get it to a higher standard as quickly as possible."
Budweiser and the Manchester United Football Club announced a renewal of their partnership, which will extend through the 2009/2010 season. Anheuser Busch has supported Manchester United since 2002. They decided not to release the terms of this new agreement.
Manchester United has 333 million followers worldwide and more than 80 million people in 200 countries each match, making the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League the most-watched sports franchise in the world.
Budweiser's presence at Old Trafford - the Theatre of Dreams - includes exclusive pouring rights at concessions and digital on-field signage displayed in both English and Mandarin (Chinese), which is seen by Manchester United's massive Chinese fan base.
The sponsorship grants Budweiser rights to use the Manchester United marks and player images in advertising, point-of-sale materials and packaging in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America. The sponsorship also provides Budweiser with hospitality packages and match tickets for promotional activities, which they use to offer customers an once-in-a-lifetime experience at the Theatre of Dreams. Throughout the 2008/2009 season, Budweiser will launch promotions in the U.K., Mexico, Argentina and Vietnam for consumers to win trips to Manchester United matches.
This is an amazing opportunity for Budweiser and Anheuser Busch to promote their product around the world. Seeing as Manchester United is one of the most watched football clubs in the world, this is a great opportunity. My first thought was why is an American beer company becoming a sponsor of a soccer team in another country? I read on and they are trying to market their dominant U.S. product around the world. I believe that this strategy will help their profits for Budweiser because they are already so dominant in the U.S. an exposure in another country can do nothing but help. Every company should try and sponsor some sort of soccer entity because it is the most played and viewed sport in the world today.
As the 2010 approaches, another World Cup is on the way. Qualifying rounds for the prestige's soccer tournament has started and David Beckham is being seen sitting on the bench. In his comments, his new-role as a bench player does not bother him as long as he is "part of the squad, part of these qualifiers and, hopefully, part of the team to the World Cup."(www.espn.com 9-28-08) Beckham really has no choice but to accept his fate as a bench player, especially with his new replacement, Theo Walcott, scoring a hat-trick against Croatia. He has clearly stated that he supports Fabio Capello, the England manager, in his choice to bench the international superstar.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=576776&sec=worldcup2010&cc=5901
Once David Beckham relocated himself to the Los Angeles Galaxy, his soccer career was clearly on the backend. After playing for powerhouses in Spain and England, Real Madrid and Manchester United, coming to America to play in the MLS was a clear sign of a downfall. Although he is on the bench, I believe that Beckham's presence will still make an impact. Knowing that there is such a highly respected player sitting on the bench can be an intimidating thing for many international teams that face England. You also can't forget that his backup, Theo Walcott, is still a teenager and is already scoring hat-tricks in international play. Although England is sitting their once "big superstar", they now might be grooming a new, better captain for their highly respected squad.
Landon Donovan's possible move to Germany to play for Bayern Munich may not be a good move on Donovan's part. He is one of the greatest players to ever come out of the United States but European soccer is held to a higher standard than in North America. He has had two stints in Europe already but never really fit in, maybe this time is different. At the same time LA Galaxy will lose their star player. But how many more years does he have left in him.
Much of his game depends on quickness, and he said himself "After the next few years, I'm probably going to start declining a little," He may fit into a European club team now but once he starts to "decline" his role on Bayern Munich may be a lot smaller then hoped. David Beckham came to the United States to play when he got older and now Donovan's reversing the roles. I guess we'll just have to see what happens, either way he is a great player and for now will improve the stats of anytime he plays on.
I've always been a fan of the EA sports games. It looks like they've done it again with FIFA 2008. They just had a tourney in Germany with 32 of the world's best "soccer players"... that is if it counts to play soccer from your couch.
Berlin played host to intense soccer action, as the virtual soccer season came to an explosive end at the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) Final at the Sony Centre on Saturday. Thirty-two of the world's best interactive soccer players met face to face to compete for the ultimate title of FIFA Interactive World Player 2008. Following an incredible display of tactics and skill on EA SPORTS™ FIFA Soccer 08 on PLAYSTATION®3, Alfonso Ramos beat Michael Ribeiro from New Jersey 3-1 in front of a cheering crowd, securing the title and the $20,000 US prize money. Ramos also received an invitation to attend the FIFA World Player Gala in Zurich on January 12, 2009 where he will rub shoulders with real life soccer heroes. A fantastic day of soccer culminated in the two best players facing off for what turned out to be a nail biting final full of world class skill and great emotion. The game got off to an electric start as Ramos' Barcelona side took the lead with a beautiful header and he solidified his dominance with a decisive finish early in the second half. Ribeiro, also playing as Barcelona, responded emphatically with a classy goal to bring the score back to 2-1, but Ramos showed his determination and with less than ten minutes to go, restored his 2-goal lead. Ribeiro came back strongly but in the end Ramos' defense proved too strong and the game finished 3-1. The third and fourth playoff was contested between Brazil's Andre Casagrande Buffo and Austria's Dominik Posch. In a closely fought encounter, the Austrian came out on top with a 2-1 victory. "I came here to do my best but really didn't believe I would make it this far. It's been an absolutely fantastic day - to test myself against the world's best virtual soccer gamers is what this tournament is all about," said Alfonso Ramos." I'm really proud to be the first Spaniard to be crowned FIFA Interactive World Player and look forward to defending my title next year."
