MLS: Pro Women's Soccer

[Unregistered]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...ssoccer16.html

This is not MLS. What is going to be different this time than the other failed attempts? Unless ESPN picks up games and Nike underwrites, it won't work. Basic fact of pro sports today. Let's see what the ratings are for PAC 12 network content for any sport, men's or women's, except for Football. Pretty much no one will watch.

Owners of pro teams do it to make money, and lots of it, and to date, no one has shown that this model will work for a pro women's league.

[Unregistered]

This is not MLS. What is going to be different this time than the other failed attempts? Unless ESPN picks up games and Nike underwrites, it won't work. Basic fact of pro sports today. Let's see what the ratings are for PAC 12 network content for any sport, men's or women's, except for Football. Pretty much no one will watch.

Owners of pro teams do it to make money, and lots of it, and to date, no one has shown that this model will work for a pro women's league.

Nike screwed the pooch with soccer. Adidas is the main player from youth to the pros....unless I could see Nike making a play at specifically women's soccer.

[Thattman]

Market

I think that the need to market the Womens league to the younger girls, They will drag there parents to games and watch there favorites on TV. Crap look what they did with Justin Bieber. The young girls in the world pushed that boy to the top.

[Unregistered]

This is not MLS. What is going to be different this time than the other failed attempts? Unless ESPN picks up games and Nike underwrites, it won't work. Basic fact of pro sports today. Let's see what the ratings are for PAC 12 network content for any sport, men's or women's, except for Football. Pretty much no one will watch.

Owners of pro teams do it to make money, and lots of it, and to date, no one has shown that this model will work for a pro women's league.

I see MLS using women's soccer to fill the rest of the seats in the stadiums. Double headers with the ladies first. economies of scale as they utilize the same front office. Women teams would need thier own coach but they would use the same trainers and medical staff as the men's side.

[Unregistered]

I see MLS using women's soccer to fill the rest of the seats in the stadiums. Double headers with the ladies first. economies of scale as they utilize the same front office. Women teams would need thier own coach but they would use the same trainers and medical staff as the men's side.

yep. they have the ticket sales already, concessionaires and management on staff, just add a woman head coach and form a team. Instant income with very lil overhead. Being there isnt much of a demand worldwide for pro-womens soccer, they could keep the salaries low and would draw from the entire globe.

[Unregistered]

While I agree that professional womens soccer is a tough business and those that have come before have failed that doesn't necessarily mean if MLS / Adidas put their weight behind it ... it can't work. It's about scale.
It's been mentioned before that the MLS has the infrastructure in place. The men's game is paying for many of the fixed costs. With a realistic business model and realistic revenue assumptions it could work. If the MLS looks at the women's game as additive rather than stand alone this brings an entirely different perspective. If investing in the women's side brings good will and more butts in seats and more fan product/apparel sales etc. then there is a chance.
It's also been said that success may be predicated on location/region. That's fine. Put the women's game in those locations. Every city/state and every MLS franchise doesn't have to participate. Especially at launch. Kind of like how the the men's MLS has grown. Let the NW lead the way ...
I'll be the first in line to purchase season tickets!

[Unregistered]

Balanced Summary

This was published yesterday. A pretty balanced article on this subject that explains what the upside is, and the mountain that needs to be climbed to get there.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...occer-rages-on