J.D. Power Finds MLS and NHL Teams Outscore NFL Teams in Fan Experience

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http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jd-power-finds-mls-and-nhl-teams-outscore-nfl-teams-in-fan-experience-300505060.html

J.D. Power Finds MLS and NHL Teams Outscore NFL Teams in Fan Experience

Of 11 Markets Studied, NFL Teams Finish Last in Each One

COSTA MESA, Calif., Aug. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/-- Major League Soccer or National Hockey League teams perform highest in 10 of the 11 markets included in the J.D. Power 2017 Fan Experience Study,SM released today, while an NFL team scores lowest in every market.

The study measures fan satisfaction with their overall experience at major pro sporting events. In last year's inaugural study, only teams in the nation's four largest markets—New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston—were evaluated. This year, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, South Florida, Philadelphia, Bay Area and Washington, D.C. have been added, while Los Angeles has been expanded to include all of Southern California.

Fan satisfaction is evaluated across seven factors (in order of importance): seating area and game experience; security and ushers; leaving the game; arriving at the game; food and beverage; ticket purchase; and souvenirs and merchandise. Satisfaction is measured on a 1,000-point scale. Additional factors that are measured but not included in the official ranking are loyalty and future intentions; team performance (on-field); and team image.

The Houston Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union score highest in their respective markets, while the Chicago Fire, FC Dallas and San Jose Earthquakes score second highest. The only MLS teams that buck the trend of rabid fan satisfaction are the Colorado Rapids and New York City Football Club (third) and DC United (fourth).

Study findings show that an NFL team performs at the bottom in every market. Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins score lowest in fan satisfaction in each market.

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http://www.wcpo.com/sports/fc-cincinnati/citizen-group-calls-upon-mls-to-accept-nippert-stadium-instead-of-forcing-new-taxpayer-funded-venue

Citizen group calls upon MLS to accept Nippert Stadium instead of forcing new taxpayer-funded venue

CINCINNATI -- A local citizens' group is pressing Major League Soccer officials to accept Nippert Stadium as FC Cincinnati's home should they join MLS, saying there's no need to construct a dedicated soccer stadium at taxpayer expense.

"No More Stadium Taxes" opposes any additional stadium taxes, arena taxes or sports subsidies and said "large numbers of FC Cincinnati fans have already concluded that Nippert Stadium is a high-quality venue for an MLS team."

“MLS should welcome successful venues like Nippert that attract far more fans than their own soccer-specific stadiums,” said Matt Wahlert, No More Stadium Taxes board member and North College Hill councilman. “While MLS has full control over their admission standards, they have no control over Hamilton County tax dollars. Hamilton County has much bigger needs than subsidizing a new soccer stadium for billionaires, especially when we already have at least one fantastic soccer stadium.”

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinasettimi/2017/08/16/major-league-soccers-best-fans-two-rivals-have-to-learn-to-share/

Major League Soccer's Best Fans: Two Rivals Have To Learn To Share

The biggest rivals in Major League Soccer have one less thing to argue about: whose fans are better. That's because in our inaugural ranking of the league's best, the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders tied at No.1.

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http://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/vanderbilt/2017/08/16/how-vanderbilt-downsized-off-campus-stadium-would-stack-up-sec/571921001/

How a Vanderbilt downsized, off-campus stadium would stack up in SEC

Vanderbilt athletics director David Williams said a new off-campus stadium shared with a potential Major League Soccer expansion team would have a seating capacity between 33,000 and 35,000 for Commodores’ home football games.

That would be a sizable reduction from the current on-campus Vanderbilt Stadium, which has a capacity of 40,350. Vanderbilt also would have a stadium about half the size of the next-smallest in the SEC.

If Vanderbilt does not enter a partnership with the Nashville MLS ownership group to share a new stadium proposed for the Metro-owned Fairgrounds site, the seating capacity would be 30,000 if used only for soccer, concerts and other events besides Vanderbilt football.

Both possibilities were presented at a special Metro Council committee meeting Monday night, when Williams sat alongside John Ingram, the billionaire businessman leading Nashville’s MLS bid and also serving on the Vanderbilt Board of Trust.

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http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/823832

FCC Departs Open Cup, Heads Held High

Performance, atmosphere draws admiration from Red Bulls

CINCINNATI – There were moments after Cincinnati native Austin Berry’s header had given FC Cincinnati a two-goal lead with less than half-an-hour to go against the New York Red Bulls in the Semifinals of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night when the remarkable seemed ready to become reality.

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https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2017/08/16/la-galaxy-ranked-major-league-soccers-most-valuable-team-according-forbes-insider

LA Galaxy ranked as Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Team according to Forbes | INSIDER

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https://sgbonline.com/report-nfl-teams-lag-mls-and-nhl-in-fan-experience/

Report: NFL Teams Lag MLS and NHL In Fan Experience

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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-city-lions/on-the-pitch/os-sp-orlando-city-soccer-insider-0817-story.html

Orlando City remains 5th on Forbes’ list of most valuable MLS teams

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https://sherbrooktimes.com/ranking-of-forbes-the-galaxy-in-the-lead-the-impact-to-the-15th-rank/27843

Ranking of “Forbes”: the Galaxy in the lead, the Impact to the 15th rank

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http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/fc-cincinnatis-magic-runs-out-in-us-open-cup-semifinals

FC Cincinnati's magic runs out in U.S. Open Cup semifinals

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https://www.massivereport.com/2017/8/16/16155106/andy-loughnane-talks-attendance-issues-playoff-complications-and-a-new-stadium-columbus-crew-sc

Andy Loughnane talks attendance issues, playoff complications and a new stadium

The Crew SC president of business operations gave some insight on the state of the franchise.

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https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/08/16/fc-cincinnatis-u-s-cup-tourney-hopes-end-in-loss.html

FC Cincinnati's U.S. Cup tourney hopes end in loss to NY Red Bulls: PHOTOS

FC Cincinnati ended its Cinderella run Tuesday night in a 3-2 loss to the New York Red Bulls in the semifinal round of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at the University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium.

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http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/824055

Rowdies Transfer Lowe to Norway’s IK Start

Jamaican international made 18 appearances for Tampa Bay

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http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/soccer/fc-cincinnati/2017/08/16/2-goals-3-minutes-shatter-fc-cincys-semifinal/571614001/

2 goals in 3 minutes shatter FC Cincy's semifinal

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http://appsforpcdaily.com/2017/08/so-close-fc-cincinnati-open-cup-streak-ends/

So Close! FC Cincinnati Open Cup Streak Ends

New York Red Bulls dash FC Cincinnati's fairytale US Open Cup run with late rally

Wright-Phillips double helps NY Red Bulls beat FC Cincinnati

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https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/08/16/after-usoc-win-red-bulls-full-praise-mls-hopefuls-fc-cincinnati

After USOC win, Red Bulls full of praise for MLS hopefuls FC Cincinnati

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https://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/minnesota-united-allianz-field-elevated-stage-soccer-photos

Minnesota United is about to move from one of the worst MLS venues to one of the best.

One of the steepest stadium sections in world soccer is coming to … Minnesota?

That’s one of a handful of design features which will make Minnesota United FC’s forthcoming stadium, Allianz Field, pop.

Before Loons supporters ever step foot inside the St. Paul-based venue, they’ll get treated to a colorful spectacle on the exterior of the new 19,400-seat venue.

Using color-changing LED lights, across the entirety of the plastic-based laminated exterior skin with fiberglass mesh, Minnesota United can light up the exterior of its new soccer-specific stadium, changing colors as desired to create a striking nighttime experience. During the day, the mesh offers a translucent feel, showing off the structure through the skin.

“At night, it should be really dramatic,” says Bruce Miller, Populous architect and designer of the venue. “It will be pretty stunning architecturally. The whole skin has an undulating pattern, a complex computer-generated geometry that evokes water and the concept of flow that is reflective of all the lakes and rivers in Minnesota.”

Ready in time for the 2019 season, Allianz Field features a 360-degree canopy to protect roughly 85 percent of the seats from Minnesota weather while helping trap crowd noise inside the venue. The canopy’s geometry doesn’t mimic the seating bowl, allowing all the seats on the west side to get covered and offering a bit more of an open feel on the east and south end, where the supporters sit. Also, expect radiant heating in locations to help provide shelter from the weather.

The supporters will fill a safe standing section, similar to Miller’s Orlando design but slightly smaller at a capacity of about 2,800. And steeper. The 24-inch riser (nearly 35 degrees) makes it one of the steepest supporter rakes in all of soccer, and by making the section aluminum, Miller “designed it to be like a megaphone.”

The balance of the concrete seating bowl remains steep, too, with nearly the same pitch on the east side of the venue as the supporters enjoy and an overall average of over 33 degrees. The closest seat sits 17 feet from the field and farthest 125 feet from a 120-yard-by-75-yard grass surface with underground heating.

In a first for American soccer, Miller elevated the pitch to create a platform for the players. That’s a welcome upgrade from the current aesthetics of the shared field with the University of Minnesota football team.

“As the players come out of the tunnel at midfield, they will have this experience of rising up onto the stage,” Miller says. “It also gives a unique perspective to the first-row seats.” The home team will leave its ellipse-shaped locker room — the space includes a nutrition bar, hydrotherapy and more — and make its way through a field-level club before rising to the field.

Elsewhere in the venue, Populous designed in a mix of seating types, an upstairs club level, cabana-style suites with a glass opening at the back, traditional suites and super suites. In all, expect 22 suites and four club sections.

The north concourse includes one more surprise for Minnesota United fans with a brew hall full of communal tables, a 60-foot-long bar and 82-foot-long glass doors separating the space from the walkway. “We hope it becomes the heart of soccer in the Twin Cities,” Miller says. “We envision them being open most days during the week and especially Saturday mornings. It is open to everyone, so we think it will be a nice amenity given the weather.”

The new Allianz Field includes firsts for soccer stadiums in the MLS. More importantly, it will give Minnesota a proper stage for soccer.