Erik Stenholm
Jul 27, 2017 · 2 min read

Not one mention in this article about the three biggest issues with the franchise.

  1. The ticket prices are far too high. Quakes tickets are significantly cheaper and offer a better team, stadium, and fan experience. A’s and Giants tickets are cheaper than the Deltas. Fans simply will not pay a premium price (even in SF, the premium-price capitol of the world) to see an inferior and uninteresting product. They would pay a small fee though. Say 10 bucks a ticket? Literally the only thing that’s kept me from going to a game (my girlfriend lives blocks from Kezar, I could walk there) is the cost. 40+ a ticket? For a minor league team? I think most soccer fans in the city feel the same way.
  2. The branding. SF Deltas is a bad name for a team. It’s been written before that it’s the worst name in the history of American sports. The team needs a rebrand in the worst way. Literally anything other than that name and that logo would be better.
  3. Believe it or not, people in the Bay Area are a little bit tired of wealthy investors trying to make money off of us and telling us they’re our friend. Tech bros starting a soccer team and failing miserably, then pleading with less fortunate people to help them is an awful look.

Soccer is expanding in this country and I love the game. There are MLS expansion teams that have been wild successes and miserable failures. There is no magic way to create a sports team out of thin air. In soccer terms, the ownership of the Deltas “haven’t put a foot right” since they started the team. Start over from scratch. Rename the team. Sign a player with a name and build the marketing campaign around him. In soccer, unlike any other sport in America, the way to bring in fans is with a name or a series of names. Winning isn’t everything. San Francisco sports fans want to be entertained. AT&T Park is an entertainment venue, a place to be seen. It’s not a hallowed ground where sports fans come to love the game.

    Erik Stenholm

    Written by

    Bay Area. Oakland A’s, Minnesota Vikings, Tottenham Hotspur. Proud leftist.