MLS4CLT needs a ticket drive NOW!
The pageantry of having MLS leaders coming to Charlotte is over. The chance to smooch up to Mecklenburg County and Charlotte leaders is over. The time to “put up or shut up” is now here for Marcus Smith and Co. If we as fans want MLS in Charlotte that time is here for us too. We need to put our money where our mouth is and get season ticket deposits started.
At one point in sports history, ticket drives were the standard way to land an expansion franchise. In the late 80’s and early 90’s it was what helped bring the Panthers to the Carolina’s. This was done in conjunction with having NFL games across the Carolina’s that sold out and showed the NFL their was a demand for a team. We have done that with our pretty spectacular showings in International Champions Cup and Gold cup games. I highly doubt a question for MLS is if there is a demand for Division I soccer in the Carolina’s, especially for Charlotte.
At some point the sports world shifted from having a fanbase to support a team to having ownership that fits in the league. Locally we saw this with the disaster of Bob Johnson and the expansion Charlotte Bobcats. The NBA chose a billionaire who had no connection to the community and just gave Johnson a team because he had the cash to operate the team not because he would care about the team or city. Now with the MLS4CLT bid and Marcus Smith we have a chance to use the “old model” of getting a team. A model that has a person with a personal connection to the community and the capital to operate a MLS team. Thankfully this model is one that still works in 2017.
Just in 2016, Las Vegas landed a NHL expansion that was rooted in a ticket drive. Their were rumors that Las Vegas wasn’t just a city on a list, but an actual contender for a NHL franchise in the years leading up to 2015. In February 2015, Billionaire Bill Foley launched his “Vegas Wants Hockey” Campaign which reached 10,000 deposits placed by April 2015. That ticket drive showed the NHL that Las Vegas was a force to be reckoned with and Foley was rewarded with a franchise in 2017. At the time the now Vegas Golden Knights were awarded to Foley and Las Vegas, the team had secured 15,000 season ticket deposits. The city and its fans were given an opportunity to put some skin in the game with a financial contribution and it paid off.
My biggest takeaway from the “Power The Pitch” rally was a lack of feeling like it was a real thing. The idea and dream of MLS4CLT wasn’t confusing but the imagery of it all was. Unlike the unveiling of the crest for the Independence, I was finding myself trying to get excited over the clipart logos and the toothpaste green color everywhere. I can’t help but think I wasn’t alone in that feeling. I was invested with my mind and my heart, but not in a tangible way. I was ready to walk up to the several staff members handing out t-shirts and flags earlier to put down a $100 deposit. If only we had the chance to maybe more would have been out their for support of the bid and maybe less out of curiousity.
A ticket drive could do the same thing for MLS4CLT it did for Vegas, not to souly show MLS we’re serious; but to show Mecklenburg and Charlotte leaders that the fans are the force to be reckoned with as well. Marcus Smith and Co. have a staff sitting in Charlotte Motor Speedway who are already trained in ticket sales, who are probably in a dead period for NASCAR ticket sales, that could easily take deposits over the phone. The setup for a ticket drive would probably be inexpensive and seemless. The foundation is right there.
There is still a lot of questions going forward in our bid. August will be the make or break month it seems like with Charlotte and Mecklenburg officials. It’s hard to filter through the rhetoric and opinions and find facts about where this is going. It’s hard to feel optimistic when a stuborn old commissioner who doesn't have a clue about soccer is the loudest voice of those officials. A chance to speak with our dollars and put a deposit down would go a long way in curing that feeling and really give us something to rally behind.