Jenna Pel of AllWhiteKit.com is reporting that league wide average attendance this past week was only 1,987.
The former Washington Freedom franchise now known as magicJack is not helping those numbers at all. The first home game for magicJack drew a reported 1,224 fans at FAU in Boca Raton, FL. This past weekends attendance was anywhere between 500 to 1,008.
Even taking the highest number for magicJack, the league seems to be in dire trouble.
VaSoccerNews.com reached out to the owner of magicJack, Dan Borislow, for comment on plans to turnaround the declining attendance figures so far for magicJack?
Borislow also responded to the issue of the team having no website, advertising, or merchandise and how he plans to promote or even make money from his WPS franchise?
"Until people know you have a good product, it is a difficult sale.We will grow the attendance in the second half of the season. Further we had a late start and wanted to make sure everybody was ready for larger attendance at FAU. Lastly, sponsorships are not ploys, they are a necessary part of building a financially successful team." said Borislow.
The final part of the response from the magicJack owner was surely in response to our question/suggestion:
Was this all just a huge marketing ploy for your magicJack company rather than an honest attempt to run a successful women's soccer franchise?
Do you think the WPS is in serious trouble? Will attendance turn around during the second half of the season as Dan Borislow suggests? And finally, would professional women's soccer as a product be better served by the WPS joining forces with the existing USL W-League and simply grow the long running W-League?
As always with women's soccer....stay tuned!
Awesome.
ReplyDeleteFreedom fans already know the team is a 'good product' and were more than willing to support the team in many ways..The Washington FREEDOM had established base of season ticket holders and fans who came regularly to the games, community involvement and the long history of the WUSA FREEDOM in town.Attendance at RFK and The Soccer Plex in MD exceeded any of the games played in Fl.There is no excuse for Barsilow not to have a team website up and running. By now it should be clear that the team has become just a toy for Barsilow and his kids. Bring the FREEDOM back to DC where they will be apprecicated!!
ReplyDeleteAttendance at this weekend's mJ vs Independence game was no where near 1008.. 600 people in attendance at best. The seating at the field only accommodates 980 people, that is counting the permanent stand and bleacher seating brought in for the games.
ReplyDeleteBORISLOW
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as a south floridian I can say that the owner has done nothing to promote the team down here. No publicity when the team moved to it's new home, no public relations events, and no team website to provide any information. It's as if he doesn't want the team to be successful in developing a fan base. He isn't even allowing the coach or players to do post-game interviews. Very confusing. Also disappointing is the incredibly direct style of play the team has employed. No build-up in the attack or value of possession. The fact that they have been winning shows that they have been playing "the effective game," but definitely not "the beautiful game."
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above statements, they are nothing but a toy for his children and in that alone should cause huge embarrassment for
ReplyDeleteBorislow and his children, sad that he doesn't realize the effect that this will have on his children and how no one or no reputable establishment will take those kids seriously. I would give anything to see the team back where they belong...May I ask how he can get away with denying the post game interviews?
In response to the above post - he actually CAN'T deny media requests. He's violating the league policy that all WPS players and coaches are to be made available to the media. It was reported today though that the league is stepping in now:
ReplyDelete"As per league statement re: magicJack media blackout, WPS mandates that players/coaches/etc. be made available to media...WPS will enforce penalties for non-compliance including but not limited to monetary fines, loss in points and/or loss of future draft picks. "The league is aware of magicJack's violations of league policy in regards to media regulations and we have addressed these with the team."
We'll see how things change. Hopefully the PR gets stepped up because otherwise people aren't going to know they exist...still.