MLS's losses "could reach" $60M this year and "people
involved in the league are growing increasingly concerned
about its long-term prospects," according to Jamie Trecker
of the SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Trecker writes that the
league's merchandising "is a categorical failure," as league
apparel has "not made inroads" with retailers; teams are
"trapped in leases that offer no chance for ancillary
revenue" and the league "has failed to convince the media
that it should be covered." MLS Commissioner Doug Logan
acknowledges that the media has "contributed to the league's
problems." Logan: "There is a tendency for reporters to eat
their young these days." Trecker adds that even among its
TV partners, ESPN, ABC Sports and Univision, MLS has seen
"little sign that the networks are willing to do much more
than slap the games on." But Trecker writes, "To be fair,
this young league has an unprecedented set of challenges in
front of it. ... In defiance of logic, the quality of MLS's
team's rarely influences their box office success" (SBJ,
10/19 issue). In Columbus, Rob Oller wrote under the
header, "MLS Struggles To Find Place At Sports Table." MLS
is considering a later start to its season, which now begins
in mid-March. Logan: "If anything, we'd move later, to get
out of the World Series" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 10/16).
FROM THE CUP: In Boston, Frank Dell'Apa writes MLS "had
been expecting a dream matchup" between two-time defending
champion DC United and the home team L.A. Galaxy, in
Sunday's MLS Cup at the Rose Bowl. The Fire's elimination
of the Galaxy "also eliminated any chance of a 90,000-plus
crowd." But a Fire-United final "likely would attract
50,000 ... certainly a satisfactory attendance considering
the lack of anything resembling a home team." Almost 30,000
tickets have already been sold (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/20).
