While the MLS MetroStars had announced an advanced sale
of "more than" 30,000 tickets for Saturday's game against
the Fusion, due largely to an int'l friendly match between
teams from Mexico and Columbia, the stands "were nearly
deserted," as "only" 13,608 turned out, according to Ike
Kuhns of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. After the game, MetroStars
VP/Sales & Marketing Jim Leahy "was visibly upset," saying,
"The Hispanic community turned back 15,000 tickets this
morning when we have no chance of selling them." Kuhns
wrote that the heat may have "deterred the large Colombian
and Mexican American communities in the area from turning
out." Leahy: "We put a lot of our tickets out on
consignment to groups and individuals in the various
communities, and we were assured that there was a great deal
of interest in the Mexican and Columbian teams. That's why
we projected 30,000. But they came back today and said
there was no interest" (STAR-LEDGER, 7/25). Leahy called
the turnout an "embarrassment": "I can take them saying
that we have a losing team that's not worthy of the Latino
market. What I can't take is that wasn't the MetroStars on
the field. It was their own teams" (Bergen RECORD, 7/25).
