The Int’l Champions Cup is playing the back end of a football-filled summer in the U.S., but organizers are “ecstatic” about the attendance numbers of the already completed games, Relevent Sports VP of Stadium Partnerships Kwame Bryan said. The ICC this summer shared the spotlight with the Copa América Centenario, and following in the footsteps of the world’s oldest continental national team football competition did not come without its difficulties. “I would be lying if I told you there wasn’t an impact,” Bryan said. “Of course it weighed on our minds. But we are ecstatic with the numbers this year.” The U.S. and European leg of the ICC kicked off on July 23 and features 10 top European club teams from England, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Spain. The annual summer preseason tournament has set the bar high over the past three years with large attendance figures, including a record 109,831 for the game between ManU and Real Madrid at Michigan Stadium in ’14, the highest attendance figure for an int’l football game in the U.S. This year, the numbers so far have included an Ohio attendance record for an int’l football match with 86,641, as well as a half-empty stadium in Oregon when only 24,147 attended the match between Paris St. Germain and Inter Milan. The Copa América’s impact on those numbers is undeniable, but the ICC has managed to carve out its place on the U.S. sports calendar. “We strive to be the No. 1 content in the summer, and I think that we have shown that over the last four years,” Bryan said. The attendance figures indicate that there is an increasing appetite for football in the U.S., rather than fatigue with two int’l tournaments in one summer.
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Kwame Bryan
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A PLACE TO PLAY: Securing venues was also affected by this summer’s competition from South America, ICC organizers Relevent Sports said. “It was a little bit more difficult, obviously, because it is not just about securing the stadium,” Bryan said. “It is about making sure that if there is a game, it potentially has some other content, in that it is the right demographic and the city can handle it.” Organizers not only had to account for the Copa América, but also work in the preferences of the European teams as well as work around other events taking place at the various venues. With the ICC in its fourth year, however, the process has become a little easier, Bryan said. “Not only are we seeking to go to places, but places are seeking us out because they want to be a part of it,” he said. “Case in point, we are opening up U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis [on Wednesday] and that game is pushing against a sellout.” The tournament received some negative publicity early on after poor pitch conditions forced the cancellation of the match between Man City and ManU at Beijing’s Bird's Nest stadium. Bryan said that no one could have predicted this would happen. “There are always going to be some issues surrounding major events,” he said. “What we try to do is to minimize those mistakes, we try to say, ‘How can we do this to make sure it does not happen again?'” Relevent Sports is reportedly in discussions with Chinese investors about selling a substantial stake in the company. Bryan did not directly comment on the reports, saying only that organizers are always looking at ways “to improve and grow” the tournament.
