MLS Franchise Notes: Blanco Paying Off For Fire At Box Office
 |
Fire Already Seeing Return
On Investment For Blanco |
USA TODAY’s Daniel Dorfman notes the MLS Fire, following the addition of Mexican F Cuauhtemoc Blanco, have seen increases of 41% for home attendance and 16% for road crowds over last season, and a 28% spike in merchandise sales. Blanco, one of only four players making over $1M under the league’s designated player rule, has a $2.67M salary, second only to Galaxy MF David Beckham’s guaranteed $6.5M per year. Blanco was selected as the grand marshal of Chicago’s recent Mexican Independence Day Parade (USA TODAY, 10/9).
UNITED: In DC, Tim Lemke reports DC United will raise season-ticket prices up to 28% for the ’08 season, with increases between $1 and $5 per game, but the team will expand those packages to include two nonleague games at RFK Stadium. United will also have ten-game half-season plans and an eight-game flex pack. The team said the cost of mezzanine season seats will rise from $630 to $800, with VIP seats rising from $468 to $600, premium seats going from $360 to $430 and spectator seats to rise from $270 to $320 (WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/9).
TORONTO FC: Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Exec VP & COO Tom Anselmi said 90% of the team's season-ticket holders have renewed for the '08 season. Anselmi: "We have 5,500 people on the waiting list, which is more than we have for the [Maple] Leafs and Raptors." He added that Raptors are "No. 1 in the NBA ticket renewal race" with 3,000 new accounts this season (TORONTO SUN, 10/7).
WIZARDS: In K.C., Pete Grathoff reports if the Wizards are able to move into a new stadium at the Bannister Mall site, Wizards ownership group OnGoal LLC “would then like to join the newly announced women’s professional soccer league.” Women’s Soccer LLC Commissioner Tonya Antonucci in an e-mail said that her league “would love to include Kansas City” (K.C. STAR, 10/9).
|
