Locomotive make playoffs in inaugural year, anyone care? I live in Dallas, but if I was there I woulda went to see some games. It seems like the buzz wore off, it they did pretty good in fort year, so not sure why. What's the local feel down there with this team?
Locos In Playoffs
- Thread starter nattybry
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I went to a Wednesday game a couple of weeks ago and it was dead, no energy, no people, I seen more people at high school football games this year.
The local feel is no one cares to be honest. Local media is busy covering UTEP's crap, and local high schools, they do cover them, but you're right the buzz has wore off and only die hard soccer fans care. Seems like a good product, but me and my date were legit snoozing at halftime on that Wednesday game, soccer is boring as shit when you're not hammered and in the fan section, plus El Paso just is not the "sports town" we all think it is.
The local feel is no one cares to be honest. Local media is busy covering UTEP's crap, and local high schools, they do cover them, but you're right the buzz has wore off and only die hard soccer fans care. Seems like a good product, but me and my date were legit snoozing at halftime on that Wednesday game, soccer is boring as shit when you're not hammered and in the fan section, plus El Paso just is not the "sports town" we all think it is.
It started off very well attended, one of the top in the league. Not sure what happened, they're not bad and it's a legit top league, right below MLS.
But that’s the thing too: MLS is not a good league either. They still can’t beat Liga MX teams consistently and that league is bad too. Aside from Zlatan and Carlos Vela the vast majority of players in the league are scrubs and you have to look no further than the Men’s National team to see that our quality of players is not really improving.
If you think soccer is boring as shit, probably not a good idea to take a date there on a Wednesday night.
I agree, I am puzzled why they didn't draw huge crowds the past two matches, seems like we have a good team, sucks people don't support it they way they should.
Soccer thrives in certain markets in the US such as Seattle, Portland and Atlanta. What these markets have in common are they are very diverse cities with alot of young professionals living in the Urban core. They earn salaries far greater than the national average. Austin is going to be a great MLS market. They were shortsighted they should have built up a 50,000 seat stadium they could have filled it. Nashville will be a great market. They will have no issues filling up their 30,000 seat stadium.
El Paso is not a diverse city. There are not many young professionals living in the urban core. The per capita income in El Paso is way below the national average. The city isnt isnt a magnet for attracting talent. Historically it's a black hole people cant escape. Those facts alone are enough to know that soccer will not work in El Paso. Demographically it has none of the characteristics of a successful American soccer market.
But I guess people sure do care about that Juarez team. They probably cheer for Mexico against the USMNT, too.
What you said applies to Football, Basketball, Baseball and Hockey as to why we would never be a good Pro City. Soccer is the exception and that's the only sport that should work here better than most places.
Maybe, maybe the soccer fans in El Paso would support an MLS team, the actual top of the ladder, but I just don't get the impression that they're too invested in the USL when hey can just watch the Mexican leagues that they grew up on. I remember people breaking out their Mexican flags at my high school pep rallies; they sure were proud of their Mexican heritage and, amongst the soccer fans, I think that's the prevailing attitude.
I can understand what you're saying, however it was supported at first. It was the top 5 attended USL team. Now they win and make playoffs and the attendance gradually dropped throughout the year.
Soccer is way different from a demographic support angle than the other sports you mentioned.
Ah, the old it won’t work here because we’re too poor argument. I’ll wager that they’ll be as successful as our Chihuahuas who are ironically in that same dreadful (factual) environment you just described.
The team will function fine as a minor league team. It's an open secret they will become Austin's minor league affiliate.
Oh boy, I've always wanted to be Austin's minor league affiliate.
El Paso fans can’t wait to be the affiliate of the Austin expansion team. Probably sell out every home game if that’s true!
Weekday games, school has started, not a high level level team or affiliate, not playing in a soccer stadium, proximity to Juarez and demographics, 4-5th favorite sport in the U.S.
USL isn’t an organization that its model is to gather massive crowds of 20k plus. The average attendance is 4,400. Only Albuquerque, Sacramento, and Indianapolis average crowds of five digits.
Once the soccer specific stadium is built that holds around 8k the crowd will look much better. San Antonio is averaging the same attendance as the Locomotive but the atmosphere is more intimate and looks better at their stadium.
The win last night placed them in 6th and they might have played themselves out of a hosting a playoff game. If they finish 7 or 8th, they host a game. They’re mathematically eliminated for a top three finish. Hosting a game as a 4th is still achievable if four certain scenarios align.
Out of all the possible options I think the 6th seed is best if they are to win the whole thing. Hosting a game as the 7/8th seed isn’t worth having to play the extra playoff game. A 5th place finish puts us in the path of Phoenix. It’s best to avoid them until the championship game.
Once the soccer specific stadium is built that holds around 8k the crowd will look much better. San Antonio is averaging the same attendance as the Locomotive but the atmosphere is more intimate and looks better at their stadium.
The win last night placed them in 6th and they might have played themselves out of a hosting a playoff game. If they finish 7 or 8th, they host a game. They’re mathematically eliminated for a top three finish. Hosting a game as a 4th is still achievable if four certain scenarios align.
Out of all the possible options I think the 6th seed is best if they are to win the whole thing. Hosting a game as the 7/8th seed isn’t worth having to play the extra playoff game. A 5th place finish puts us in the path of Phoenix. It’s best to avoid them until the championship game.
LMAO. That will never be built. The taxpayers aren’t giving MountainStar another stadium. They won’t build it themselves either. Look at the crowd shots from the last few games, tons of empty seats. There’s no way they can support a stadium for themselves. Ain’t happening.
It has to be built or there will be no team. The Locomotive have until year four to build a stadium or be in advance stages of building a stadium.
It's very expensive to become an elite soccer player in this country. So the fan base tends to be young, white, males or females of you're talking about the womens game. The teams with the most rabid fan bases, are usually white millennials. I dont think that's a secret.
One of the issues right now with soccer and its declining MLS attendance is that the National team is terrible. The MLS is failing to produce American heroes that shine on the world stage. If the USMNT keeps losing to third world countries, then soccer will struggle. And that trickles down to the lower leagues. You cant have a terrible National Team and expect the domestic leagues to thrive.
One of the issues right now with soccer and its declining MLS attendance is that the National team is terrible. The MLS is failing to produce American heroes that shine on the world stage. If the USMNT keeps losing to third world countries, then soccer will struggle. And that trickles down to the lower leagues. You cant have a terrible National Team and expect the domestic leagues to thrive.
I was a season ticket holder, but haven't attended a game since July. I won't be renewing next season. I'm not an avid soccer fan, and typically am only interested in the game when the World Cup comes around. I came into this season hoping that the game would grow on me. While some games were fun to watch, most of them were, as someone posted previously, boring as shit. The atmosphere is also very different too. Several fans in my section spend more time yelling to the top of their lungs, cussing a lot, and of course chanting the stupid P*TO vulgarity when the opposing goal keeper kicks the ball. At times I felt uncomfortable while at the games. I see what happens around the world at soccer games, when fans go absolutely ape shit and start trashing the stadium. That's something I definitely don't want to be around.
Speaking of the stadium, Southwest University Park is not the right environment for soccer. The stadium was built for baseball. As a Chihuahuas season ticket holder, I was very upset how bad the playing surface was this past season. I know the grounds crew did their best, but the grass took a beating. The patches of grass that was used to cover the infield for soccer matches was a joke. At times the soccer players were easily ripping them up with their cleats. The grounds crew would hurriedly have to fix them while the game was still in progress. I'm amazed no player has been seriously injured by this. It's just a matter of time though.
The Locos need their own soccer specific stadium. This would bring the fans closer to the pitch, as oppose to how further away they are at Southwest University Park. It doesn't have to be large either. Anywhere between 5,000 to 7,000 seats would do. This has to be in their future plans. But as someone else pointed out, the city isn't in any hurry to invest in one. With all the delays in building the downtown arena in the Duranguito area, I would scrap that idea and take the issue back to the voters to build a soccer specific stadium instead.
I may attend a couple of games next season, but definitely won't invest in season tickets. I may reconsider it if the Locos get their own stadium. I'm happy for the Locos' success, and wish them the best in the years to come.
Speaking of the stadium, Southwest University Park is not the right environment for soccer. The stadium was built for baseball. As a Chihuahuas season ticket holder, I was very upset how bad the playing surface was this past season. I know the grounds crew did their best, but the grass took a beating. The patches of grass that was used to cover the infield for soccer matches was a joke. At times the soccer players were easily ripping them up with their cleats. The grounds crew would hurriedly have to fix them while the game was still in progress. I'm amazed no player has been seriously injured by this. It's just a matter of time though.
The Locos need their own soccer specific stadium. This would bring the fans closer to the pitch, as oppose to how further away they are at Southwest University Park. It doesn't have to be large either. Anywhere between 5,000 to 7,000 seats would do. This has to be in their future plans. But as someone else pointed out, the city isn't in any hurry to invest in one. With all the delays in building the downtown arena in the Duranguito area, I would scrap that idea and take the issue back to the voters to build a soccer specific stadium instead.
I may attend a couple of games next season, but definitely won't invest in season tickets. I may reconsider it if the Locos get their own stadium. I'm happy for the Locos' success, and wish them the best in the years to come.
Who’s going to pay for it and where is it going to be located? Also, the USL loses teams left and right, I really doubt they will “kick out” EP if they’ve still at SUP in 2023. If attendance continues to slump, then maybe, but if they’re still top 10, they will still be in the Championship.
I’m not sure but it’s not that expensive. They can build a top notch facility for around 10 million.
I don’t know how much USL will bend their own rules for the Locomotive. Looking at the Fresno example we will get an idea of how they’ll deal with it. I don’t think other cities will be too happy about them building a soccer specific stadium and the Locomotive getting an exception.
The clock is ticking.
Nice insight! I agree on all aspects except for the arena (simply based on the variety and overall impact it would offer). I think the arena would have a much bigger impact in terms of revenue and interest also.
Anyway, when Mountain Star sent out their questionnaire regarding USL, I responded no, no, no. I am a soccer fan, but I just didn't think it would do well or hold in the future. The ONLY reason the team has done decently well is because of some of the talent that was brought in. Kiesewetter and Fox may be gone after this season. There is no guarantee they can be replaced with better players. Mountainstar has a much bigger investment in Juarez now to worry about. The stadium over there comes 1st and foremost.
Most soccer fans in EP are Liga MX/Mexico fans. It's a higher level of play and people already know the players. Aside from maybe interest in the L.A. MLS teams, most soccer fans in El Paso would prefer to watch the European leagues when Mexican teams are not playing.
Now if ever MLS and the USMNT start to dominate CONCACAF and Mexico then things could change. That would mean that the best Mexican players are wanting to play in the MLS and the young players with dual citizenship are wanting to play for the USMNT. If that ever happens then El Paso could support MLS with Mountainstar. If we had a winning team with some Mexican or even known Latin or American players it would warrant a stadium and support.
I just read about Fresno and it says a soccer specific stadium is required by the third year. My guess is that Fresno will be playing next year.
While the USL prefers each of their clubs have their own soccer specific stadium, there's nothing that says they have to abide by their own rules. If a club is successful, and draws decent crowds, such as the Locomotive, there's no way the USL is going to kick them out of the league, just because they play in a baseball stadium. Take a look at how many clubs in the USL are currently playing in baseball stadiums now. Can Mountain Star move the club to another city who's willing to build them a stadium? Absolutely. However, keep in mind they are invested in other interests in the El Paso/Juarez area, namely the Chihuahuas and FC Juarez. The Locos will continue to play at Southwest University Park until a stadium is built.
That’s the key. If the Locomotive tell the USL we ain’t ever building a stadium and you can suck it. Best believe they’re gone. As long as both sides remain diplomatic the USL will give the Locomotive the time they need. Plans do need be in motion.
I agree. I just don't see the taxpayers voting for a new soccer stadium to be built with all of the drama going on with the downtown arena.
That would be horrible if they become affiliated with Austin. Because then we would have a bunch of loaner players and players that are under 20. Guys fresh out of the Developmental Academies and recent draft picks. Guys would be going up and down.
In soccer, teams with continuity do best.
Locomotive move onto the Western Conference finals. A daunting trip to Phoenix has been scratched by the upset from Real Monarchs. There’s a legitimate chance the Locomotive will make the USL championship game in season 1. Very impressive.
Can we hire Mountain Star to be the AD of UTEP athletics?
Can we hire Mountain Star to be the AD of UTEP athletics?
I went to the game and it was awesome. It was a great environment. Go Locos!!!
game was awesome!!! The crowd was amazing!!! USL will not kick out the ept, but fans hate the seating. You can't sit a highly educated soccer community at that stadium and expect them to like it.
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