Michael Hitchcock is in trouble in Dallas, says Buzz Carrick at the 3rd Degree. His responsibilities have been taken away one by one, with the latest being ticket sales. Only 5,000 tickets have been sold to this point for Dallas' home opener at Pizza Hut Park.
On the surface, this seems like just another instance of a professional sports executive failing at his job. In almost every case in almost every sport, the offending executive would fired or demoted; Hitchcock has had his duties reduced, effectively a demotion.
The question becomes, as the economy continutes to falter and even more established pro sports leagues are feeling the hit, how much does FCD's poor ticker sales number rest on the shoulders of Hitchcock, and how much is beyond his control?
Being unfamiliar with Hitchcock's track record myself, I'm relying on more-knowledgable people to give me some context (i.e. Ginge Talks the Footy). It seems things haven't been going well in Frisco for some time, so it's unclear how much of the blame can be placed on economic factors. Regardless, the issue of the economy's impact on MLS ticket sales bears watching: while the price point of the league's product is a major advantage in the current climate, poor or nonexistent marketing will negate it.
I've said it before, and this news only reinforces it: the rose-colored glasses are off, and I'm becoming more and more convinced that MLS attendance will decrease sharply without a serious effort on the part of clubs to fill the seats (i.e., New England's Defend the Fort campaign).
Hopefully the situation in Dallas is an aberration, and not the beginning of a rash of poor ticket sales news. Although focusing on the positives of Toronto, Seattle, and a few others mitigates my despair, I'm still wary of a financial hit for the league, the resulting soccer-hater commentary, and the potential setback to MLS becoming a fully competitive force for player services.
If you have Dallas insight, or just want to comment on the general economic situation and how it relates to MLS, please fire away.
I hate posting to the blog from work; my computer here is so slow, and I'm in such a rush to get the post up, that it's inevitably riddled with typos.
