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Before we get into it today, note that we will “business blog” the Final providing discussion of the broadcast, advertisements and other business aspects of the game on Monday morning. Please check back for that.
Next week we will also have a chat with Soccernomics author Simon Kuper, but today we post a link to a Seattle Times article about the perceived economic benefits of the Sounders to downtown Seattle. The article provides anecdotal evidence of increased economic activity resulting from the 15 Sounders’ home dates. Such claims have long been disputed by economists, who believe that the there is little to no benefit from stadiums. Nevertheless, on the eve of MLS Cup 2009, the article does show that local business in Seattle have bought into soccer as a financial plus. A number of the people interviewed indicated that they were originally skeptical of soccer in Seattle, but have now embraced the team.
The Original Winger posts a great interview with Gino Rossetti of Rossetti Architecture. Rossetti is the designer behind many of the new MLS soccer stadiums and he provides some great insights into the design process. There are some great tidbits about how designing a soccer stadium involves different factors from those of other sports (i.e. soccer fans only get up once per game at halftime) and how Red Bull Arena will change the soccer stadium playing field. We recommend the story.
There have been a number of labor related stories popping up in the last few weeks, most regurgitating information about a potential strike (which is very premature). However, with the Commissioner giving a number of interviews over the last few days, here is a link to some of his most recent comments on the issue. Based on comments in the story from Nat Borchers, guaranteed contracts will be a big subject of dispute. The NFL is on the only other major sport without guaranteed contracts.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
