<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/road-trip-first-kick"><img src="//league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/2011_road_trip_adidas_logo.png" alt="" width="180"></a><p>Join MLSsoccer.com’s <strong>Jackie Pickering</strong> and <strong>Nick Firchau</strong> as they travel from LA to Vancouver, checking in on all the West Coast teams, meeting with fans, and stopping into adidas HQ in Portland to pick up the game ball for First Kick on March 15 at Qwest Field.</p><p><img src="//league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/pickering-small.jpg" alt="" width="90" height="90"><img src="//league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/mp6/firchau-small-mug.jpg" alt="" width="90" height="90"></p><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/road-trip-first-kick"><strong>Follow the Road Trip here</strong></a><br> |
FRISCO, Texas – With FC Dallas’ 2011 season opener against the Chicago Fire less than 10 days away, MLSsoccer.com sat down with FCD president Doug Quinn, former president of Soccer United Marketing, to catch up on all the offseason changes, the latest on a jersey sponsorship, new traditions at Pizza Hut Park and the team’s vision for the future.
MLSsoccer.com: With last year's success, there's plenty for FCD to build on. What are the season-ticket sales numbers like for 2011?
Quinn: We have a very small base to start with, but progress is progress and we are three times the size that we were last year. Far more importantly is the 93 percent renewal of season-ticket holders. The fans are coming back and are excited about what they’ve heard.
There is going to be visible change on the field with some new players and there’s going to be visible change off the field. We have lighted the whole north end of the concourse; we’re putting in all new outdoor concessions to ease the concession pressure during halftime. We’re putting televisions in the concessions, there is all new food and we are putting a spirits bar in the north concourse again catering to our 21-to-34 [age] group.
The march to the match from the Londoner [a pub down the street from PHP] to the scarfing of the Lamar Hunt statue ceremony is going to be a fantastic way to start every game and the supporters will get around it. The band will come and be a part of that whole new tradition. I think people will come out here that have been out here before and recognize that this is a great experience. It’s going to be a lot of fun and we have been working very hard the past seven or eight months.
MLSsoccer.com: A march to the match and scarfing – the Seattle Sounders come to mind. How can teams like FC Dallas learn from the Pacific Northwest teams?
Quinn: The march to the match in Seattle is brilliant. It may work some places and it may not work in others, but in the state of Texas, marching bands are part of life. I think a high school near here has 400 members in their marching band, so I think it may work here.
The scarf is an indigenous part of the culture of soccer globally and one of the things we have been committed to delivering to all of our fans is the authentic experience. You are not going to see the kids' area with all the balloons and clowns. It doesn’t mean we are not catering to children, it just means that’s not a priority focus. Our supporters groups are our primary focus and making sure that you can have all the things that you see in an international soccer event so the scarf will be very, very important.
[inline_node:329447]MLSsoccer.com: Will FC Dallas have a jersey sponsor in 2011?
Quinn: We had a deal that was pretty much done over the holidays. Unfortunately the CEO and president didn’t make it through the holidays that we had the agreement with. We have meetings scheduled in the next 30 days with five different companies.
Ideally, I’d love to have a big brand that’s a local Dallas company and we are having conversations with those kinds of companies. My expectation is that we’ll have somebody at the latest by the All-Star Game. But you have to remember that this is your hero brand, it’s an important company that is going to be your partner and they are going to be the face of your team. A lot of times clubs have a jersey sponsor that becomes the nickname of the team so picking the right partner is important.
MLSsoccer.com: The Inter Milan game brought a lot of buzz to PHP last summer. Is there another big international friendly lined up for this year?
Quinn: There are a couple of things going on this year. Because we succeeded so much in the postseason, we are going to have the CONCACAF Champions League and we will still have the US Open Cup. We’ve announced that we are bringing back the Rio Grande Plate against Tigres of Mexico. We play them on March 23 in Mexico and they are going to come back here and play us in September so we are going to have all of that international play. So for us, with the 34-game schedule and CONCACAF Champions League, the US Open Cup and the Tigres game, these guys are going to have a very long season.
MLSsoccer.com: What is your message to the fans?
Quinn: We are going to finish what we started in 2010 so we are committed both on and off the field to doing so. You are going to see an incredibly exciting, offensive style of soccer that you saw last year. We are lead by David Ferreira, 'keeper extraordinaire Kevin Hartman and our captain, Daniel Hernandez. It’s an amazing team. The organization on and off the field, everybody is excited.
