Leiweke on NYCFC 24k season tickets sold ?

[Trillium]

Not sure if anyone has seen this story out of Toronto ... but it makes you wonder even more about Leiweke and where he thinks MLS is going. If the attendance at NYCFC is a base of 24k and then walk ups add 12k your into 36,000 per game in NYC.

 

How does that affect Red Bull ?

 

What does it say for other franchises in the league in large centers who are not drawing in the range of a Seattle or a NYCFC if these numbers become reality.

 

Shock Claim: Leiweke says NYCFC have sold 24,000 season tickets

 

http://www.empireofsoccer.com/leiweke-season-tickets-28722/

 

 

Few MLS executives are as revered as Tim Leiweke, but his latest declaration certainly has people scratching their heads in disbelief.

 

Speaking to an audience at Ryerson University in Toronto this week, Leiweke dropped an inadvertent bombshell, revealing an unbelievable achievement by Major League Soccer’s 20th franchise, New York City FC — if true.

While gushing over the accomplishments of David Beckham with the LA Galaxy, Leiweke drew comparisons to NYCFC’s growth, talent acquisition — and season ticket sales.

 

“I think Frank Lampard will do [what Beckham did for LA] for the new team in New York that starts play next year and that has sold 24,000 season tickets because of [David Villa] and Lampard.

“They are going to be a fun team to watch.”

 

For the sake of comparison, 24k season tickets would put the fledgling franchise at a close second to the MLS standard bearer, Seattle Sounders, who have just over 32k sold.  To put that number into context, NYCFC would be about 1,000 season tickets short of filling Red Bull Arena with just season ticket holders.

 

Like much of their operations, New York City FC have held much to the vest.  Currently, the only inkling club executives have offered to the amount of season tickets sold came at the end of July, with team boss Tim Pernetti claiming 3,000 accounts sold.  The ambiguous number does little to reveal the actual seats sold; only the amount of fans who have secured accounts.

 

If that 3,000 number stayed true, NYCFC fans would be averaging eight seats per account.  Clearly, that is a stretch.  

 

Of course, much could have changed in the span of six weeks since that declaration. NYCFC has secured relationships with several youth clubs in the area, and several business which usually buy season tickets in bulk.  However, even if the account number doubled after Lampard’s announcement, that would still mean an average of four seats per account; an incredible achievement if true — and one that would certainly validate Commissioner Don Garber’s gamble in rewarding NYCFC a franchise tag.

NYCFC were not available for comment at the time of this report.

[Keegan]

NYCFC already came out and said that what Leiweke said RE: 24,000 season tickets was false.