Comments on: Grading WPS in Year One

By: social mediamarketing

social mediamarketing — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:24:57 +0000

Now a days only few women are going to play football professionally,all others are not ready for that.

By: LA Sol Folds: Good for the Future of WPS? | Pitch Invasion

LA Sol Folds: Good for the Future of WPS? | Pitch Invasion — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:36:28 +0000

[...] the end of the day, if women’s professional soccer is to survive in the long-run, it has to be because it’s sustainable, not thanks to charity from Uncle Phil. And the [...]

By: WPS season two hopes and dreams - - The Offside - Women's Professional Soccer blog

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:31:16 +0000

[...] reflections and reviews out there on the internets. Although I did catch Peter Wilt’s post at Pitch Invasion which is good enough for me! Just read that one. So I say it’s time to move on to season two! [...]

By: WPS and Social Activism | Pitch Invasion

WPS and Social Activism | Pitch Invasion — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:39:17 +0000

[...] sports as a social cause. A heated response to Chicago Red Stars CEO Peter Wilt’s rather mild explanation of WPS philosophy on this point was drenched, typically, in dreary ideological twaddle: I’ll [...]

By: Michael Kajdas

Michael Kajdas — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:25:24 +0000

I just read this article from last May about the Bristol Rovers holding a raffle to determine their jersey sponsor for the 2009-10 season and I thought I’d pass it along. Seems an unusual way to do things but maybe it’s worth a try for the Red Stars too. Check it out:

http://www.football-league.co.uk/league1/news/rovers-shirt-raffle-20090522_2248206_1663643

By: peter

peter — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:09:08 +0000

Thanks for the comments. In my experience with pro teams camps (Milwaukee Wave, Chicago Power, Minnesota Thunder and Chicago Fire), the pro team will get the benefit of doubt the first year (rightly or wrongly) and be perceived as the local experts and register 300 to 500 kids. Good curriculum, access to players, good communication with parents, fun and professional atmosphere will result in good word of mouth which has always doubled or tripled camp size within two years. The team’s own marketing engine helps greatly with this. Pro women’s teams have a further advantage in that the competition for girls only camps with female instructors is slim yet the market is almost half of the total youth soccer base. Camps are more important for WPS and USL teams than for MLS teams as the reveneue represents a greater percentage of the team’s gross revenue than in MLS. In all cases the camps are important marketing vehicles and in WPS, we are able to include the actual players for much of the instruction, which goes a long way in establishing the emotional connections needed to gain fans.

By: Marty Olson

Marty Olson — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:41:10 +0000

For a public post, I thought Mr. Wilt did a really good job of breaking down the metrics, assigning realistic grades, and providing supportive thought from both a positive and negative standpoint.

For me, two particular points interested me the most: providing comments from Mike Veeck; I think having him visit, observe, (even if it was an ad hoc type of scenario), and comment was a wise move. Mr. Veeck certainly learned entertainment business from his father, and appears to be highly respected in his own right for running successful businesses that provide high value entertainment for fans.

On the other hand, I was somewhat disappointed by his ‘gloss over’ of the non-ticket revenue generation with respect to camps. While concluding it was a better business revenue add-on than most other cities, he didn’t really give any meaningful feedback as to why, including why he would expect it to double or triple in ensuing years. There are no end to the camps that exist locally (Chicagoland) and relatively close (e.g Notre Dame), that would love to take your money – why is a WPS/Red Stars camp any better, and why should their revenues grow because of it? Just a question.

By: peter

peter — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:45:58 +0000

I agree that not enough public emphasis was put on the playoff implications of the regular season. And I LOVE the playoff system as structured. No playoff system is perfect, but I think this one is the very best for this League. Sky Blue’s Cinderella run was great for the League. LA’s collapse was more due to their log road stretch at end of season, early clinching of 1st place and loss of Camile Abily than the playoff system. I don’t think LA would’ve won even if it was a 7 game series. Over time, this system will show that it really rewards the regular season efforts. I am hopeful this structure will be retained for next season.

By: Tom Dunmore

Tom Dunmore — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:36:33 +0000

I think one interesting element was the playoff structure and the regular season. I don’t think WPS communicated well enough how critical each game actually was to making the playoffs — the shortness of the season really makes it more of an NFL-experience than MLS, and that will only grow if the league’s expansion is not matched by an increase in the number of teams making the playoffs. What are your thoughts on that, Peter?

The playoffs themselves were very short, and though I think rewarding the best regular season with a place in the final is a great principle, in practice it meant for a very rusty LA throwing away their season with one 90 minute playoff outing. Not sure how I felt about that in the end.

I’m wondering then, Peter, whether you felt the league’s competitive structure worked well, or if changes are likely — especially after Sky Blue’s surprising run to the title? Was that Cinderalla story good or bad for the league?

By: Gus

Gus — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:10:06 +0000

Great article. My daughter and I enjoyed watching and going to the Red Stars games this year. I can say the soccer action was world class. I think that in the beginning many people did not know what to expect, but once we got to a game we received a great game and a great experience. Unfortunately watching other teams games on TV was not done except the playoffs and the all star games. I think that the non dedicated watchers do not understand the importance of a certain game that will result in an elimination or placement in the playoffs. I am not a marketing major but everyone loves a battle for success. There are numerous things that were done correctly and a few that need work. One thing I think that needs to be addressed is, I have read several articles were you talk about not liking the fact that people say I hope you succeed because of, as you say, charity. I have even made that comment to you in person, do not underestimate the desire or wishes of a mother or father to help their daughter and the WPS succeed for that sole motivating reason. I know you love soccer and it is a business for you but you can promote the ADDED SOCIAL BENEFIT, as you say, and embrace its worth. Every parent on my daughters soccer team says the same thing first, and they have all gone to a game, “It nice seeing woman being professional athletes that our daughters cam look up to”. They also all say what a great experience the games are.

Now that I am done with that, I think that putting your team apparel in a retail establishment will give you greater brand recognition. I tell my friends that I went to a soccer game some say, how are the fire doing. I say no professional woman’s soccer and they look amazed. I do tell them that it is the best athletic experience I have gone to, all around expereince. I go regularly to CUB games and sox games. Again just a little issue with the Red Star uniform, you need to get the Red Stars name more visible, it can not be read from a distance, maybe outline in white. Just my three cents worth.

But I want to thank you and your fellow soccer fans/staff for starting this great league. Keep up the good work. The games were so much fun that I bought season tickets for my family. Your staff is great and my daughter went to a clinic and a camp, her game has improved tremendously I think because of these experiences.