Suggestions To The Hunts

Dallas scores but not many are there to see it. (Getty Images)

If you score a goal at Pizza Hut Park these days is anyone there to see it happen? Its a sad question to ask right now for FC Dallas players since their support has gone from bad to pathetic and it is mostly due to who is signing their paychecks.

I’ve taken a couple days since the lovely attendance figure at Pizza Hut Park was given on Sunday afternoon to think about what can actually be done here in Dallas. First of all the Hunts and FC Dallas are on a course to have one of the all-time worst season attendance figures.

Right now the club is averaging a generous 8801 per game. Yeah let’s put that into all-time perspective here folks, that’s a little over a thousand more than the worst all-time back in 2000 when Miami averaged 7460. What happened to that Miami club the following year? They were contracted from the league.

Now I am not saying in the least bit that FC Dallas should be headed down that deep and dark path but I like some other folks in the area believe that if something doesn’t change soon enough this club could be headed into a very bad path of relocation or even worse contraction.

For the most part it seems like the Hunts just don’t give a damn about this club anymore. They’ve pretty much alienated all past, present and even potential fans from this club.

But I do believe there is hope if some changes are made. Now I know they aren’t going to start marketing this club anytime soon because that effort seems to be out the window as well right now. While I have no doubt none of this will even come close to happening I just hope someone in that front office will take note and see that this club keeps going backward instead of forward here.

First of all I would start by lowering ALL ticket prices. I look at this past weekend when there was NO Rangers, Mavs, Cowboys, or Stars in town to compete with. The only local competition was a minor league baseball team that didn’t start playing that night until 6 pm, a couple hours after the Dallas-San Jose game ended. Just out of my own curiousness I went to a ticket counter at Pizza Hut Park and asked how much the cheapest seat for the day’s game was, and it was $20! I know that may not sound like a bunch to some but for some folks out there in this economy $20 is more than they are wanting to spend for a day at the stadium.

Get the ticket prices down and that could help drive in some customers. Its not something that will really hurt you for the rest of the year and to be honest the ownership owes the few fans left even that much. Maybe even give back some of the season ticket money to those who paid for a full seasons worth of home games.

Maybe make those seats behind the goal a cheap $5 for the rest of the year, the west sideline $10-15 and the east sideline $20-25.

Other obvious suggestions would be to get advertising in the community. Driving up to the game I saw not a single billboard about the club. That is just sad.

But looking at the history of the Hunts and the clubs they’ve owned I guess they may just prefer it this way.