(07-13-2017 11:25 AM)RamblinRedWolf Wrote:  First off, yes football is king in the south and I think there would be an immediate "niche group" that would develop and turn out for games. (I won't speculate and say how many but if there are 2-3,000 that show up for Hendrix games and even several hundred for Lyon games in Batesville, I have no doubt in my mind there'd be a couple of thousand intrigued, football hungry peeps that would show up to War Memorial). The biggie will be how quick can they become competitive and start having successful seasons? Everybody loves winners and winning does more than look good on paper (ask Astate fans and peeps with the recent massive budget increases and facility improvements)

Another thing to keep in mind is how they're marketed in Little Rock. Perfect example is the Little Rock Rangers-I thought it was dead on arrival when they were first announced. But not only did they establish themselves at the perfect time (with this sudden revival of popularity with soccer in the country) but they've been really smart and really focused on trying to appeal to the "young and hipster crowds" by getting food truck vendors involved, along with the local breweries giving people another excuse to tailgate at War Memorial. I know quite a bit of people my age and who I went to school with that turn out to Rangers games quite frequently, even some that are season ticket holders now.

Yes, the Rangers have apparently done a really good job. I thought they were crazy when they announced they would play at War Memorial- their league only requires a 500 seat "stadium", and thus UALR's soccer field would have fit the requirement (maybe a small bleacher would have been need to be added). While they obviously have over 50,000 empty seats, every game, their attendance was reportedly 6th out of the 90 teams in their division. Too bad Little Rock doesn't have a 5K soccer specific stadium. Maybe working with UALR to increase their capacity to 2500 to 3000 would still be a good idea.