Sports360AZ
By Jeff Munn
How many tries did Thomas Edison need to get the light bulb right?
The answer is plenty. His persistence was rewarded, finally, and everyone’s lives are a little better for it.
In a way, it sounds like the story of soccer in the United States and Phoenix, in particular.
After decades of attempts to merge soccer into the mainstream of American sports, Major League Soccer has established a foothold, and in Phoenix, it looks as if the light bulb is about to go on.
Three games into its season, the rebranded Phoenix Rising FC has been nothing short of a smash hit. All three games have been sellouts. The most recent, against the Swope Park Rangers, drew over 7,000 paying customers, requiring standing room only tickets.
Anything else that’s within control of the USL club has been a success. The club’s stadium, with seating moved from the Phoenix Open golf tournament, is comfortable and, as a bonus, easy to see from the westbound Loop 202 (that’s for passengers, not drivers). There’s an owner’s suite as well as suites for purchase that features all the amenities usually associated with such accommodations. Even the TV sets show soccer matches from around the world as guests step inside.
While the food and beverage structures aren’t permanent fixtures, the wide variety of dining options rivals most pro sports venues, and so does the selection of adult beverages.
All of this is a nice appetizer but the main course is the action on the pitch, and that’s an even bigger success story.
While Head Coach and President of Soccer Operations Frank Yallop has decided to leave, the playing roster already has one major draw in Mexico’s Omar Bravo, and has added Ivory Coast legend Didier Drogba as both a player and investor, strengthening its bid for an MLS expansion franchise.
Finally… #DrogbaInPHX pic.twitter.com/h4WuRk6CQM
— Phoenix Rising FC (@PHXRisingFC) April 22, 2017
At halftime of their April 23 match, Drogba was introduced to the crowd, and the crowd roared at the site of him. Kids also know exactly who he is. Youth soccer players invited to the field for the ceremony couldn’t contain their glee.
The best selling point for Phoenix as an MLS expansion site isn’t Bravo or Drogba. It’s the people doing the cheering.
Where ever you turn at a home match, you see them. Soccer fanatics. They may be young, old, families, or millennials. Phoenix Rising FC even has a section in the south end zone where the rules of decorum are, shall we say, stretched. Fans are warned beforehand what to expect if they purchase a ticket in that section.
None of the 7,000 in attendance Sunday night were there to see if they liked what they saw. They’re soccer fans. They know the game in and out, know good play when they see it. Soccer is simple in concept, yet complex in strategy. No tutorials about the game have been needed.
Suffice to say, it appears Phoenix Rising FC has its act together.
So does the league it plays in. The United Soccer League, though not nearly as big and well known as MLS, still puts all its matches out on the web for viewing. Franchises in the league are reminded to respect the game, and not try to create an atmosphere commonly associated with other sports.
It seems as if there’s only one thing left for MLS to ponder when considering Phoenix as an expansion site. How to keep fans and players comfortable with the REAL heat of summer arrives. The answer has already been submitted – plans for a climate controlled permanent facility.
Welcome to Phoenix @didierdrogba! We’re looking forward to powering the @PHXRisingFC games! #DrogbaInPHX #PHXvSPR ?: Michael McNamara pic.twitter.com/RS67oAjdWW
— Salt River Project (@SRPconnect) April 23, 2017
Sometimes these efforts sound like a misguided sales pitch, and the Valley has heard plenty of those over the years. This is different. Go to a Phoenix Rising FC match and you’d swear the organization, the site and the Valley are all ready. Now.
MLS says it will announce two new teams by the end of this year, expecting those teams to take the field in 2020. Lots of cities are still in line for an expansion franchise, but given the support for Phoenix Rising FC, and the organization’s attention to detail, Phoenix Rising isn’t just a name. It’s also their status on the list of expansion candidates.
It took a lot of starts and stops, from the outdoor Phoenix Fire (1980) to the indoor Phoenix Inferno (1980-83) and Phoenix Pride (1983-84) to the indoor Arizona Sandsharks (1993-97) to Arizona United, but it appears Major League Soccer in Phoenix is about to see the light.
-Jeff Munn is employed by Phoenix Rising FC for home matches-
