SC Soccer

This will be my last year as a long-time season ticket holder. If anyone here thinks proceeds will be pumped back into the club and its on-field product, I have a stadium to sell you..

https://www.postandcourier.com/business/...c4bbe3e2c4.html

Yeah, I am not optimistic that owner is interested in an improved product. That said, I have no idea how much money was being bled, either by the current or previous owner. While I like the current stadium, location and environment, They are amongst the lowest attended USL-C clubs. The current trend of urban stadium locations in MLS vs the suburban ones and overall attendance numbers is well documented. Stoney won’t be any more inconvenient for me, but I think the owner is the problem more than the location. I hope the club gets sold to a group that really wants an excellent product from top to bottom.

This is the "Club Soccer and ODP" forum. There is a "College, Pro & International Soccer" forum where you can post this if you want to keep it under its relevant forum.

I expect the professional club to be around much longer than USAMP. The end of the Mount Pleasant Soccer Booster Club stranglehold on soccer in the low country would be a more relevant subject here. And good riddance to those in charge of it.

Very relevant to Club Soccer & ODP when the Battery who are clearly in decline are making the claims they are on their youth club.

I will honestly be surprised if they are still here in 2 years.

Why do you think that?

That quesion to mysonsdad

I think there are plenty of signs. Of course we all heard the battery was not doing well financially. I've heard this multiple times from multiple people. I was told that starting the youth club was one of the ways they were trying to inject some money back into the organization. Attendance has been sagging for years. They offer a season ticket to a player, make it seem like its a reward, but they know the parents will have to bring them- boosts the ticket, beer, food, parking sales. I dont blame them for that, you do what you can to get people in the seats. The CBSC fees are rather expensive what you get and their uniforms are as well, but they are able to generate cash flow from starting a youth club.

I think the stadium being sold out from under them, with no clear plan for next year is very telling. The members of the cbsc that I work with were very surprised at this. They had no idea this was in the works. They can spin it that wanted to move back to the peninsula, but the perception is that is damage control, because they dont have a workable alternative yet.

Also, the fact that there are battery employees whose own children still play at other clubs in the area, is perhaps the most telling about the long term viability of the first team.

I'll admit, we used to go to plenty of battery games. We used to tailgate and basically see all our soccer friends there on weekend games. We went to probably 80% of the home weekend games. But , We haven't been to a game since the cbsc formed. Honestly though, that has less to do with them starting a rival youth club and much more to do with ticket prices. When they doubled their ticket prices, they lost my family and basically ever soccer family that I hang out with.

I don’t disagree with anything here, although I have been told that when ticket prices went up and attendance dropped, they still came out slightly ahead money-wise. As for the Academy as a revenue stream, it may be one, I have no idea without seeing the books, but I do not think that was why the Academy was formed. I think the USYSA mandate for professional clubs to have an Academy was the impetus. They simply started theirs a year early.

As for cost, it is expensive (I think they all are) but not far more than what we paid at SSC when team fees were included. Depending on the team, it cost less given number and venues of tournaments. They are not the most expensive local btw.

I personally don’t believe the owner is committed, though he does have three kids playing for CBSC.

That said, I think LC has been closer to the point. I think he sold the property and will not invest much if any into the club, senior or academy, beyond what is needed to maximize the sale of the senior club. If a new ownership group does come in, I believe it would be fantastic for the club from top to bottom.

Or perhaps CBSC is thinking long term and has enough faith in their 3/5/10 year plan not to force employees to make their children switch clubs unless they are ready for it. My guess is that would be good for the older kids who are now only staying with clubs because of their friends. So are you saying CBSC should tell the children that their parents are fired if they don't switch clubs? I certainly wouldn't want to be part of a club that did that. You? Thank goodness. That sounds like something a local indecent club might do.