Matching Items (5)
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Description
Phoenix, Arizona is the sixth largest city in the United States. However, the city has never had a MLS team. In 1996, Major League Soccer was founded with ten clubs. Now the league plans to expand from twenty-four to twenty-eight. With multiple teams joining the league, why shouldn't Phoenix be

Phoenix, Arizona is the sixth largest city in the United States. However, the city has never had a MLS team. In 1996, Major League Soccer was founded with ten clubs. Now the league plans to expand from twenty-four to twenty-eight. With multiple teams joining the league, why shouldn't Phoenix be the next market to expand the MLS? This project will analyze if the Phoenix market could host a profitable team. There have been a handful of lower division professional soccer teams in Arizona, but none of them have been sustainable, let alone make it to the MLS. Why is that? What are the steps to create an MLS Franchise? Through researching the factors behind soccer's increased popularity in United States and the history of professional soccer in Arizona perform a market analysis of Arizona's soccer fan base, ownership group, and MLS stadium potential.
ContributorsGodbehere, Tyler Joseph (Author) / Goegan, Brian (Thesis director) / Leach, Travis (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The purpose of this project was to create a brand identity for an expansion Major League Soccer team in Arizona. We identified and analyzed the numerous components that combine to create a sports brand, as well as a brand's impact on a soccer club's location and community. We determined that

The purpose of this project was to create a brand identity for an expansion Major League Soccer team in Arizona. We identified and analyzed the numerous components that combine to create a sports brand, as well as a brand's impact on a soccer club's location and community. We determined that visual identity is the dominant aspect of a sports brand that is designed, and we limited our work accordingly. We defined the visual brand identity as being made up of the color palette, team name, logo, typography, and uniforms of a prospective soccer club. In order to create a strong brand, we chose to develop four unique visual identities and gain feedback from an expert panel of trusted colleagues to select a preferred brand. Using panel responses allowed us to identify the brand that most excited and captivated existing Arizona sports fans, thus ensuring the selected brand would be successful when implemented. The creation of each brand identity was constrained by four assumptions. These limitations were inspired by research of the current Arizona sports landscape and Major League Soccer branding, and ensured that our four proposed visual identities successfully assimilated into Arizona and MLS. After presenting our brand proposals to our expert panel, we learned that the AZFC brand proposal had the most popular assets, yet the Arizona SC brand proposal was the most popular overall. From this we discovered that providing a connection between brand and location is critical in order to capture attention. We also learned that this connection must be applied across a unified brand identity, rather than being expressed through individual assets.
ContributorsCambron, Reece (Co-author) / Hyland, Chelsea (Co-author) / Mokwa, Michael (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / J. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
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Description
Soccer is considered one of the world’s most popular sports. In a 2017 Nielsen survey, 43 percent of people in 18 global markets said they were “interested” or “very interested” in the sport. However, multiple leagues across the globe allow for differences regarding fan bases. Major League Soccer (MLS) was adopted

Soccer is considered one of the world’s most popular sports. In a 2017 Nielsen survey, 43 percent of people in 18 global markets said they were “interested” or “very interested” in the sport. However, multiple leagues across the globe allow for differences regarding fan bases. Major League Soccer (MLS) was adopted as an official men’s soccer league on December 17, 1993, by the United States Soccer Federation. The league consists of 27 teams (24 in the US and 3 in Canada). By 2023, the league will expand to 30 teams. The season begins in March and play continues through mid-October, with a playoff bracket. The English Premier League (EPL) was established on February 20, 1992 and is made up of 20 clubs. The season runs from mid-August to mid-May, with 380 matches across the league being played. There are no “playoffs”; instead, a winner is determined by a point system. Points add up throughout the season (three points for a win, one point for a draw, none for a loss). The average attendance for the two leagues is fairly consistent. The most popular team in the EPL, Manchester United, averaged 57,942 spectators per game in 2019 (Statista). The most popular team in the MLS, Atlanta United, averaged 52,210 spectators per game in 2019 (Statista). Average television viewership between the two leagues is drastically different. The EPL is the most watched sports league in the world. In 2019, a Nielsen study found that the total audience delivered on NBC per match averaged 462,000 viewers (this number does not include Spanish language broadcasts or streaming data from NBC Sports Gold and Peacock Sports Group). Another Nielsen study found that the MLS’s 31-game schedule on ESPN and ESPN 2 had a total average audience of 246,000 viewers. This website identifies the major differences in marketing and fan groups between the two leagues, and includes ideas on how to overcome these differences and make Major League Soccer have a larger presence in the United States, like the way the Premier League has a large presence in the U.K. Website Link: https://fangapsinmlsandepl.wordpress.com
ContributorsCook, Paige (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Camporeale, Joseph (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Comm (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-12
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Description
While sports have been around for thousands of years with ranging popularity across the globe, they are a stronghold in American culture. The “big four” sports in the United States are American football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, although Major League Soccer (MLS) has made a push within recent years for

While sports have been around for thousands of years with ranging popularity across the globe, they are a stronghold in American culture. The “big four” sports in the United States are American football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, although Major League Soccer (MLS) has made a push within recent years for soccer to become the fifth. While it is being welcomed into the world of sports in America it is lacking popularity compared to its stronghold within cultures throughout the world. In this thesis we explore possible reasons as to why soccer and Major League Soccer is not as popular in the United States as it is in other countries as well as compared to the other major sports in the US. This is done through an extensive literature review, followed by an online survey to answer questions that were not answered using past research. The data collected was then analyzed through testing six hypotheses. All of the information collected is then used to formulate five major recommendations for MLS to grow the popularity of Soccer in the United States. These recommendations include building a community of soccer in the US, enhancing the fan experience at games by building soccer specific stadiums, raising the caliber of players playing in the US within MLS, building awareness of the sport through the reach of hosting the 2026 World Cup, and finally furthering this research by looking into the US Women's National team.
ContributorsDahlin, Amanda (Author) / Tvelia, Emily (Co-author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Neto, Rivadavia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor)
Created2022-05
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Description
While sports have been around for thousands of years with ranging popularity across the globe, they are a stronghold in American culture. The “big four” sports in the United States are American football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, although Major League Soccer (MLS) has made a push within recent years for

While sports have been around for thousands of years with ranging popularity across the globe, they are a stronghold in American culture. The “big four” sports in the United States are American football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, although Major League Soccer (MLS) has made a push within recent years for soccer to become the fifth. While it is being welcomed into the world of sports in America it is lacking popularity compared to its stronghold within cultures throughout the world. In this thesis we explore possible reasons as to why soccer and Major League Soccer is not as popular in the United States as it is in other countries as well as compared to the other major sports in the US. This is done through an extensive literature review, followed by an online survey to answer questions that were not answered using past research. The data collected was then analyzed through testing six hypotheses. All of the information collected is then used to formulate five major recommendations for MLS to grow the popularity of Soccer in the United States. These recommendations include building a community of soccer in the US, enhancing the fan experience at games by building soccer specific stadiums, raising the caliber of players playing in the US within MLS, building awareness of the sport through the reach of hosting the 2026 World Cup, and finally furthering this research by looking into the US Women's National team.
ContributorsTvelia, Emily (Author) / Dahlin, Amanda (Co-author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Neto, Rivadavia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2022-05