Last week the Palm Beach Post published a lengthy piece covering the granting of the new MLL franchise in our area. The piece was frankly less than optimistic about the long-term prospects of the Florida Launch, citing sources that question the viability of the fan base as well as rehashing franchises past that are no longer with us. And frankly, they have a point. One only has to look at the early crowds for the Dolphins (when they were 3-0!!) and noted the mass of red seats disguised as fans to wonder what might happen this upcoming summer. Or look at StubHub on a typical day when the Panthers are playing and take your pick of $3 tickets to know that being a professional franchise is no guarantee of being an attraction. We’ll skip the Heat for now as they are a special exception. When you are the best show on earth in your sport you will draw, no questions asked. I’d mention the Marlins but I just ate lunch . . . As of right now the FAU location is the overwhelming favorite to host the Launch. It is a pretty much brand new stadium that can seat 30,000 fans. The odds of filling it? Well, let’s skip that one for now. How would I go about making this franchise a success? Besides the normal South Florida way of actually competing for a championship there is one way that the Launch’s business people need to do. Make it the cool thing to do in the area. Most home games will be played in the warm weather at night. On Friday and Saturday. After the sun goes down hopefully beyond the rim of the stadium (note to team and league: DO NOT SCHEDULE afternoon games, they will conflict with the kid’s youth tournaments!!) And also note that the first two home games are scheduled the weekends of the high school tournament – and a few local teams will likely be vying for state titles in Orlando. Guess MLL didn’t check that one out . . . Darn. How do I cover both? Oops. So figure that the first game should be a big crowd because if memory serves the state quarterfinals were not on Saturday last season. But the second week will be very problematic. So all of you journalists out there; give the Launch a break when they don’t sell well the second game. Which brings us to the real issue to me; how will the third straight home game sell on the 10th of May against Ohio? Another Oops – Denver and Charlotte are the first two home games, meaning a lot of local fans might miss last year’s runner-up in Week 2. This is the key game to me because it will really reflect how well the fan base is taking hold. SO, how to tackle this task of building a solid fan base? As a teenager growing up on Long Island when the New York Islanders were granted their franchise I’d like to throw a few ideas out that I remember from my youth for the Launch’s management staff to think about: First, it’s ALL ABOUT THE KIDS. Yeah, they might not be the one’s paying but they will be the one’s yearning. Make it easy for them to go!! One thing the Islanders did in their first year I have NEVER SEEN SINCE – they designed a SEPARATE entrance for the kids. The parents were given a drop-off area and exit ALL THEIR OWN. Find a way for the parents to be able to EASILY pick up and drop off their kids (so they don’t have to attend the game themselves if they want to). If the parents want to attend, great, but make it easy for them to drop the kids off and catch a few hours to themselves at one of the local restaurants. Another thing the Islanders did the first few years – ridiculously low ticket prices for those kids who were under 18 years old. Take that south end zone section and make it $5 a ticket for the kids. Pack ‘em all together in that section and get them jacked to yell for the team. If the kids attend with the folks and want to sit together in the west stands you can charge them half-price when the parent(s) attend. $15 a ticket for the parents and $7.50 for the kids. And don’t even THINK about charging more than $10 to park. NO nickel and diming! Sell 3,000 tickets at $15 or 5,000 tickets at $9 average? Same revenue from tickets but a heck of a lot better for the franchise long term. Get the local businesses REALLY involved. I know, everyone wants that to happen. GIVE TICKETS AWAY. Don’t assume the average sports fan knows ANYTHING about this sport. The sport sells itself. Get them into the stands the first time and a lot of them will come back. One thing that doesn’t work too well down here, going door-to-door at businesses trying to sell gimmicky ticket deals. The Panthers have tried that for a few years. It was still cheaper to go to StubHub. If you go door-to-door just bring tickets with you and use the three rates. If you have only sold 5,000 tickets to the first game with one week to go call up all the financial services companies in town and invite them to come to the game for free. Why financial service firms? Because so many of them are populated by people who have some familiarity with the sport. And encourage them to give some of those tickets to their clients. Find a rival and market it. That one should be easy: Florida versus New York. Most of us have family up there. Find a way to allow us to rub it in . . . they look down their noses enough at us as is. Get into the high schools. There are a lot of players in this area that would love to get to know the local pro team. Send a player into as many of the schools as you can when they are still in session. Design a season ticket package for those players. Have a separate section for them to sit in. And if they wear their school jersey they get 15% off their food. Hold clinics in the summer for the club teams. Doesn’t have to be a big deal, just show up and talk to the clubs. And bring some tickets to sell with you. Get out to the summer tournaments and bring a booth with you. Sell package deals to the remaining games. Oh, by the way, Lynn University is just around the corner and is starting out as a Division II program this year. See if you can schedule a doubleheader with them playing. And if the schedule also works out, remember that FAU has a club team and also could use the exposure. And the money. Give some of the ticket revenue to the club team at FAU if they play. Let them keep 50% of the tickets if sold to FAU students for that game. And one final suggestion to really make your mark on this community Just three words Pockets and Sockets Look it up. It will be worth your time. Well, I’m all in right now. Let’s see who is right three years from now, the Palm Beach Post or me. Go ahead Boca-area fans, make my day . . .