Kevin Payne doesn’t think D.C. United’s aggressive marketing campaign ahead of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final will help revitalize the historic, but under-appreciated, knockout competition.
For the United president, the choice is a substantial cash infusion or ceasing the tournament altogether.
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“I think that U.S. Soccer needs to attach a very significant cash prize to it, like a million dollars,” said Payne, whose club will attempt to claim its second consecutive U.S. Open Cup title and third overall on Wednesday. “That gives people something to hang their hat on. I think the teams in [Major League Soccer] would take it a lot more seriously, and it’ll start to grow in stature. Either that, or we should stop it.”
In July, when U.S. Soccer — which declined to comment for this story — chose United’s bid for the final, Seattle general manager Adrian Hanauer openly questioned the process, noting the sparse attendance of 8,200 at RFK Stadium for last year’s final.
“A game in front of 10,000 fans at RFK I don’t believe is going to raise the profile as much as a game in front of a sold-out Qwest Field,” said Hanauer. The Sounders have drawn 30,000 fans per game in their inaugural MLS season, but projected attendance was not the sole criteria used to determine the site of the Open Cup final.
Payne also took offense and responded with a media campaign entitled “We Win Trophies” that has included full-page advertisements in area newspapers, the enlistment of personalities such as the Washington Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman and NBC’s Meet the Press host David Gregory to provide video statements of support for the team, and a variety of discounts and promotions intended to mitigate the otherwise difficult sell of a weeknight game.
“I think, as a club we were insulted by some of the inferences that we drew from the comments that came out of Seattle, so we decided to make that the theme,” said Payne, who expects 15-20,000 on Wednesday but little further impact on the suffering 95-year-old tournament.
“We didn’t manufacture this. [Hanauer] meant what he said. I meant what I said. But it’s not like I have any personal animus toward Adrian. I hope that our fans and D.C. sports fans will turn out and demonstrate that he was wrong about the kind of support that we’re going to get for this game. Early ticket sales suggest that he is wrong.”
