Guadalajara Chivas is the most popular team in the Mexican Premier Division, a nationwide Grupo Reforma poll has revealed.
The rojiblancos topped the poll with 30 percent, with America, of Mexico City, in second place on 26 percent.
The biannual poll shows Chivas at their highest ebb since the polling began in July 2001.
In the first half of the decade, more people voted for America, but since February 2007 there has been a shift towards the Chivas.
Cruz Azul and Pumas, both from Mexico City, sit in third and fourth on 12 and 7 percent respectively.
The increase for Chivas should not be a surprise.
Recently, the team finished second in the prestigious Copa Libertadores competition, the joint best performance by a Mexican team.
The boom has also been enhanced by the club opening the Estadio Omnilife and the inaugural game against Manchester United.
An extra boost has undoubtedly been caused by Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez’ move to Manchester United earlier this summer off the back of some excellent performances for Chivas.
Interestingly, and partly due to the geographical location of the clubs, America were more popular than Chivas in the center and south of Mexico.
... It’s not all rosy though
There wasn’t much to shout about on the field during Chivas’ game against Pumas (it finished 0-0) in the Estadio Omnilife. So much so that it became impossible to miss the rows upon rows of empty red seats glaring from the screen.
The official attendance was 22,000 but in a stadium of over 45,000 and against one of the country’s best-supported teams, it must be a major cause of concern for Chivas owner Jorge Vergara.
To put it in perspective, the last game against Pumas in the Estadio Jalisco was a sell out. The capacity in that stadium is over 60,000.
Presumably to offset the decrease in ticket sales, Vergara is negotiating with the Office of Visitors and Conventions (Ofvc) to offer tourist packages for Chivas games.
Tours of the stadium and the pitch are planned, combined with tickets for games and one night in a hotel.
Ofvc believe that some 14,000 people would pay for a ticket and a room for the big clasico game when Chivas play America in Guadalajara and between 800-1,000 when Chivas play Atlas in the local clasico.
In the inauguration of the Estadio Omnilife when Chivas played Manchester United, around 20,000 of the 45,000 crowd were made up of people from outside Jalisco. Hotels in the city were at 98 percent of their overall capacity.
Two problems remain though.
Ticket prices started at 150 pesos and went up to 800 pesos for Saturday’s game against Pumas. Although lower than expected, it appeared the lower end tickets sold out with the more expensive ones nearer the pitch sparsely populated. The obvious problem is who is going to regularly buy tickets that cost 500 or 600 pesos (40-45 US dollars)? Especially if Chivas are playing Nexaca and not Pumas or Manchester United.
Secondly, the location of the stadium doesn’t help. Outside of the periferico (ringroad, beltway) to the west of the city center, it’s extremely difficult for those living in the center or east of the city, where the Estadio Jalisco is located, to get to the new stadium. That isn’t helped by the lack of transport infrastructure that makes getting in and out of the stadium a headache.
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