Thanks to the fact that Queretaro was forced to play without fans for an entire year Pachuca did not come in dead last when it comes to attendance in Liga MX. According to MedioTiempo, only 69,980 fans attended Pachuca home games throughout the entire season. That’s 69 thousand fans in total attending 9 games in a stadium that sits 30 thousand. It’s as if they filled the stadium up twice, had some fans in the third game, and then the venue just sat completely empty for 6 straight games! The team that sits above Pachuca on the table of worst attendance is Mazatlan, and they brought in almost 30 thousand more fans to their stadium. A full Hidalgo stadium’s worth of fans. Something Pachuca only sees if they reach the finals.
We’re talking about a team that had played in the final the season before, and had quite a good regular season before their championship run. The lack of fans was also evident in the parade that was recently held in Pachuca to celebrate the team’s victory. To put it mildly there weren’t exactly droves of fans overflowing the streets to watch the players pass by. There’s an argument to be made though that the lack of fans is actually a benefit to the team and its success.
Developing Players & The Soccer University Are The Core Businesses
For Pachuca the development of players and their university which is essentially on the team’s training ground or vice versa, however you want to look at it, are the core businesses. It’s not a coincidence that both Grupo Pachuca teams, Leon, and Pachuca feature more sponsors on their respective uniforms than anyone else in Liga MX. They’re trying to get cash from wherever they can since fans are not picking up the slack.
The team though is a great ambassador for the university and the development of young players who make it to the first team are an example to other youngsters that their dreams can become a reality. Thanks to the university and its campus Pachuca are able to hold many more players in their youth ranks without necessarily having that part of the team just be a cost generator. The sale of players like Chucky Lozano, Jurgen Damm, Rodolfo Pizarro, and Erick Gutierrez have helped the business model flourish. The fans are such an afterthought that Pachuca has decided to play on Monday night to get a prime time game on Fox, and generate more TV revenue. Even if the stands are empty on most of those Mondays.
Celebración de los @Tuzos en las calles de Pachuca luego de haber sido campeones de la Liga Mx Apertura 2022 al derrotar al @TolucaFC @TelediarioBajio pic.twitter.com/Wb7LeywDlH
— PACO VELA (@PacoVela14) October 31, 2022
No Pressure Really From Anyone On Coaches & Players
Thanks to the business model the team develops players and has money to spend. On top of that the current coach Memo Almada and all those who have come before him really have no pressure to perform from the media or the fans. This allows Pachuca to embark on longer term projects that usually render decent results. Even if they don’t win championships they’re able to develop players and therefore nurture that important part of their business model. Of course, a winning team certainly benefits the rest of the operation.
The Success Of These Types of Teams Is Actually Determinantal To Liga MX
Another team that was really low on the attendance list was 2-time champion Atlas. They play not even on basic cable TV, but premium cable TV in Mexico. This means that they have some of the lowest TV ratings in the league as well. For Liga MX this results in a reality in which both their past two champions are teams that virtually do not provide viewers and fans to the league. They are not contributing to the final product, it’s just not good for business. This is not a knock on the fans that these teams have, it’s just a numbers game. It’s like holding a sale for your brand in the most remote location in the world and having a very limited number of people show up. Don’t be surprised if we see a bigger push from the refs to ensure that teams like Club America, Cruz Azul and Chivas are more relevant in the league in general in the years to come. It’s just business!
