pune definitely lacks interest for football but comparing mumbai with pune wont be fair.. as connectivity of each corner in mumbai city is miles away from pune where we got only bus as transport option which is not that frequent one.. next option will be tum tum which is not flexible service then rickshaw who ask for huge sum to be affordable for single person to travel...
poor marketing is there for sure along with that the lack of interest among the people is one of main reason...
and as far as IPL/cricket or volleyball finals goes these are one odd matches in a season so people makes those extra efforts to reach there and vitness them...
overall we all agree to the point though that Pune may not the most deserving city to host a football club at national level yet
Banglore got BFC... i would have loved to see hyderabad which used to be an inportant part in indian football... hopefully in next next season we get one from there
They way I view Pune, from an MLS perspective at least in terms of how they add cities/teams, is that Pune is a city that would not be given a team unless their was a really committed ownership who would also be able/willing to get a new football stadium created within or near Pune.
I think that is what should happen with Pune. Or we could do what Gaffer said.
To continue that theme of the esteemed @ArsenalFan700. ..if Pune FC or Kalyani group can redevelop JN Stadium in Pune they would see a significant increase in fans and atmosphere. .....just like when NY Red Bulls moved to Harrison. .. although it's not a massive distance from the Giants Stadium in East Rutherford. ..it was a lot more convenient on numerous aspects...
Bangalore stadium was never full for HAL games or for the 2 2nd Division final rounds in last 5 years..yet was almost full for every BFC game...and the recent India game.
So i wouldn't write off Pune yet...as i think most cities in India can draw a crowd...although Pune will never be a Kolhapur or a Nagpur in terms of football support
Actually, Giants Stadium was so much more easier to get to than Red Bull Arena. I could drive to Giants Stadium and get a parking spot while I could never drive to Red Bull Arena... all train and even then it is a walk. Mind you, Red Bull Arena was supposed to be apart of a massive redevelopment project in Harrison which included bars, parking etc but those were suspended due to the financial crashes of 2008 and other reasons.
Not contributing to the discussion but just thought I add that haha.
As for the discussion, Gaffer you are 100% right. Blackburn Rovers managed to bring the fans out to Balewadi Stadium... FC Pune City can do it as well but they need to really market and work to make it happen.
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poor marketing is there for sure along with that the lack of interest among the people is one of main reason...
and as far as IPL/cricket or volleyball finals goes these are one odd matches in a season so people makes those extra efforts to reach there and vitness them...
overall we all agree to the point though that Pune may not the most deserving city to host a football club at national level yet
hopefully in next next season we get one from there
although it's not a massive distance from the Giants Stadium in East Rutherford. ..it was a lot more convenient on numerous aspects...
Bangalore stadium was never full for HAL games or for the 2 2nd Division final rounds in last 5 years..yet was almost full for every BFC game...and the recent India game.
So i wouldn't write off Pune yet...as i think most cities in India can draw a crowd...although Pune will never be a Kolhapur or a Nagpur in terms of football support