Behind the MLS Ambition Rankings: New England Revolution
How much money has your team spent in the past five years on youth development? How much in the past year?
The club has spent $4.5 million on youth development over the past five years and approximately $1 million over the past year.
How many homegrown players have you signed? How many have played in MLS league games for your first team?
The club has signed three homegrown players and every one of them has played in MLS league games for the first team. In all season competitions, the three players have seen a total of 21,705 minutes of playing time–Scott Caldwell (10,721 total minutes played), Diego Fagundez (10,725 total minutes played) and Zach Herivaux (259 total minutes played).
How many season-ticket holders do you have? How many did you have in 2016?
The number of Revolution season ticket members has doubled over the past four years; however, the club does not disclose specific numbers.
Where does your first team train? Did you build the training facility yourself? If so, how much did it cost?
The Revolution first team trains on a dedicated grass field. Team also has access to team-owned indoor turf field on-site. Team facilities are built into Gillette Stadium so exact costs are not available.
Did your team build its own stadium? If yes, how much money did the team spend on the stadium?
Gillette Stadium was privately built. The stadium originally cost $325 million and additional funds have been spent on significant upgrades since then.
Do you have a USL affiliate? How big is your budget this year for your USL team?
The Revolution does not have its own USL team, but we do have a budget for USL players and related expenses.
How much money have you spent in the three previous years on Designated Players (transfer fees and salary)? How much are you spending on Designated Players this year?
In the past three seasons the club has spent over $7 million on Designated Players. The club currently has two Designated Players on the roster–Kei Kamara and Xavier Kouassi–with additional DP spend TBD until the end of the summer.
How much TAM have you spent since its inception in the middle of 2015 (including this year)?
$1.6 million
How would you describe your investment in and use of data analytics? How many full-time analytics employees do you have?
The Revolution are among the league leaders in our use of data and analytics. The club has had a full-time team data analyst for six seasons along with two additional staff members who work on data and analytics and we invest heavily in technology and systems. This season we will also be implementing a new player and ball tracking system utilizing Second Spectrum technology, which is currently used by the NBA. The Revolution will be the first MLS team ever to use this technology.
Who is your jersey sponsor? What’s your total income on sponsorships this season?
United Healthcare is our jersey sponsor and it’s a multi-faced partnership; however we do not disclose partnership investment figures.
Local TV deal: How many of your games this season are shown on local television? How much is your local TV deal worth per season? How big is your budget for presenting local TV broadcasts? Do your broadcasters travel on the road for local TV broadcasts?
All Revolution games are broadcast on CSN New England and feature a 30 minute post-game show. The club invests over $1 million in presenting local TV broadcasts and our broadcasters travel to every away match (including national TV matches as they call local radio). CSN New England also produces a bi-weekly news magazine show.
How many front-office employees does your team have? How many have you added or subtracted in the past year?
The Revolution have 80 employees working in the front office dedicated solely to the club. There are approximately 12 Kraft Group employees who are also focused on the Revolution. 15 new full time staff members were added in the past year.
What other sorts of details should we know about your club that are a good barometer of the club’s ambition?
The club has been and continues to be committed to building a soccer stadium in the urban core of Boston. While the club cannot comment on specifics, a project is currently in process and the goal is to build one of the best venues in the league in terms of both location and quality of the stadium.