History of soccer in America, The Indoor Soccer Wars, 1990-1992

The indoor soccer wars were starting to take their toll by now. The MISL was
increasingly challenged by a growing AISA and to ward off further losses of star players,
raised salaries significantly. Although this helped them keep most of the better players,
it took a big hit at the bottom line, despite their unprecedented success on the field. The
league was hugely popular, with good television contracts, players on the national
team, and frequent crowds of more than 10,000. The St. Louis Steamer, in particular
was a major success story, with sold out crowds, fan promotions, spectacular
multimedia displays and the like. They succeeded through creating an EVENT, not just
playing a match. Their tactics were a precursor to those for indoor soccer in general, and
more significantly, for many of the types of successful promotions in other established
US sports, particularly baseball, with the elaborate new stadiums full of family-friendly
events, promotions and activities that provide an entire day's worth of entertainment
for the budget-conscious families of the 1980's. The AISA, although lacking the major
stars, was a more viable institution, through aggressive cost cutting and careful financial
controls. Despite their generally lower profile, (attendance averaged less than 4,000
into the early 1990's), they avoided the financial pitfalls that eventually consumed the
MISL. By 1988, the MISL was in severe financial straits, and nearly folded. The league
did survive, but lost many of its strongest franchises, including Chicago Sting (a veteran
of the NASL), Cleveland Force (an original franchise), the St. Louis Steamer (their
greatest success story), Tacoma, and Minnesota (another NASL survivor). They did
continue with seven teams and a shortened season, but were never the same after
that, and finally the MISL folded in 1992. The NPSL, by contrast, despite having lost four
teams from a premature expansion two years back, continued their slow, incremental
growth, signing some of the stars from the MISL teams who folded, and for the first time
started expanding out of their Midwestern stronghold, and re-establishing themselves
in Chicago, their major TV market.

Darrell Stuart . com
Development for Soccer Players and Coaches

History of soccer in America
The Indoor Soccer Wars, 1990-1992

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