This research proposal examines the low attendance at FC Dallas games despite playing in a new stadium. The objectives are to examine marketing efforts, awareness, perceptions, competition, and ticket prices. Secondary research includes attendance history from the team's media guide, ticket price information on their website, and sports success in the Dallas area from another source. The approach is a quantitative survey of 200 people from Dallas and suburbs with demographics matching the city. The sample will target those with incomes of $35,000 to $55,000. An online survey instrument is provided.

1. Name: Ingrid Little
MKT 1414
Research Proposal
Background (2 paragraphs)
The Major-League Soccer organization, FC Dallas,
was established in 1996 then known as the Dallas Burn, by
Lamar Hunt and Hunt Sports Group. In 2005, Hunt Sports
Group opened Toyota Stadium, a 20,295 seat “soccer-specific
stadium” in Frisco, Texas: home of the FC Dallas soccer club. The
team plays in Toyota Stadium from March to November each year. FC Dallas has
been the MLS Western Conference Regular Season Champion in 2006, 2015, and last
season, 2016.
Though the soccer club plays in a state of the art facility it has yet to fill the
stadium to seating capacity or more. According to Soccer Stadium Digest, FC Dallas
since inception has always maintained subpar attendance numbers. Despite winning
the MLS Supporters’ Shield and winning the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, last year
attendance was the lowest amongst the 20 professional soccer clubs in the MLS, with
the average attendance at 14,094.

2. Marketing Research Question
What is causing attendance to FC Dallas games at Toyota Stadium to be low?
Research Objectives (4 or 5 objectives)
• Examine the current types of marketing efforts
• Examine the awareness of FC Dallas within the target market
• Determine consumer perception of FC Dallas
• Examine the competitive landscape: FC Dallas vs. other professional sports
teams in the area
• Examine price of attendance
Secondary Research (3 paragraphs)
Source: FC Dallas Media Guide
https://www.scribd.com/document/345902918/2017-FC-Dallas-Media-Guide
This document details current and historical information about the organization. On
page 104 of the document there is a chart that features the history, from inception to
2016, of the attendance that has been garnered at FC Dallas games. Using this chart,
we can determine trends, rank amongst other MLS teams, and the highest and lowest
years of attendance. This helps establish a basis for the research. Also, we can
compare each year’s average attendance to significant events (like specific marketing

3. campaigns or years of playoff caliber teams) that might have impacted attendance for
the better or worse.
Source: FC Dallas Tickets
https://www.fcdallas.com/tickets
This site provides information on one of the research objectives: examine price of
attendance. On the page, pricing for season tickets, group sales, premium
memberships, and single-game tickets is described. This site describes single game
tickets as ranging from 25 to 55 dollars per person. It also describes season ticket
packages ranging from 360 to 999 dollars. A season is generally 17 games barring the
playoffs. Understanding the price ranges for the tickets to FC Dallas games will allow
us to poll the target market on whether they think prices are reasonable or if the price is
a cause for attendance to be low.
Source: The Success of Sports in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
http://mayorcitysports.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/11/Team_Dallas_Paper_Dec_11_12_FINAL.pdf
From this document, research into the success of sports in the Dallas/Fort Worth
metroplex (2012), the competitive landscape for the area can be determined. In
basketball, the Dallas Mavericks have maintained an average over 20,000 for
attendance per game for the past 10 years. On the baseball end of the spectrum, the

4. Texas Rangers have boasted an average of over 25,000 fans in attendance for the
past 10 years, despite being a sub .500 team in some of those years. This information
shows what other teams in the area are able to accomplish in attendance relative to
what we know FC Dallas has been able to achieve. It may suggest that other venues
are more desirable to the population in Dallas/Fort Worth.
Research Approach (1 paragraph)
The best research approach would be a quantitative, structured questionnaire or
survey. Through this method, we can determine many of the research objectives
outlined above. A survey would be relatively inexpensive and only take a little while to
complete, meaning we could have a large sample size. Administering a survey to the
target market would give actual numbers and percentages of what people think about
FC Dallas and even why they are not attending games. Polling people will give good
insight into the mindset of the consumer. Also, it will allow us to examine the
effectiveness of marketing campaigns and efforts.
Sample (2 paragraphs)
For the sample size, about 200 participants for the survey would allow an
accurate representation of the target market. Within this sample size, about 40 percent
of those polled should be of Hispanic or Latino origin, 50 percent should be white, and
the remaining 10 percent could be of other ethnicities. These percentages would yield

5. good results because according to the U.S. Census that is the make-up of the Dallas
population.
Majority of the data should come from Dallas city residents and the rest should
come from the surrounding suburbs that are also target markets for FC Dallas. The
goal is to target people with a median income between 35 and 55 thousand dollars,
since the median income for Dallas residents is $43,781.
Research Instrument (Online survey or Interview Guide – Please link to Google
Forms item)
https://goo.gl/forms/yQ8k8wlNV9xOCl9l2
Sources (Please use APA format)
About FC Dallas. (2017, May 04). Retrieved June 23, 2017, from
https://www.fcdallas.com/club/about
2016 MLS Attendance. (n.d.). Retrieved June 23, 2017, from
http://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2016-mls-attendance/
United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). QuickFacts. Retrieved June 16, 2017, from
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/dallascountytexas,dallascitytexas/PST045
216

6. Bernal, D., Dunne, T., Hartnett, A., McNab, S., Nixon, M., Walter, K., & Warren, J.
(2012, December 11). The Success of Sports in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
Retrieved June 23, 2017, from http://mayorcitysports.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/11/Team_Dallas_Paper_Dec_11_12_FINAL.pdf
FC Dallas. (2017). 2017 FC Dallas Media Guide. Retrieved June 23, 2017, from
https://www.scribd.com/document/345902918/2017-FC-Dallas-Media-Guide
FC Dallas. (2017, May 25). Tickets. Retrieved June 08, 2017, from
https://www.fcdallas.com/tickets