Will Tondo

People are quick to say this is diminishing interest. As probably the only person here who can claim they've reported on this team since day one, I can tell you it really comes down to 4 things: 1. The economy is hurting everyone's wallet and discretionary spending to attend a sports match in person is not a financial stretch to everyone. Even at the most discounted ticket price, a game can average $100 for a family of four before concessions and/or merchandise. That could be a bargain to some or a fill up at the pump or grocery bill to others. 2. The weather did in fact deter a lot of fans from going to games. It rained on all but TWO games at Centreville Bank Stadium and that wasn't just the cooler months. While the World Cup break was relatively dry. It was the seventh wettest summer in the history of Rhode Island. RIFC need to adjust the times of their games and strongly need to consider building an awning in the center grandstand and not wait for a potential stadium upgrade on the northern and southern stands. 3. Rhode Island FC took way too long to find their next leader of the organization. David Peart left the organization on Feb 16th with his replacement Lou DePaoli arriving over 8 months later and at the end of the season. That is a long time without someone primarily responsible for revenue creation, but you can argue ownership needed to get this right on the third time. 4. The media, including ProJo, has been inadequate in their coverage of this team which has stifled and even at times collared public opinions of this club. The last ProJo article I can find covering the club was from September 6th in the 1-1 draw. No playoff coverage, virtually no in-depth player exposés, no additional opinion pieces. No TV presence post game unless @TommyQuinlan_IV was attached. Just no hype to get people excited about what is being built in Pawtucket. But tax burdens, Kawhi Leonard and the Governor wearing a RIFC kit to a Clippers game drew multiple investigations and plenty of hours of coverage of something not related to the performance of this team. The club, the fans, and the people of Rhode Island deserve more coverage as one of two active professional sports team playing at the moment. I'll be curious to see what reception the Breakers get from media outlets.