Specials for Sunday's Match, Hopeful Promotion

For next week's home match vs. Kofu, SkyPerfecTV will continue the 200 yen Kasamatsu stadium food ticket present promotion.

Also, it's an appreciation day for everyone residing in the Mito hometown area. That incorporates Mito and all cities and towns bordering it, as well as Tokai village just to the north. Anyone with proof of residency can be admitted for only 500 yen, and anyone under 18 years old is free.

With the next day being a national holiday, the club is hoping for a big turnout. In fact for the first time ever, everyone living at least in Mito and perhaps other cities have received a glossy flier promoting that game as well as the Yokohama FC game a week later. The flier promoted the "full stadium project" with hopes for more than 10,000 people to attend. Even with the holiday, reduced price, and promotion, it seems like a lofty goal for Mito and would still technically mean less than half capacity for Kasamatsu.

For those curious, the only time a Mito matchup has brought in more than 10,000 people was an exhibition match between Mito and the Costa Rica national team in Kasamatsu. The largest league match was a J2 meeting between Mito and Kashiwa Reysol in 2006 that numbered more than 9500. Mito has been at the bottom or next to the bottom of the J. League attendance rankings since turning pro, unfortunately being topped by expansion teams as well as teams placed lower such as Tokushima, who successfully defended their last place crown to make 2008 their third in a row. Yet they still have more fans and money, it seems.

Enough of the pity party! Go to the cheap game on Sunday and enjoy yourself!