WEST NEW YORK – The MetroStars store, once located at 6226 Bergenline Ave., didn’t seem to score too many points with consumers in this largely-Hispanic community. After less than a one-year stint, the Metro merchandise was packed up and boxed as the store closed its doors a few months ago. A spokesperson for the professional Major League Soccer (MLS) team said the decision to close the 1,800 square foot store, which opened on May 6, 1999, was heavily influenced by the company’s involvement with local stores that will sell MetroStars merchandise. The store’s closing was also influenced by the MetroStars’ latest venture into opening an online store and a change in merchandise sale philosophy, said the spokesperson. The store is the only one in the area devoted exclusively to the team’s merchandise. The soccer team has an office in Secaucus and plays in Giants’ stadium in East Rutherford. Major League Soccer had its first season in 1996 and has since expanded to include 12 teams in three different divisions (East, Central, and West). The first four seasons drew more than 11 million fans – an average of more than 15,000 per game, according to MLS figures. However, the MetroStars have had a tough time filling the arena’s seats after undergoing numerous coaching changes and a string of trades involving popular players such as Tony Meola and Alexis Lalas, both 1994 World Cup stars for the U.S. At the time of the store’s opening, Charlie Stillitano, MetroStars president and general manager, said he had hoped to open a string of MetroStars stores in the Metropolitan area. But that dream didn’t go very far. Metrostars representatives said last week that no new stores were planned because the primary focus has now become the launch of an Internet-based store accessible from the team’s website at www.metrostars.com. One person who answered the phone at the MetroStars office in Secaucus said the store had closed because “it wasn’t profitable,” and “traffic wasn’t coming along.” A spokesperson for the team downplayed sagging merchandise sales as a possible reason for the closing and said ticket sales for MetroStars games did exceptionally well at the store. The spokesperson said that the closing should not be looked at as a negative thing. The store opened last May to much hoopla after MetroStars management announced it as the first official MetroStars store in the metropolitan area. MetroStars players sometimes made special appearances there. Hats, t-shirts, soccer balls, and other products bearing the MetroStars team logo were sold at the store along with individual game and season tickets. The store also featured an underground community room for local soccer clubs. Oscar Miqueli, the Urban Enterprise Zone coordinator for West New York, also downplayed the idea that poor sales at the store caused its closing. He said he was unaware that the store was going to close and did not understand why it had done so, since there is a large Hispanic community in West New York. Soccer has traditionally attracted Hispanic audiences. Miqueli said he believes the store might move to some other town with a larger Hispanic community and that poor sales couldn’t be the culprit, since other sports-themed stores in West New York like Foot Locker and Modell’s are doing well.