North American Pro Soccer 2016

[FiddySicks]

I'll be SHOCKED if Stanford-Geromel actually manages to get a soccer-specific stadium built in downtown San Francisco. Property in the city is amongst the most expensive in the United States, the majority of said land is spoken for, and well-organized NIMBY activism against development is a given in San Francisco.

All that before we even take into account that this proposed stadium is for a franchise competing at the Division 2 level on the soccer pyramid. The list of minor-league/niche sports franchises that have withered on the vine in San Francisco (and immediately adjacent Daly City) covers everything from indoor soccer to hockey to lacrosse to soccer to football: San Francisco Fog (1 MISL season), San Francisco Spiders (1 IHL season), San Francisco Dragons (3 MLL seasons), California Victory (1 USL season), California Redwoods (1 UFL season), San Francisco Bulls (1-1/2 ECHL seasons).

Hell, even major league status for a San Francisco sports franchise is no guarantee of said team succeeding at the stadium construction game in the city. The 49ers weren't successful in their efforts to get a new stadium built in the city and ultimately ended up in Santa Clara. Meanwhile, the reigning NBA Champion Golden State Warriors are facing increased public opposition to their plans for a new arena in san Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood, with a recent poll showing that support for the project has dropped to 49% from a high of 61% in July.

A downtown San Francisco soccer-specific stadium to be built for a Division 2 franchise? I could be proven wrong, but that strikes me as "Cloud Cuckoo Land"-level fantasy on Mr. Stanford-Geromel's part.

This whole thing sounds pretty shoot for the moon to me as well. The only reason the Giants have their yard in the China Basin is because they were willing to fully fund their own project (which was smack dab in the middle of skid row at the time), and the city of San Francisco said no to the Niners to the point that they up and moved on down the road to damn near San Jose. There's absolutely no way a lower level pro soccer team gets a SSS built "downtown". And where the hell are they even going to fit a full sized soccer field downtown? On top of the Cheesecake Factory, maybe? The city is practically at war over their public fields as it is!

"And now, taking the pitch, your San Franciscooooooo.... Wait, what was that? What do you mean Google reserved the field for 7:30?!"

[Nyk33]

Abby Wambach definitely delivered a good piece of drama today on Bill Simmon's podcast

“Oh man … I would definitely fire Jürgen,” Wambach replied. “Sorry Sunil, sorry US Soccer, but I don’t think that Jürgen and the litmus test on him has worked.”

"Why not?"

"First of all, [Klinsmann] hasn’t really focused, I feel like, enough attention on the youth programs. He says he has, I don’t think that he has. Also the way that he has changed and brought in a bunch of these foreign guys is just not something that I believe in wholeheartedly.”

“You mean like hired guns from other countries, basically?”

“Exactly. I don’t believe in it in my heart. I love Jermaine Jones, I love watching him play, and I love Fabian Johnson, but I just think that this experiment that US Soccer has given Jürgen, just isn’t one that, personally, I’m into.”

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/dec/16/abby-wambach-fire-jurgen-klinsmann

[Gothamite]

Going out guns a-blazing. I love her.

"I think that what you'll find over the next 15 years is that our better athletes will be getting more involved in playing soccer," Wambach said. "Right now, NBA and NFL and MLB are getting our best athletes because that's where the money is."

[Nyk33]

Going out guns a-blazing. I love her.

"I think that what you'll find over the next 15 years is that our better athletes will be getting more involved in playing soccer," Wambach said. "Right now, NBA and NFL and MLB are getting our best athletes because that's where the money is."

Stating the obvious is guns blazing? That's pretty tame compared to her stupid statement of not wanting the "foreign guys" on the USMNT.

[Gothamite]

No, guns a-blazing referred to her calling for Klinsmann's firing. Good for her.

I took her statement to mean Klinsmann has neglected to lay the foundation for the next generation of players, focusing instead on convincing the current dual-citizenship players to join. If that understanding is wrong, then I'll agree with you. But Klinsmann has been bad overall for US soccer, and she's right to use her moment in the sun to call him on it.

[Nyk33]

No, guns a-blazing referred to her calling for Klinsmann's firing. Good for her.

I took her statement to mean Klinsmann has neglected to lay the foundation for the next generation of players, focusing instead on convincing the current dual-citizenship players to join. If that understanding is wrong, then I'll agree with you. But Klinsmann has been bad overall for US soccer, and she's right to use her moment in the sun to call him on it.

The issue is that they are not "foreign guys". They are American citizens.

[MJWalker45]

The one thing the ladies have that the men don't is superior coaching and facilities compared to the rest of the world. Also, if we went by only pulling in players that have played in the youth setup we'd be leaving out several players that are currently playing within the USMNT now. The women don't have that issue. In fact, the quality of players on the USWNT has helped bolster Mexico's teams because US players with Mexican heritage have joined that setup because of the amount of players in front of them on the US side. According to Wambach, Sydney LeRoux shouldn't be on the team either. As far as saying Klinsmann hasn't made the advances in the youth system, I'll agree with that to a point. The U17,20 and 23 teams have not progressed any further than they have before. To be fair the U23 team still has a chance to make the Olympics but they were thrashed in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF tournament. I think tactically the team is not as fluid as it had been under Bob Bradley.

[Needschat]

She forgot the part where the offspring of US military personnel are US citizens.

[Gothamite]

Okay, I saw the whole thing now. I misunderstood, it was a dumb thing to say.

[pcgd]

Since we (USA) basically invented women's sports, shouldn't we basically win every other Workd Cup?

Kinda like basketball for the US or hockey for Canada. If we don't win its kind of a disappointment.

[MJWalker45]

Since we (USA) basically invented women's sports, shouldn't we basically win every other Workd Cup?

Kinda like basketball for the US or hockey for Canada. If we don't win its kind of a disappointment.

We pretty much expect the women to do this every tournament. Same for basketball. The big thing to remember is everyone is catching up to the ladies as well. They could have lost to Australia but their stamina won out down the stretch. She's also chewing on a n old narrative. She didn't bring any new ideas to the table. I think that's my biggest criticism of her and Donovan's comments over the last year. You know these questions are coming, have something to add if you don't want to come across as xenophobic or chewing on sour grapes.

[raysox]

From what I understand, the San Antonio Scorpions were sold to the Spurs who have plans to make an MLS run, starting play in the USL this year.

[Jaffa]

Since we (USA) basically invented women's sports, shouldn't we basically win every other Workd Cup?

Unfortunately not. We British invented every other sport going and we never win at any of them.

[Nyk33]

From what I understand, the San Antonio Scorpions were sold to the Spurs who have plans to make an MLS run, starting play in the USL this year.

I heard the Scorpions were going to relocate to Vegas and the Spurs were going to set up a completely new team.

Either way there isn't going to be an NASL team in San Antonio next year from the looks of it.

[Gothamite]

Yep, the Scorpions are done. They lost their stadium today in favor of the Spurs' new USL franchise.

The NASL released this statement:

San Antonio Scorpions owner Gordon Hartman informed the NASL that his business transaction with the City of San Antonio, Bexar County, and Spurs Sports and Entertainment has resulted in the sale of Toyota Field and S.T.A.R. Soccer Complex. The NASL is working with Hartman to determine the future of the San Antonio Scorpions.

We are proud that the NASL has been able to make a significant contribution to the special needs community and the league is grateful to the fans of San Antonio for their support.

Every sports league in North America has experienced turnover in its early stages and the NASL is fortunate to have a group of owners and league officials that has a tremendous understanding of how to work through change. Ownership and investment interest is at an all-time high, and we expect to be a 20-team league in the near future.

Vegas is the presumed destination for the team, but nothing's official.

The team hasn't actually come out and said anything official, but they've deleted the News Archive on their site in favor of a "greatest hits" thank you to the fans.

They are offering 2016 season ticket holders the choice of a refund or having their ticket money donated to the team's charitable partner.

[Gothamite]

In happier news, MLS just announced the opening games for each team.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2015/12/22/2016-mls-season-begin-march-6-league-announces-home-openers-all-20-clubs

Christmas came early for MLS fans on Tuesday, when the league announced the 2016 home openers for all 20 clubs.

MLS will start its 21st season on Sunday, March 6, when all 20 clubs will face off in a record 10 matches on the first match day of the season. The league also announced that it will release the full schedule, including the full US national television schedule, on January 7.

The first day of the season will feature five matches broadcast on national TV. A rematch of the 2015 MLS Cup finalists highlights the slate of games, as the Portland Timbers and Columbus Crew SC face off at Providence Park in a rematch of MLS Cup 2015 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

The defending Supporters’ Shield winners will kick off the MLS season: The New York Red Bulls host 2015 MLS Landon Donovan MVP Sebastian Giovinco, Michael Bradley and Toronto FC at Red Bull Arena. The match will be broadcast live on TSN at 1:30 p.m. ET.

The other national TV matches will pit the Vancouver Whitecaps against the Montreal Impact in an all-Canadian matchup at BC Place (5:30 pm ET; TSN and RDS), the Seattle Sounders against Sporting Kansas City at CenturyLink Field (7:30 pm ET; FS1 and FOX Deportes) and the LA Galaxy against D.C. United at StubHub Center (10 p.m. ET; UniMas).

The Portland-Columbus and Seattle-Kansas City matchups will both feature expanded pregame shows on ESPN and FS1, while the LA-D.C. contest will be preceded by an hour-long highlight show on Univision Deportes. Select games will also be broadcast internationally to more than 140 countries and territories through the League’s global broadcast partners.

At 2 p.m. ET, Orlando City SC will host Real Salt Lake and the Chicago Fire will host New York City FC. Three matches will kick off at 3 p.m. ET, with FC Dallas hosting the Philadelphia Union, Houston Dynamo hosting the New England Revolution and the San Jose Earthquakes welcoming the Colorado Rapids to Avaya Stadium.

Seven teams will hold their home openers in Week 2, with New England, Columbus, Colorado, Kansas City, RSL and Montreal opening their home schedules on Saturday, March 12 before NYCFC opens up Yankee Stadium on Sunday, March 13. D.C. and Philadelphia will both hold their home openers in Week 3, while Toronto FC will once again open their home schedule late – this time in Week 12 – due to renovations at BMO Field.

2016 MLS Schedule

Sunday, March 6 - WEEK 1

• 1:30 pm ET – NY Red Bulls vs. Toronto FC (Red Bull Arena) – TSN
• 2 pm ET – Orlando vs. Real Salt Lake (Orlando Citrus Bowl)
• 2 pm ET – Chicago vs. NYCFC (Toyota Park)
• 3 pm ET – FC Dallas vs. Philadelphia (Toyota Stadium)
• 3 pm ET – Houston vs. New England (BBVA Compass Stadium)
• 3 pm ET – San Jose vs. Colorado (Avaya Stadium)
• 4:30 pm ET – Portland vs. Columbus (Providence Park) – ESPN / ESPN Deportes
• 5:30 pm ET – Vancouver vs. Montreal (BC Place) – TSN and RDS
• 7 pm ET – Seattle vs. Sporting KC (CenturyLink Field)– FS1 / FOX Deportes
• 10 pm ET – LA Galaxy vs. D.C. United (StubHub Center) - UniMas

Saturday, March 12 - WEEK 2

• New England vs. D.C. United (Gillette Stadium)
• Columbus vs. Philadelphia (MAPFRE Stadium)
• Colorado vs. LA Galaxy (Dick’s Sporting Goods Park)
• Sporting KC vs. Vancouver (Children’s Mercy Park)
• Real Salt Lake vs. Seattle (Rio Tinto Stadium)
• Montreal vs. NY Red Bulls (Olympic Stadium)

Sunday, March 13 - WEEK 2

• NYCFC vs. Toronto FC (Yankee Stadium)

Saturday, March 19 - WEEK 3

• D.C. United vs. Colorado (RFK Stadium)

Sunday, March 20 - WEEK 3

• Philadelphia vs. New England (Talen Energy Stadium)

Saturday, May 7 - WEEK 12

• Toronto FC vs. FC Dallas (BMO Field)

Might have to try getting to Chicago for that first match. I'd like to check out their stadium.

[raysox]

From what I understand, the San Antonio Scorpions were sold to the Spurs who have plans to make an MLS run, starting play in the USL this year.

I heard the Scorpions were going to relocate to Vegas and the Spurs were going to set up a completely new team.

Either way there isn't going to be an NASL team in San Antonio next year from the looks of it.

Okay that makes more sense. I couldn't make much out of the press release from either team, but I did hear Las Vegas rumors too. THe NASL is a mess.

[MJWalker45]

From what I understand, the San Antonio Scorpions were sold to the Spurs who have plans to make an MLS run, starting play in the USL this year.

I heard the Scorpions were going to relocate to Vegas and the Spurs were going to set up a completely new team.

Either way there isn't going to be an NASL team in San Antonio next year from the looks of it.

The unnamed USL team is scheduled to start playing next March. They're selling off all the Scorpions gear today as well. Sad to see. MLS seems excited though. I wonder if they'll start stadium updates next fall or simply take a year off before moving up to MLS if that happens.

[Gothamite]

That seems just a little presumptuous. Do they have a new stadium plan in place, funded and ready for construction? MLS isn't going to let them in without one.

[MJWalker45]

They can expand Toyota to 18,000. They built it for easy expansion. That's why I think they'll have to take a year off before entering the league if they get picked. The Spurs basically have 6 years to get a team in or they pay the city on a sliding scale.