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North American Pro Soccer 2019


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The Indianapolis Star and the Indy Eleven website have reported that franchise owner Ersal Ozdemir - President and CEO of Keystone Construction and Keystone Realty Group - has announced plans for a multimillion dollar mixed-use development anchored by a 20,000-seat stadium in which the soccer team would be the primary tenant.

Indy Eleven pitches 'Eleven Park' with stadium apartments and more

Eleven Park: A Transformational Neighborhood For Indianapolis Unveiled

In addition to the stadium, plans for the development call for the construction of 600 apartments, 100,000 square feet of retail space, 150,000 square feet of office space, and a 200-room boutique hotel.

Ozemir and other project officials propose to privately develop and finance the residential, retail, office, and hotel components of the project at a cost of approximately $400 million. A public-private partnership comprised of team ownership, the City of Indianapolis, and the Capital Improvement Board would then use the taxes generated on the property via the privately-financed portions of the development to finance the $150 million construction of the stadium, public plazas, and infrastructure through the issuance of bonds. Ozemir's proposal envisions the  City of Indianapolis obtaining the bonds, with the stadium and public plazas ultimately being owned by the Capital Improvement Board.

  

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10 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

The Indianapolis Star and the Indy Eleven website have reported that franchise owner Ersal Ozdemir - President and CEO of Keystone Construction and Keystone Realty Group - has announced plans for a multimillion dollar mixed-use development anchored by a 20,000-seat stadium in which the soccer team would be the primary tenant.

Indy Eleven pitches 'Eleven Park' with stadium apartments and more

Eleven Park: A Transformational Neighborhood For Indianapolis Unveiled

In addition to the stadium, plans for the development call for the construction of 600 apartments, 100,000 square feet of retail space, 150,000 square feet of office space, and a 200-room boutique hotel.

Ozemir and other project officials propose to privately develop and finance the residential, retail, office, and hotel components of the project at a cost of approximately $400 million. A public-private partnership comprised of team ownership, the City of Indianapolis, and the Capital Improvement Board would then use the taxes generated on the property via the privately-financed portions of the development to finance the $150 million construction of the stadium, public plazas, and infrastructure through the issuance of bonds. Ozemir's proposal envisions the  City of Indianapolis obtaining the bonds, with the stadium and public plazas ultimately being owned by the Capital Improvement Board.

 

Is that for the USL team or a MLS bid?

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1 hour ago, sohiosportsfreak said:

Is that for the USL team or a MLS bid?


The articles I previously cited don't specify. However, here is what we know. 

Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir did submit an expansion application to Major League Soccer in January of 2017. However, the team was not tabbed amongst potential expansion hopefuls - alongside bids from Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville, and Sacramento - when MLS announced finalists in November of that year.

When, in January of 2018, the franchise announced its intention to shift from the North American Soccer League to the United Soccer League, team president Jeff Belskus said that bringing Major League Soccer to Indianapolis was still the end-game for the organization, noting that a soccer-specific stadium would be required in order to achieve that goal.

Now, one day shy of a year after Belskus spoke of MLS being Indy Eleven's ultimate target, Ozdemir has unveiled new plans for a 20,000-seat soccer stadium in Indianapolis. Indeed, an article in the Indianapolis Business Journal notes that Ozdemir "said the stadium design allows for future expansion if the team's fan base continues to grow or if MLS increases its minimum stadium capacity, which currently is 20,000." 

It certainly seems that Ersal Ozdemir still has eyes on seeing Indy Eleven operate as a member of Major League Soccer.

Indianapolis Business Journal: Indy Eleven proposes $500 million development that includes stadium

Amongst the biggest differences between Ozdemir's latest stadium-financing bid and his previous efforts is that the team is now pledging to cover any shortfalls if the taxes collected from the overall development don't meet the financing costs for the project. Further, although the proposal calls for the Capital Improvement Board to own the stadium and lease it to the soccer team, Indy Eleven would be responsible for covering all future operating costs for the facility.  

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1 hour ago, sohiosportsfreak said:

Is that for the USL team or a MLS bid?

I think they're still interested in MLS, but want to go through with it either way.

 

The Star is reporting that the Eleven have offered to buy the old Broad Ripple High School site in Indianapolis, which is located on the edge of the main bar strip in Broad Ripple (the neighborhood with the best fit for the younger soccer demographic). It's several miles north of downtown Indy, but IMO, it's a better site, aside from the fact that traffic/parking would be a total nightmare. There is new transit development happening in the neighborhood with BRT though, so maybe that would help.

 

From everything that's been reported so far, it seems like the Eleven are much more interested in a taxpayer-friendly deal this time around than in previous iterations of their stadium plan. I want to hear more before fully throwing my support behind the plan, but this seems like a huge step in the right direction.

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It was really cool to see the actual Crew twitter and instagram account acknowledge the Save The Crew movement and use the hashtag. For over a year the people running the social media side had to pretend like nothing was happening, almost like they were on the opposite side. 

 

We needed them healthy so we could kick their ass. It's the real life version of the very good "Hot Rod". Now that they're healthy I'm stoked for the best rivalry name in the MLS - Hell Is Real Derby. I'm gonna try to go to both games in August. 

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6 minutes ago, McCarthy said:

It was really cool to see the actual Crew twitter and instagram account acknowledge the Save The Crew movement and use the hashtag. For over a year the people running the social media side had to pretend like nothing was happening, almost like they were on the opposite side. 

 

We needed them healthy so we could kick their ass. It's the real life version of the very good "Hot Rod". Now that they're healthy I'm stoked for the best rivalry name in the MLS - Hell Is Real Derby. I'm gonna try to go to both games in August. 

I'm sad I'll be missing them in person, but I'll most definitely try to catch them both live. Seeing how Columbus handles losing Steffen in the summer should be interesting and hopefully they can get into a rhythm with whomever replaces him in June/July. 

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20 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

I'm sad I'll be missing them in person, but I'll most definitely try to catch them both live. Seeing how Columbus handles losing Steffen in the summer should be interesting and hopefully they can get into a rhythm with whomever replaces him in June/July

With Bez at the helm, I wouldn't be worried. 

 

As a TFC supporter I'm really sad to see him go but I get it; he wants to go home and this will be good for the Crew.  

GTA United(USA) 2015 + 2016 USA Champions/Toronto Maroons (ULL)2014, 2015 + 2022 Gait Cup Champions/Toronto Northmen (TNFF)

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6 hours ago, sohiosportsfreak said:

That would be a nice circle of places to go watch games at.

 

Indianapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati and Nashville

 

Only MLS has shown itself shrewd enough to do that.  Worry less about a national footprint and more about creating geographical rivalries. 

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1 hour ago, Magic Dynasty said:

In what stadium?

In the one that they just broke ground for in November. They have been a good draw in the USL but have been stuck playing in a minor league baseball stadium.

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On 1/11/2019 at 2:33 PM, NYUNDERDOGS said:

I would honestly put Louisville there as well

 

That would certainly be something, if Louisville were to make it into MLS. For what y'all are talking about here re: "circle of soccer", Louisville would work out even better just by virtue of travel time--Indy is roughly two hours (by semi) from both Cincy and Louisville, and three from Columbus. Louisville to Cincy (depending on what's going on with that 75/71 Ohio River bridge) is about a two-hour jump, and Columbus is only about an hour and a half further up, if that.  (Actually, now that I've mapped that out in my head, that's more like a triangle--65/71/70.) Nashville would be the "oddball", being three hours south of Louisville, but even Nashville to Columbus can be done in under seven hours (again, depending on that 75/71 River bridge).

 

Anyway, just spitballing from my perch on the roads. Back to your regularly programmed discussion. :)

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20 hours ago, Buc said:

 

That would certainly be something, if Louisville were to make it into MLS. For what y'all are talking about here re: "circle of soccer", Louisville would work out even better just by virtue of travel time--Indy is roughly two hours (by semi) from both Cincy and Louisville, and three from Columbus. Louisville to Cincy (depending on what's going on with that 75/71 Ohio River bridge) is about a two-hour jump, and Columbus is only about an hour and a half further up, if that.  (Actually, now that I've mapped that out in my head, that's more like a triangle--65/71/70.) Nashville would be the "oddball", being three hours south of Louisville, but even Nashville to Columbus can be done in under seven hours (again, depending on that 75/71 River bridge).

 

Anyway, just spitballing from my perch on the roads. Back to your regularly programmed discussion. :)

Don't forget St. Louis in this equation. The group pushing MLS here is led by the families of two local billionaires and is pitching a privately financed stadium in downtown St. Louis. It might be easy to overlook the region, particularly when compared with the success Indy and Louisville have had in the lower leagues, but this bid checks a lot of the boxes MLS is looking for. 

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On 12/17/2018 at 12:52 PM, Digby said:

These rumors of Montreal Impact looking to sell or self-relegate both surprise me and don't. They've always felt like something of a small-time club since they got to MLS, despite that nice CCL run they had. Too hard for a market of Montreal's size to compete in a US league (that's not hockey)?

 

 

Ahem, Montreal isn't exactly tiny. It's the 20th largest urban area in North America. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_urban_agglomerations_in_North_America

 

 

it's not market size. 

 

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3 hours ago, Corvus said:

 

 

Ahem, Montreal isn't exactly tiny. It's the 20th largest urban area in North America. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_urban_agglomerations_in_North_America

 

 

it's not market size. 

 

 

That was my point! It’s a way bigger city than people think but they operate decidedly small-time. It’s odd.

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