Domestic Soccer 2013

[Gothamite]

Jason Kreis has been hired as the first coach of Major League Soccer's New York City FC.

http://nycfc.com/News/Latest-News/2013/December/Head-Coach

The hell? Doesn't the NYCFC team open up shop in 2015? Seems weird of a coach announcing his change more than a year prior to actually beginning his term.

Not if they intend to set up a complete organization. Academies, player development and evaluation.

I remember Buck Showalter was hired by the Arizona Diamondbacks two seasons before they started playing. In his case, it was for a similar reason; he established their entire farm system and scouting department so they'd be able to compete almost instantly. And they did.

Makes sense, if they use the time well. Gotta say, NYCFC has been doing pretty much everything right so far. Still love my Cosmos, but I have to give City its due respect.

They're also reportedly close to finalizing a deal to bail out the bankrupt parking lot one block south of Yankee Stadium, as well as relocating an elevator parts factory elsewhere in the Bronx, which would give them the land they need to build a SSS on River Avenue. The precise plans haven't been released, but here's my interpretation of the site based on news reports:

[Brian in Boston]

Jason Kreis has been hired as the first coach of Major League Soccer's New York City FC.

http://nycfc.com/News/Latest-News/2013/December/Head-Coach

The hell? Doesn't the NYCFC team open up shop in 2015? Seems weird of a coach announcing his change more than a year prior to actually beginning his term.

Not if they intend to set up a complete organization. Academies, player development and evaluation.

Bingo!

From the linked article:

* "The role, which formally begins in January 2014, will see Kreis first travel to England to spend time at English Premier League associate club Manchester City FC. There, he will work closely with Head Coach Manuel Pellegrini, World Cup winner Patrick Vieira and Txiki Bergiristain, the club’s Director of Football, Champions League winner, and former Director of Football at FC Barcelona."

During this time, Kreis will be immersed in all aspects of Manchester City FC, observing in particular, the club’s approach to coaching, training, and player development, with the goal of applying similar approaches to New York City FC."

* "Echoing these sentiments, the Club’s Chief Executive Officer, Ferran Soriano said, 'We are delighted that Jason is joining us as our Head Coach. His experience in MLS speaks for itself and he will be able to add to that experience by working with our football team in Manchester during 2014.'"

* "Jason Kreis commented, 'I am looking forward to making my contribution to New York City FC from the very outset. The opportunity to develop the first professional club based in New York City was impossible to pass up as was the chance to immerse myself in the football operations in Manchester observing some of the leading figures in European football. There will be a lot to do before our inaugural season in 2015, but I’m confident that with the support teams in the City organization, we will be well placed to hit the ground running.'"

[Gothamite]

Yep, that's about the size of it.

They're not just starting up a single team, but an entire club. From their own youth academies to partnerships with existing organizations, the works. All with a singular focus on producing soccer players for club and country for decades to come. That's on top of the standard "build a roster, staff the office" of your average expansion team.

Tremendously exciting.

[Eye]

Cool. A real NY team, unlike the :censored:ty, irrelevant Cosmos. Good to see how they're being built; hopefully NYCFC does well.

[Gothamite]

Originally, Yankee Stadium was said to be the team's home. Is that not still the plan? Where will they reside?

They are reportedly about to close a deal on a parcel of land one block south of the Stadium:

The two structures are a private parking lot currently defaulting on its debt (on the right) and an elevator parts factory (small building on the left) that the club will pay to relocate within the Bronx.

Yankee Stadium is presumed to be the club's temporary home for the first three years or so while that new SSS is being constructed, but even that is unconfirmed at this point. So Stadium iconography would be a bad idea.

I also think using anything so directly lifted from Manchester City as that eagle would be a huge mistake. Better that this club stake out its own identity rather than just be Man City USA.

[Silent Wind of Doom]

Originally, Yankee Stadium was said to be the team's home. Is that not still the plan? Where will they reside?

They are reportedly about to close a deal on a parcel of land one block south of the Stadium:

The two structures are a private parking lot currently defaulting on its debt (on the right) and an elevator parts factory (small building on the left) that the club will pay to relocate within the Bronx.

Yankee Stadium is presumed to be the club's temporary home for the first three years or so while that new SSS is being constructed, but even that is unconfirmed at this point. So Stadium iconography would be a bad idea.

I also think using anything so directly lifted from Manchester City as that eagle would be a huge mistake. Better that this club stake out its own identity rather than just be Man City USA.

Wow! Really? They want to tear down the old garage that used to be next to the Stadium? I know it's a block further now, but I wouldn't have thought it would be in such financial trouble. Building a stadium there is going to be very tricky. Unless they put parking below like there is under the track and field, there's going to be a severe drop in parking. 153rd Street goes right through the middle of that, and it's the only way to get on the Deegan around there without getting extremely close to the Stadium and through the associated traffic. It's also the entrance onto the Deegan from the backside of the Ruppert Plaza parking garage (my own means of escape), and trying to do anything on the other side around the front of the Stadium is a MESS to deal with. This doesn't even address the fact that the bridge that leads people parking on the Harlem River to the Stadium goes right through the center of that parcel.

Why couldn't they have just expanded the structure overtop the Rupper Plaza garage, where the track and field already are? That would have been so much easier.

Besides all this gripes, I kinda like the formation of an athletic district in the Bronx. I really hope that they take cues from the Stadium in building the new soccer stadium to give them a cohesive look. Perhaps some limestone with a white steel roof. To be honest, it would be cool to see the facade/frieze overtop the new pitch.

[Gothamite]

They don't need all the parking spaces - the garage capacity is reportedly around 40%. So they can afford to tear one down.

That particular garage is in default on its business loans because of a lack of customers. Part of what NYCFC will have to do is buy out the investors.

The Yankees underestimated the number of Westchester/Connecticut fans who would take Metro-North. Most are still coming to the Stadium via rail.

[goforbroke]

They don't need all the parking spaces - the garage capacity is reportedly around 40%. So they can afford to tear one down.

That particular garage is in default on its business loans because of a lack of customers. Part of what NYCFC will have to do is buy out the investors.

The Yankees underestimated the number of Westchester/Connecticut fans who would take Metro-North. Most are still coming to the Stadium via rail.

$40 a game to park doesn't exactly encourage driving to the game. When there was much less parking for the old stadium no one had trouble taking the subway or train there.

[Gothamite]

Exactly. They didn't need the parking before, they don't need the parking now. They can tear that lot down with almost no impact on people attending Yankee games.

[RyanB06]

The Red Bulls say hi.

[pcgd]

The Red Bulls say hi.

…and nobody hears them.

[goforbroke]

Exactly. They didn't need the parking before, they don't need the parking now. They can tear that lot down with almost no impact on people attending Yankee games.

Plus the old stadium didn't have the metro north access the new one does. Used to be you had to take metro north past the stadium and down to grand central, then turn around and take the 4 back up. Made no sense. Now metro north stops right at the stadium... much easier.

[-kj]

Jumping ship from the Cosmos already, Goth?

[Breakwood]

So I wonder if the AVB sacking will have any impact on the Defoe signing.

[Gothamite]

Jumping ship from the Cosmos already, Goth?

Just renewed my season tickets, if that's what you're worried about. But NYC needs a team in the top flight, and I'll give them a little support so long as they don't pull a MetroBull and trade on our name while giving us the middle finger.

After all, we all have the same enemy - the Judean People's Front. New York might be a bit blue and a bit green, but we sure as hell ain't red.

[JTernup]

As a Manchester City fan, the direction of NYCFC excites me. I definitely don't want them to be a bastardization like Chivas USA. I do not follow the MLS at all but NYCFC might be a nice little summer extension to my support of city. (I'm currently a Rapids "fan" but I use that term very liberally)

[Silent Wind of Doom]

I'm shocked to see the old garage being on such hard times. The Ruppert Plaza garage is always jam-packed, and given how bad the traffic is and how many people flood from the garages, there's still a good amount of parking customers. Guess they're spread out among the closer garages now/the Harlem River lots.

Speaking of which, the issue of the land bridge from the Harlem River lots/Metro North station still hasn't been resolved, along with access between the Deegan and River Avenue. Has anyone said anything about this, or is it just at the "They're looking at that spot" stage. I'm not 100% familiar with soccer stadiums. About how big would a standard MLS stadium take up on that map?

The Yankees underestimated the number of Westchester/Connecticut fans who would take Metro-North. Most are still coming to the Stadium via rail.

And from up here, too. Lot of people up here go down from the Beacon or Poughkeepsie stations. I prefer driving, since I can stop whenever I want, it's a much shorter ride, and I can listen to the postgame/the Fan (won't have to pick one or the other next season).

I wonder if numbers are going to change at all after the accident that happened on the Hudson Line. People tend to react to such things rather viscerally.

[Gothamite]

I really don't think so. There have been derailments before, and ridership continues to climb. We all know how rare the events are, no matter how loud the tabloids are yelling at the moment.

I don't think you're giving people enough credit - we didn't stop flying in airplanes after 9/11, the Staten Island Ferry is still going strong after its accident several years ago and an incredibly rare derailment isn't going to magically turn people off Metro-North.

[Silent Wind of Doom]

I really don't think so. There have been derailments before, and ridership continues to climb. We all know how rare the events are, no matter how loud the tabloids are yelling at the moment.

I don't think you're giving people enough credit - we didn't stop flying in airplanes after 9/11, the Staten Island Ferry is still going strong after its accident several years ago and an incredibly rare derailment isn't going to magically turn people off Metro-North.

Not the general populace, but some. Naturally everybody's not going to flood to other means. I was just curious as to how large the segment who did panic and would be skipping the train would and if a dip would be discernable in any way.

[Gothamite]

We'll see, but I can't imagine that it'll be at all noticeable. Any more than the number of people who stop driving to work in the days after a 50-car pileup makes the evening news.