North American Pro Soccer 2015

[pcgd]

I'm talking the current Miami face plant. But please prove my point by ignoring it

And Chivas was a failure from the beginning. Just because The MLS wouldn't let it die doesn't mean it was ever successful.

You lose points for calling it "The MLS"

You wouldn't call it "The Major League Baseball" so "The Major League Soccer" is also incorrect. It's just "MLS".

Bah!! I usually catch that.

[pcgd]

I'm talking the current Miami face plant. But please prove my point by ignoring it

And Chivas was a failure from the beginning. Just because The MLS wouldn't let it die doesn't mean it was ever successful.

You're right. Chivas was an unmitigated disaster. But that bad choice was made eleven years ago, and they learned enough to fix their mistake.

I hadn't even thought about the current Miami situation. Because for all his faults, and he has many, Garber hasn't actually let that expansion happen. You're ignoring the fact that the NASL officially announced two expansion teams, put links to their sites on the main NASL site, and then had to watch as each bid crashed and burned before they could ever play a game. Again, for all the many problems MLS has, that's not one of them.

As I said, false equivalence is false.

So other than putting logos on the site, how is the situation in Miami that different than OKC or Virginia?

They all announced expansion with a starting year, Miami and Virginia have issues with the stadium. Without knowing the inner workings, I'll give you NASL issues seem to be the ownership related but I'm not sure what those issues may be. In Virginia that's directly related to the stadium issues. In OKC part of that was one partner jumping to the USL team. Both commissioners continue to say things are moving but are cautious to make any declarations about those targets.

How is Garber good for not rushing into Miami but Petterson bad for not rushing the into OKC?

[dfwabel]

What about Kezar? That's 10,000. Not a permanent home, but good for the first five years or so.

Giving up 25% of the gross before SF Parks employee costs worth it?

Plus the east side of Golden Gate Park kinda has a homeless problem.

City College would probably be easier to work with, even while their accreditation is still in flux.

[Sodboy13]

Plus the east side of Golden Gate Park kinda has a homeless problem.

Hey, a built-in fanbase!

[Gothamite]

So other than putting logos on the site, how is the situation in Miami that different than OKC or Virginia?

They all announced expansion with a starting year, Miami and Virginia have issues with the stadium. Without knowing the inner workings, I'll give you NASL issues seem to be the ownership related but I'm not sure what those issues may be. In Virginia that's directly related to the stadium issues. In OKC part of that was one partner jumping to the USL team. Both commissioners continue to say things are moving but are cautious to make any declarations about those targets.

How is Garber good for not rushing into Miami but Petterson bad for not rushing the into OKC?

There's a huge difference, and it's the difference between doing it right and falling on your face.

You're wrong about one thing: MLS never announced that the team would play in a given year, only that Beckham had exercised his contractual right to purchase an expansion team, and that he wanted to put that team in Miami. From the very beginning Garber made it clear that Beckham wouldn't actually be awarded his franchise until the stadium deal was done.

With regards to Virginia, the NASL announced in 2012 that the franchise would begin play in 2015. No question, no doubt, no contingency, full stop. Virginia Calvary FC was joining. That was later pushed back to 2015 around problems with the stadium. The team's domain name was allowed to expire in early 2014, and in July of 2014 the commissioner announced that the original owners had dropped out and the league was assembling a new ownership group. And, oh yeah, the inaugural season would be pushed back "at least until 2016". Not much news since then until this week, when references to the Calvary were quietly removed from the league's website.

Oklahoma City FC was also announced as entering the league in 2015. Between the first tease from the NASL and the official announcement, the USL Pro announced a new Division 3 expansion team called the "Oklahoma City Energy". Oklahoma City FC had ownership problems, and one of the major partners later jumped ship and bought a stake in the city's USL Pro team. The other owners didn't seem to have the money to continue, nor could they find anyone else to invest. They at least still have a website, but that could be because there's a women's team actually playing. There hasn't been any news posted about the NASL club since November 5th of last year. They are also still possibly going to play next year, but like the Calvary, references to OKFC were unceremoniously dropped from the NASL's website. The website also appears to have deleted the article announcing expansion - the news archive from that month is totally empty.

So there's the difference. Beckham and Miami aren't allowed to join the conversation until they get their ducks in a row, while OKFC and VCFC came in with a splash and seem to have dropped out of site since then.

I want the NASL to do well, I like them as a solid second division league. But they need to expand in a hurry to keep that status, and under that deadline I don't want to see them repeat the mistakes of the most recent round of expansion. They can't afford it.

[sportstar1212]

For a team in Virginia, the NASL would've been better off by getting Richmond to come up. They certainly wouldn't have the issues that are going on now with the Calvary. At least they're an established club, with ownership, stadium, and the like. They made a serious mistake by not doing that.

[raysox]

Did the cavalry's multi use stadium ever get built?

[bosrs1]

What about Kezar? That's 10,000. Not a permanent home, but good for the first five years or so.

Giving up 25% of the gross before SF Parks employee costs worth it?

Plus the east side of Golden Gate Park kinda has a homeless problem.

City College would probably be easier to work with, even while their accreditation is still in flux.

Good points. Not to mention Kezar's not the most accessible or "hip" location in San Francisco for San Francisans (nevermind anyone coming from outside the city proper). And Kezar is not in the best shape. 2/3rd of the stadium is old wooden bleachers that make Buck Shaw Stadium seem like a palace (and the rest are old tip ups they pulled out of Candlestick before they demolished it. And there's the track and the cold. I mean it could work for a few years, but it's not a permanent solution. And there's no point in adding a team if there's not a long term plan... otherwise then you end up with the Cosmos west.

[Gothamite]

Did the cavalry's multi use stadium ever get built?

No. And the owners didn't have the resources to build their own (they were always going to be a tenant in the multi-use stadium). And then the owners didn't even have the wherewithal to find another, and then the owners didn't even have the funds to keep the organization alive.

[TBGKon]

This story will just get you a little background on the shiesty nature of this multipurpose venue and One Loudoun.

http://ballparkdigest.com/2015/03/27/hounds-one-loudoun-court-battle-begins/

[bosrs1]

This story will just get you a little background on the shiesty nature of this multipurpose venue and One Loudoun.

http://ballparkdigest.com/2015/03/27/hounds-one-loudoun-court-battle-begins/

So can we safely assume the Virginia Calvary are dead?

[TBGKon]

This story will just get you a little background on the shiesty nature of this multipurpose venue and One Loudoun.

http://ballparkdigest.com/2015/03/27/hounds-one-loudoun-court-battle-begins/

So can we safely assume the Virginia Calvary are dead?

I would say so....

[DG_ThenNowForever]

The Sounders might be preparing to make a splash. There's reports that Seattle (and New York(s)) tried to sign Xavi (who went to Qatar instead), and they've now just waived okay forward Kenny Cooper.

I don't know how any player movements work in soccer, but it'll be interesting to see what might happen.

[jaker52]

The Sounders might be preparing to make a splash. There's reports that Seattle (and New York(s)) tried to sign Xavi (who went to Qatar instead), and they've now just waived okay forward Kenny Cooper.

I don't know how any player movements work in soccer, but it'll be interesting to see what might happen.

Xavi said he was right about to leave for NYC when Luis Enrique talked him out of it.

[Island_Style]

Jacksonville defeated Edmonton 3-1 in their first ever game. It was a record crowd of 16,164. The most ever for a NASL match.

[Gothamite]

That's a great start for them.

[raysox]

The Rowdies/Scorpions game is a perfect example of why you should actually play preseason games. The Rowdies played 11 to the Scorpions 3, and it definately showed. 3-1 win to Tampa Bay in San Antonio, after a late garbage goal on a rebound.

[Island_Style]

Goth, I see where you are coming from. I see how you can view the Jacksonville getting an MLS team talk as premature. Just to share my point of view, things like this is why I think this long shot could actually cross that finish line.This is the 4th attendance record broken in the last two or three years. You may be right. Interest could fall. There is also a good chance a hotbed is about to be discovered. Professional soccer popularity is a new thing in the states. We may have some undiscovered lands around here.

[Gothamite]

What? I said its a great start. That was sincere.

MLS talk is at least 3 years away, but enjoy the great start. You may find it easier without that chip on your shoulder - they're not acually all out to get you.

[Island_Style]

You took it wrong. I came in peace. Just wanted to share a point of view.it's a message board. I'm here for discussion. I like talking to people with different points of view. It's a lot less boring. You can let your guard down a little.