North American Pro Soccer 2019

[FiddySicks]

So, I talk a lot about Sac Republic (I probably drive you guys nuts with it), but I want to show you guys something non MLS expansion related for once.

 

I don’t really ever mention just how much I love the guys who play for this team and how much I enjoy getting to work directly with them as much as I do. One of our most recent additions lost his father to cancer just hours before our match last weekend. He didn’t tell anyone what happened, and then proceeded to score the game winning goal. What a powerful moment this was. 

 

[Wings]

2 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

USL League 1 leadership considered Portland, Maine as a potential market a couple of years ago when the league was preparing to launch. Now, the president of a Portland-based marketing agency and a Maine real estate developer are meeting with USL executives and city officials in an attempt to make professional soccer in the city a reality.

They're scouting stadium sites, optimistically targeting a 2021 launch, and have settled upon Portland United (meh) as a name.

Pro soccer in Portland? It's a possibility - Portland Press Herald

 

I kind of like Down East Maine FC as a moniker. 

[Brian in Boston]

4 hours ago, Wings said:

I kind of like Down East Maine FC as a moniker. 

My gut instinct would be to go with Down East FC.

That said, there might be some grousing from the true "down-easters" in Maine, as the region of the state that most Mainers would consider to be "Down East" is - at its closest point to Portland - at least a 125-mile drive from the city. The Portland area is... well, "Greater Portland", or "Portland and Casco Bay". To drive "Down East" from Portland you'd have to travel through the "Midcoast".

Still, the rest of New England tends to think of the entirety of Maine as "Down East"... and anything would be better than just Portland United.    

[Digby]

I can’t decide whether a USL team there would be brilliant or terrible. My understanding is that the Sea Dogs remain a model MILB franchise but no one cares much about the Red Claws. Sure it’s a hip town with tons of craft beer these days... but not sure “soccer” is high on my list of things to do when in Maine.

[MJWalker45]

https://www.espn.com/soccer/mexico-mex/story/3947770/mexican-soccer-cracking-down-on-gk-chant

Mexico saying they'll crack down on "p×××" chant starting Week 15. We'll see if they blink or not. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

13 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

https://www.espn.com/soccer/mexico-mex/story/3947770/mexican-soccer-cracking-down-on-gk-chant

Mexico saying they'll crack down on "p×××" chant starting Week 15. We'll see if they blink or not. 

 

FIFA/MLS/Liga MX forfeiting games with those chants woul dhelp put a stop to that real quick, don't you think?

[MJWalker45]

13 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

 

FIFA/MLS/Liga MX forfeiting games with those chants woul dhelp put a stop to that real quick, don't you think?

Yes, but does FMF or US Soccer have the stones?

[Gothamite]

NYCFC has launched a campaign to ban it at Yankee Stadium, including posting signs around the seating area and playing this video before both halves.   Working so far.

 

 

 

Good for the Mexican federation.  If they can be successful, anyone can. 

[Brian in Boston]

9 hours ago, Digby said:

I can’t decide whether a USL team there would be brilliant or terrible. My understanding is that the Sea Dogs remain a model MILB franchise but no one cares much about the Red Claws.

 

I'm cautiously optimistic regarding the prospects for a USL League 1 team in Portland, Maine. Much would depend upon where a Portland-based USL League 1 team was able to build a soccer-specific stadium, the atmosphere and amenities that said facility provided, and the amount of money that ownership would be able to invest into areas such as talent procurement and marketing. All of that said, the market can be supportive of pro sports ventures.  

The Eastern League's Sea Dogs welcomed their 10-millionth fan through the Hadlock Field turnstiles on August 19th of this year. At that point, they still had 10 games remaining on their 2019 home schedule. Doing the rough, back-of-napkin math, that works out to the Sea Dogs averaging 5,417 fans-per-game over the entirety of their 26-season history. That's pretty impressive for a market of Portland's size. If a Portland-based soccer team were averaging half the Sea Dogs' historic per-game attendance in USL League 1 this season, it would put them in fourth place in the league. The only teams they'd trail at the gate would be Forward Madison FC, Richmond Kickers, and Lansing Ignite FC. Hell, a 2,708 attendance average would currently sit at 24th in the USL Championship, besting Tacoma Defiance, Austin Bold FC, Charleston Battery, Tulsa Roughnecks, Charlotte Independence, and Bethlehem Steel (as well as the various MLS 2 squads).

Minor league hockey has had a successful history in Portland, with a pair of American Hockey League teams (first the Maine Mariners, then the Portland Pirates) combining to average 4,623-fans-per-game over 33 seasons. Half of the average historic AHL attendance in the Portland market (2,311) would be nothing to sneeze at in USL League 1. Yes,, the 2,998 average attendance of the ECHL version of the Mariners during the 2018-19 season doesn't seem great compared to the city's AHL heyday, but it was a lower tier of hockey competition.  

As for the NBA G League's Red Claws, there's no question that there's been a regression in attendance since the team managed to sell-out back-to-back seasons at the Portland Exposition Center in its first two years of existence. They claim to have averaged 1,785 fans-per-game last season, which would have been good enough for 60% capacity in their 3,000-seat arena. Now, whether that was a case of tickets sold, or - rather - distributed... I don't know. We should  also take into account that it took the Red Claws four seasons to make the post-season, and eight to win a playoff series. Still, any way you cut it, the Red Claws seem to be the outliers when it comes to support for minor-pro sports in Portland.

Bottom line? I think a Portland, Maine-based team can prove a boon to USL League 1, provided that its ownership/management is willing to invest the time, effort, creativity, and money necessary to win the hearts and minds of supporters in the market.          


 

[ninersdd]

 

[PrimalCookie]

Imagine giving up 2 goals in 6 minutes

 

hahahahaha

[Rockstar Matt]

Magic number for the supporter's shield is now 3. 

 

Now please, can LAFC start to play well like it's the summer again heading into the postseason? We're very beatable right now, especially in a winner-takes-all game.

[Digby]

New Crew stadium renderings in this article: https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190924/crew-unveils-detailed-renderings-of-arena-district-stadium

 

Must be nice for cities with ample available land to develop!

[GDAWG]

 

[Brian in Boston]

1 hour ago, GDAWG said:

 

Meanwhile, WBTV has reported that representatives of Tepper asked members of the Charlotte City Council for between $100 million and $200 million in public funds to help build a new stadium for a proposed Charlotte-based Major League Soccer franchise.

Tepper asks Charlotte City Council to fund a new MLS stadium

 And the latest Charlotte Business Journal coverage of Tepper's efforts to bring an MLS team to the city say that the billionaire businessman is seeking $110 million to $212 million in public money to fund upgrades to Bank of America Stadium and simultaneously build a team headquarters and practice facility for a Major League Soccer team elsewhere in the city.

Panthers seek up to $200 million from city for MLS HQ, stadium upgrades  

[FiddySicks]

It takes some big balls to be worth $12 billion and still ask for hundreds of millions of dollars in public money to upgrade a building you already own. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

9 minutes ago, Bucfan56 said:

It takes some big balls to be worth $12 billion and still ask for hundreds of millions of dollars in public money to upgrade a building you already own. 

 

There are no ethical billionaires. Burn it down.

[dfwabel]

24 minutes ago, Bucfan56 said:

It takes some big balls to be worth $12 billion and still ask for hundreds of millions of dollars in public money to upgrade a building you already own. 

He already got $115M in tax breaks plus $40M in highway improvement promises from the state of South Carolina to build his version of Cowboys "Star in Frisco" in Rock Hill, SC, so might as well roll the dice with NC and Charlotte-Mecklenberg County. 

 

Plus, the business media tries to credit him with popularizing, "It is what it is," so...it is what it is.

[Dilbert]

Meanwhile Im just sitting here waiting for FC Cincinnatis disastrous season to end and Sacramento officially announced.before Charlotte steals it.

[Wings]

If Charlotte & Mecklenburg County tell him go kick rocks does he move the Panthers to a new stadium in South Carolina,  if he can get them to pay for it? It is what it is I guess.