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North American Pro Soccer 2019


Gothamite

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MLS State of the League 2019

Grant Wahl: "Don, you mentioned that the announcement for the 30th team is likely to come in the next couple of months here, which suggests that you may have an idea of what that is. The people I'm talking to suggest that Charlotte is far and away the most likely candidate to get that team. I was wondering if you could comment on that and, also, just what Charlotte's bid brings to the table?"

Don Garber: "Sure. Well, there are three markets that we're looking at that our expansion committee has been engaged with - Charlotte, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. And it's fair to say that Charlotte has done a lot of work to move their bid, really, to the front of the line. It starts with David Tepper, the owner of the Panthers, who's a very passionate guy when it comes to sport, very passionate about Charlotte, and is reminding us that the league didn't really see what Atlanta would become. And I would be the first to admit that. And there's a lot of things happening in Charlotte that are very similar to things that are happening in Atlanta, in terms of the diversity of the fan base and a lot of the corporate energy that's going on down there. We've been engaged with them and we'll continue to do so. There's nothing for me to report. I think the Carolinas are good for soccer. You know that from a women's soccer perspective and from a youth soccer perspective, and, should we be able to move forward and end up with a team in Charlotte - I'm confident it will be successful. But, nothing to report."  

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1 minute ago, Brian in Boston said:

MLS State of the League 2019

Grant Wahl: "Don, you mentioned that the announcement for the 30th team is likely to come in the next couple of months here, which suggests that you may have an idea of what that is. The people I'm talking to suggest that Charlotte is far and away the most likely candidate to get that team. I was wondering if you could comment on that and, also, just what Charlotte's bid brings to the table?"

Don Garber: "Sure. Well, there are three markets that we're looking at that our expansion committee has been engaged with - Charlotte, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. And it's fair to say that Charlotte has done a lot of work to move their bid, really, to the front of the line. It starts with David Tepper, the owner of the Panthers, who's a very passionate guy when it comes to sport, very passionate about Charlotte, and is reminding us that the league didn't really see what Atlanta would become. And I would be the first to admit that. And there's a lot of things happening in Charlotte that are very similar to things that are happening in Atlanta, in terms of the diversity of the fan base and a lot of the corporate energy that's going on down there. We've been engaged with them and we'll continue to do so. There's nothing for me to report. I think the Carolinas are good for soccer. You know that from a women's soccer perspective and from a youth soccer perspective, and, should we be able to move forward and end up with a team in Charlotte - I'm confident it will be successful. But, nothing to report."  

Yes, please. "Nothing to report" my :censored:! This is basically confirmation that Charlotte is #1 on the list and that it's more a matter of if rather than when. I hope they're just waiting a little bit to make the announcement official and they're not waiting for a stadium deal, because BoA can serve perfectly as the home for a while - just ask Atlanta. And Garber mentions that people didn't see Atlanta's success coming and draws the parallels between the two cities. I'm not saying Charlotte would be exactly like Atlanta, but it would be pretty similar. I mean, how many people thought the city couldn't support a basketball team until the Hornets showed up, then claimed football couldn't survive? As long as the stadium is Uptown, any potential MLS team would be a huge success.

the user formerly known as cdclt

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MLS State of the League 2019

Joe Tolleson: "You answered a question about New York City (FC) and the stadium there, but you also mentioned, with the expansion plan, Charlotte and, possibly, Phoenix, which are also cities that have facilities in place already where you could play. You commented about the attendance in Atlanta and here in Seattle - 142,000 - over the last two seasons for MLS Cup, in what essentially are football stadiums. So, is a soccer-specific stadium mandatory for clubs, or do you just need to be in the 'right' stadium?"

Don Garber: "Well, I think it starts with where that stadium is located, and it starts with who owns the stadium. So, most importantly, the 
success we have here in Seattle, for example, is there is a partnership between the entity that owns the Seahawks and our team, so that we don't have some of the conflicts that might exist if that (partnership) didn't exist in terms of ownership. So, it starts with who owns the stadium, who controls the stadium, and it moves to where the stadium is located. We have kind of figured out, though you can't... there are going to be exceptions... Kansas City's a great exception. That stadium is not located in downtown Kansas City and, yet, they've had five or six years of consecutive sellouts. So, nothing is absolute. We've learned that in managing a growing league. To be clear, the conversations in Phoenix are not in the football stadium. It is a soccer-specific stadium. And in Charlotte, should we make a decision to go there, we would be looking at playing in a football stadium, but only if that stadium was going to be appropriate for what it is that we believe is important - which is to make it MLS-friendly, make it soccer-friendly, to provide the right facilities for our players, the right camera angles (and) camera positions for our broadcast partners, and all the other things that have shown in delivering success in Seattle and Atlanta."      

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1 hour ago, GFB said:

Wait, so football stadiums are now ok as long as the owner of the team owns the stadium? 

Billionaires don't buy into MLS for the soccer.

They buy into MLS for SUM (Soccer United Marketing) since it owns media rights not just for MLS, but to US Soccer Federation games and Mexico national team matches on U.S. soil, and tournaments such as CONCACAF Gold Cup

 

The Firestone/Ford families of the Lions wealth didn't join the Detroit bid for civic pride.  Miss Martha Firestone-Ford did it for the SUM $$$.

 

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1 hour ago, GFB said:

Wait, so football stadiums are now ok as long as the owner of the team owns the stadium? 

Thats pretty much been like that for a while now. Its why Seattle, Atlanta, New England, and NYCFC play in football/baseball stadiums is because the owner owns both teams.  When Detroit was originally bidding for a club they proposed a jail site and were having issues securing the site. Then the Fords, who own the Lions, jumped aboard the prospective ownership group and the jail site was scrapped in favor of Ford Field. MLS would rather have the teams in soccer specific stadiums but if the MLS owner also owns the the football/baseball stadium and still gets the revenue rather than the revenue going to the football, baseball or other entity. David Tepper owns the Panthers and Bank of America Stadium so if he owns the Charlotte club, the MLS team wont be paying the NFL team any money for use of the stadium and wont lose out on stadium revenue. If a stadium is being built as was the case for Minnesota and Cincinnati, playing in a facility temporarily is okay. Vancouver really is the oddball. BC Place I believe is owned by the province, and not the MLS club owners. They had a proposed stadium, that they ended up scraping and have since said they are content with playing at BC Place. Not sure how MLS feels on that situation.

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13 hours ago, Gothamite said:

Oh, look.  The Fury submitted an incomplete application to CONCACAF. 

 

 

I’m shocked, shocked that an NASL club’s sense of entitlement is so well-developed. 

Lol. No surprises there. 
I read a statement from the CPL today too that basically said the same old “we are trying to get to Ottawa with the right partners. We’ve always been open to OSEG for conversations.”  
basically a polite “we’ll listen if they can get their :censored: together but we don’t think they will”. 

7 hours ago, Dilbert said:

Vancouver really is the oddball. BC Place I believe is owned by the province, and not the MLS club owners. They had a proposed stadium, that they ended up scraping and have since said they are content with playing at BC Place. Not sure how MLS feels on that situation.

Lol. Yup. Vancouver is the oddball. 
you’re right. It’s a crown corporation that owns B.C. Place stadium.  It’s been a while since I’ve heard/read about the particulars but if I recall correctly the whitecaps and the olympics were the catalyst for the major overhaul of the stadium so that’s why is allowed. Plus it’s the province that gets the rent money. Not another ownership group. 
memory is a foggy and the reason was a stretch at best but I believe that’s how it was justified. 

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

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Vancouver is why MLS now requires stadiums to be set before the expansion team is rewarded.  Everyone thought it was a foregone conclusion, it fell apart, and the Whitecaps are now in a stadium they don’t control. MLS won’t let that happen again. 

 

And yes, football stadiums have always been okay. “Must be a SSS!” was an Internet myth that never had a basis in reality. Stadium ownership, or more precisely control, is the essential question. 

 

This is why, incidentally, CFG had to bring the Yankees into their ownership group.  They certainly didn’t need the Steinbrenners’ money, but the Yankees brought the one thing CFG didn’t have: a stadium. 

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7 hours ago, Dilbert said:

. Vancouver really is the oddball. BC Place I believe is owned by the province, and not the MLS club owners. They had a proposed stadium, that they ended up scraping and have since said they are content with playing at BC Place. Not sure how MLS feels on that situation.

 

It was really too bad that the Whitecaps had not been able to proceed with their stadium plan.  It was to be privately funded with the initial plan for it to be completed in 2009.  All sorts of city planning red tape and resistance met it along the way.  I thought it would have been great and was hoping for it.  The location was great in my mind and it was not going to be a huge stadium.  I guess the critics felt that it did not fit the Gastown district as it was not some shop in an ancient building selling cheap souvenirs for cruise ship passengers.

 

It was easier to scrap the plan after the full renovation of BC Place was completed in 2011.

 

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

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I still say a stadium in Stanley Park overlooking the water would be the most beautiful venue in MLS.

 

Easy for me to say of course. I’m sure getting the land, upgrading traffic infrastructure, ect would be a nightmare. 

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

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3 hours ago, mr.negative15 said:

I still say a stadium in Stanley Park overlooking the water would be the most beautiful venue in MLS.

 

Easy for me to say of course. I’m sure getting the land, upgrading traffic infrastructure, ect would be a nightmare. 

 

True it would be quite beautiful, but getting the land, upgrading traffic infrastructure would not just be a nightmare.  It would be pretty much impossible.  Small bit of land surrounded by water.  A lot of the park would need to have forest cut down.  It would wreck the park.

 

The Whitecaps proposed stadium was going to be waterfront with glorious view of the North Shore and the mountains.  Would have been ideal and the location located at a major transit hub.

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I don't think we should put a soccer stadium in Central Park and we shouldn't put on in Stanley Park. I love sports, but I love beautiful open recreational space too. Stanley Park is a treasure on par with Central Park or Golden Gate Park that you can't fully appreciate till you've been.

 

Vancouver is incredibly dense and I can't think of a spot in the city core to fit a stadium. It's too bad the Whitecaps weren't more of a deal in the run-up to 2010. I'm sure there could have been an opportunity to build a SSS for the Olympics with a temporary roof.

 

Another bummer about Vancouver playing in BC Place is that the closed roof belies how beautiful Vancouver is. When I was a kid I, like Stevie Francis, thought Vancouver was frozen tundra. The climate is much more in line with Seattle or Portland, and the city itself, nestled in the mountains, is stunning.

1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said:

and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags

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18 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

I don't think we should put a soccer stadium in Central Park and we shouldn't put on in Stanley Park. I love sports, but I love beautiful open recreational space too. Stanley Park is a treasure on par with Central Park or Golden Gate Park that you can't fully appreciate till you've been.

 

Vancouver is incredibly dense and I can't think of a spot in the city core to fit a stadium. It's too bad the Whitecaps weren't more of a deal in the run-up to 2010. I'm sure there could have been an opportunity to build a SSS for the Olympics with a temporary roof.

 

Another bummer about Vancouver playing in BC Place is that the closed roof belies how beautiful Vancouver is. When I was a kid I, like Stevie Francis, thought Vancouver was frozen tundra. The climate is much more in line with Seattle or Portland, and the city itself, nestled in the mountains, is stunning.

However, it can work somewhat well, see Melbourne.

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The USL Championship Final is now set, and for the third straight year Louisville City will host. Lou City has won back to back titles. They defeated Indy Eleven in added extra time today. The game will be Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium at UofL. (Slugger Field is unavailable) They will host Real Monarchs, who won in added extra time over El Paso Locomotive.

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9 minutes ago, TrueYankee26 said:

Let the rubber match begin, can Seattle avenge their 2017 defeat and repeat 2016's win?

 

As much as I have enjoyed first time champs in NBA, NHL and MLB, I don't mind having a repeat champion in MLS. 

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3 hours ago, Digby said:

Do Whitecaps fans see any need for a stadium or is BC Place fine from a viewing perspective? Looks fine on TV.

 

As a fan who has attended many Whitecaps games, BC Place is fine.

 

I did also go to a Canada vs. Mexico World Cup qualifier there in 2016 and they opened the upper deck.  Had just under 55,000 in attendance at that game.

 

Seeing the crowd in Seattle today.  Thinking if the Whitecaps could actually do something about getting a decent team on the pitch, maybe we could get close to 55,000 at a game in BC Place for an MLS Cup Final.  One can dream.

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