North American Pro Soccer 2022

[MJWalker45]

Columbus played one of the worst first halves of football this year. Then played the best second half since MLS Cup 2020. Loving the addition of Cucho Hernandez. I don't think that happens without him and Etienne.

[crashcarson15]

On 6/27/2022 at 3:35 PM, Dilbert said:

it sounds like Indy is still going for a 20,000 seat stadium. Im pretty sure MLS is just about set on having Las Vegas as team number 30 but, if they go to 32 Id say Indy could be a solid bet.

I still don't see MLS happening in Indianapolis without a significant ownership change, and figure that if anyone with real money in the city had interest, they would've already joined or put in a bid. The moment for Indy probably came and went 5ish years ago, and I don't think the genocide denier current owner has anywhere near enough money to get it done. I don't see that changing even if this stadium-as-a-front project finally gets off the ground. (The current club would probably be wise to stop fighting with its supporters group over [preemptively redacted to avoid a MOD EDIT], but hey, they're free to do whatever lets them drift more and more into irrelevance in the market.)

[MJWalker45]

Wayne Rooney taking over as DC United coach, per the Athletic. 

[Dilbert]

Nashville SC will launch their MLS Next Pro club next season in 2023 in Huntsville, AL. They will play at a renovated Joe Davis Stadium, the former home of MiLB Huntsville Stars.  This one surprises me a bit. I knew Huntsville was redeveloping the Joe for soccer but I was expecting a USL League One club. Most of the MLS teams have their Next Pro Club in the same market

 

This might not be all the soccer expansion news today. There are substantial rumors of New Orleans being awarded aUSL Championship club today, possibly to play at either Tulanes football stadium or at the former MiLB home of the New Orleans Zephyrs Baby Cakes.

[MJWalker45]

https://theathletic.com/news/mls-all-star-team-roster/ecDMm9FoF3GI/

MLS All Stars have been announced. They will play a Liga MX All-Star team again:

 

Full MLS All-Star Team roster:
Forwards/Wingers:

Paul Arriola (FC Dallas)

Valentín Castellanos (New York City FC)

Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas)

Taxiarchis Fountas (D.C. United)

Chicharito (LA Galaxy)

Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC)

Raúl Ruidíaz (Seattle Sounders FC)

Carlos Vela (Los Angeles Football Club)

Midfielders:

Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati)

Sebastián Driussi (Austin FC)

Carles Gil (New England Revolution)

Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC)

Darlington Nagbe (Columbus Crew)

Emanuel Reynoso (Minnesota United FC)

Ilie Sánchez (Los Angeles Football Club)

Defenders:

Julián Araujo (LA Galaxy)

Alexander Callens (New York City FC)

Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls)

Kamal Miller (CF Montréal)

Diego Palacios (Los Angeles Football Club)

Kai Wagner (Philadelphia Union)

DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami CF)

Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)

Goalkeepers:

Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union)

Sean Johnson (New York City FC)

Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United FC)

[Brian in Boston]

Santa Barbara Sky FC is joining  USL League One. The team, which will play out of Santa Barbara City College’s 10,000-seat La Playa Stadium, will take to the pitch in 2024.  A Santa Barbara Sky FC women’s USL Super League side will also be launched.
 

Former Liverpool FC CEO Peter Moore is the venture’s founding investor.

[Dilbert]

Scary collision tonight in Cincinnati. Vancouver keeper Cody Cropper and Javain Brown collided sending Cropper head over heals and landing on his head and neck.  Play was immediately stopped as both players were down. Brown apparently also got hit in the eye. He walked off with his eye swollen shut and was subbed under the concussion substitute protocol that began last season. Cropper remained down barely moving before finally sitting up and eventually getting up. The way he landed I would have thought he would be stretchered off but somehow he stayed in the match for the rest of the half but he clearly should have been taken out immediately. Why they let him continue, I have no idea. He played for the rest of the half, with his neck starting to bruise, before he too was subbed under the concussion substitute protocol to start the second half. I have never seen a concussion sub used before so I dont know how often this kind of substitution is used. Apparently teams get 2 per game to use outside their normal substitutions and Vancouver used both of them tonight.

 

Sergio Santos made his FCC debut coming on in the 74th minute but was subbed out in the 90th injury after he picked up a knock.

 

FCCs defense let them down again as they lost their lead and ended in their 5th draw in six matches.

[Sport]

11 hours ago, Dilbert said:

Scary collision tonight in Cincinnati. Vancouver keeper Cody Cropper and Javain Brown collided sending Cropper head over heals and landing on his head and neck.  Play was immediately stopped as both players were down. Brown apparently also got hit in the eye. He walked off with his eye swollen shut and was subbed under the concussion substitute protocol that began last season. Cropper remained down barely moving before finally sitting up and eventually getting up. The way he landed I would have thought he would be stretchered off but somehow he stayed in the match for the rest of the half but he clearly should have been taken out immediately. Why they let him continue, I have no idea. He played for the rest of the half, with his neck starting to bruise, before he too was subbed under the concussion substitute protocol to start the second half. I have never seen a concussion sub used before so I dont know how often this kind of substitution is used. Apparently teams get 2 per game to use outside their normal substitutions and Vancouver used both of them tonight.

 

Sergio Santos made his FCC debut coming on in the 74th minute but was subbed out in the 90th injury after he picked up a knock.

 

FCCs defense let them down again as they lost their lead and ended in their 5th draw in six matches.

That was one of the most frightening things I've ever seen in sports. I can't believe he stayed in the game. 

[MJWalker45]

Columbus gave up leads twice last night, but the final DC United goal being scored after a DC player scissor kicked a defender from behind, 6:30 mark, is just reprehensible. Pedro Santos still should have cleared it, but the fact it went to VAR and was allowed to stand is incredible.  Also, for some reason they ran the sprinklers at halftime and there were standing puddles on the field as a result. It does set up Hell is Real as a way for the Crew to jump FCC into the playoff spots if they win though. And Cucho is what Gyasi and Miguel Berry have not been this year, consistent. He'll probably get the start on Sunday as well. 

[GDAWG]

 

 

[Brian in Boston]

There's much work to be done, but it strikes me that this bodes well for professional soccer's prospects in New Orleans.

Jamie Guin is a native New Orleanian whose experience as a sports and entertainment executive has included time in the front offices of the NBA's New Orleans Hornets and Pelicans, Major League Soccer's LAFC and Sporting Kansas City, and - most recently - serving as the Senior VP of Global Partnerships at Legends. Meanwhile, Warren Smith played a key role in the launch of two USL Championship sides, Sacramento Republic FC and San Diego Loyal SC, as well as Triple A baseball's Sacramento River Cats

Here's to NOLA getting the chance to embrace successful clubs in both the USL Championship and USL Super League!   

[Dilbert]

New Orleans will be a great fit for USL Championship. Several regional rivalries from Birmingham, Memphis as well as the Texas clubs. They got plenty of time to get things going. Ive heard everything from building a new soccer stadium to playing at Tulanes football stadium and renovating the Shrine on Airline (former MiLB baseball stadium).

[B-Rich]

29 minutes ago, Dilbert said:

New Orleans will be a great fit for USL Championship. Several regional rivalries from Birmingham, Memphis as well as the Texas clubs. They got plenty of time to get things going. Ive heard everything from building a new soccer stadium to playing at Tulanes football stadium and renovating the Shrine on Airline (former MiLB baseball stadium).

 

Yessir.   Looking forward to it.

Tulane won't work, though-- field is too small and tight, and can't be expanded. 

 

After that, internecine politics and money come into play.  The wheels are already rolling on the former Zephyr Field:
The Shrine on Airline could get a major facelift in Metairie. Here is the latest idea:

 

But word in the circles is that  the ownership group is favoring a more in-town, edge of downtown location, something more "hip" and "happening".   Namely a stadium in the planned/proposed River City development: 

New Orleans is set to get a soccer team, but where will they play?

 

More word on the street is that Gayle Benson was looking at that River City site as a place for a new arena to replace the Smoothie King Center. 

 

So you've got suburban jurisdiction vs. urban jurisdiction, and major league vs. minor league. 

Hang on, kids, it will be a bumpy ride over the next few years as this all gets sorted out. 

[Dilbert]

Whats the Municipal Auditorium site like? I know that place has been virtually untouched since Katrina.  Could that be an option for a stadium development? Metairie seems out of the way

[GDAWG]

The addition of Warren Smith adds credibility to any soccer bid, so it will be a huge surprise if this doesn't succeed.

[Rockstar Matt]

Good road win for LAFC to take them back to top of the supporters’ shield.
 

Couple of thoughts though.

 

- Vela is no longer the outstanding player we saw a few years ago. His step is a bit slow, especially the first step, and can’t get the space he once could for that beautiful left-footed curler he terrorized the league with. He’s still a good player and a difference maker, but we won’t see him single handedly win game by himself anymore. 
 

- Chiellini looked really good, although you could clearly see that athletically he’s lost a lot. But he’s still an impressive technical player and is still savvy defensively. Had a couple really good defensive plays that seemed effortless for him. He’s going to massively improve this back line. 

- Still can’t believe Bale plays for LAFC and I had to pinch myself when he came onto the pitch for the first time. He looks like he’s playing in pre-season (which is completely understandable IMO). There’s no doubt he’ll be the team’s best player once he’s in game shape. 

 

- LAFC would be fools to transfer Chicho. Massive, massive fools. He’s on such good form and has made the loss of Diego Rossi almost negligible. Arguably the most in-form 9 in the league. 
 

All in all, this looks like an outstanding team and once Bale gets into form, this team will be scary. 

[GDAWG]

 

[FiddySicks]

On 7/15/2022 at 10:48 AM, GDAWG said:

The addition of Warren Smith adds credibility to any soccer bid, so it will be a huge surprise if this doesn't succeed.

My former boss and one of the best people I’ve ever had the pleasure to work for. He was absolutely vital to both Sacramento Republic and San Diego Loyal existing today, not to mention all he did to help the RiverCats get the stadium in South Sac. New Orleans is in VERY good hands. 

[GeauxColonels]

On 7/14/2022 at 7:38 PM, Dilbert said:

Whats the Municipal Auditorium site like? I know that place has been virtually untouched since Katrina.  Could that be an option for a stadium development? Metairie seems out of the way

Out of the way for people living in the city, sure. But I would think a USL club would pull a decent amount of support from Metairie, Kenner, the River Parishes and the Northshore. For those people, a Metairie site is more convenient. It obviously doesn’t have the panache that a downtown stadium would have, but I don’t think that would make it a bad location. I also don’t think the Municipal Auditorium site is big enough to put a stadium. It’s a relatively small space locked in by Congo Square and the Mahalia Jackson theater. You’d have to re-route Basin St maybe through some of the existing surface lots to make it fit, IMO. But you’d also have to fight preservationists that wouldn’t want to see the Municipal torn down. Other than the riverfront, the only other place in the city that I think might be viable would be a lakefront location over by the UNO arena.

 

Two or 3 years ago, I would have said that a location in the city would be fine, maybe even desirable. I’m not intending this to start a political debate/discussion, but I don’t want to go into the city at all right now with the way crime is. Hell, we’re leaving for vacation on Saturday morning and will probably go out of our way to go around the city rather than take I-10/610 through it. I would much rather a suburban site with the current environment.

[B-Rich]

 

On 7/14/2022 at 7:38 PM, Dilbert said:

Whats the Municipal Auditorium site like? I know that place has been virtually untouched since Katrina.  Could that be an option for a stadium development? Metairie seems out of the way

 

7 hours ago, GeauxColonels said:

Out of the way for people living in the city, sure. But I would think a USL club would pull a decent amount of support from Metairie, Kenner, the River Parishes and the Northshore. For those people, a Metairie site is more convenient. It obviously doesn’t have the panache that a downtown stadium would have, but I don’t think that would make it a bad location. I also don’t think the Municipal Auditorium site is big enough to put a stadium. It’s a relatively small space locked in by Congo Square and the Mahalia Jackson theater. You’d have to re-route Basin St maybe through some of the existing surface lots to make it fit, IMO. But you’d also have to fight preservationists that wouldn’t want to see the Municipal torn down. Other than the riverfront, the only other place in the city that I think might be viable would be a lakefront location over by the UNO arena.

 

Two or 3 years ago, I would have said that a location in the city would be fine, maybe even desirable. I’m not intending this to start a political debate/discussion, but I don’t want to go into the city at all right now with the way crime is. Hell, we’re leaving for vacation on Saturday morning and will probably go out of our way to go around the city rather than take I-10/610 through it. I would much rather a suburban site with the current environment.

 

GeauxColonels is  correct about the size limitations at the Municipal Auditorium site, and the preservation angle.  What he left out, but touched on in a tangential way with his reference to out-of-control crime, is that no one is going to want to put a soccer stadium in that site,  almost adjacent to not one, but TWO public housing sites, or "projects" (Iberville and Lafitte), regardless of how "prettied up" they have been via the HOPE VI  redevelopment process. 

 

It's a sad state of affairs...  the Municipal Auditorium building has been empty for over 15 years. 

 

FIFTEEN YEARS. 

 

It's a travesty, a disgrace, but typical for what passes for "governance" in the City of New Orleans.  See this article for a pretty good history of the situation, decay, and the city's dereliction of duty:

The Drama of New Orleans' Municipal Auditorium

 

But get this-- that particular article was written 5 years ago.  FIVE YEARS.   What's different at the site?  Not a damn thing.  For quite some time, Mayor Latoya Cantrell had announced plans to convert the building into a new City Hall, but last December the City Council passed a resolution preventing those plans.

 

And if nothing is done in the next few weeks, the City will lose out on over $39 MILLION in "free" FEMA money to fix up the building for a new use.  See:

• New Orleans Municipal Auditorium needs urgent attention, or the city loses out on big money
• The clock is ticking on FEMA funds for restoration of Municipal Auditorium; City doesn’t have current plan to use them.

 

Re:  Metairie; it's far from "out of the way".   New Orleans is not like other cities: bounded by water and swamps on almost all sides, it's very compact.    Zephyrs Stadium is only 8 miles/15 mins.  from the downtown Superdome and Arena. 

 

Compare to,  for instance in MLS, Austin FC's Q2 Stadium in Austin, which is about 11 miles from downtown Austin,  or FC Dallas' Toyota Stadium, which is about 30 miles from downtown Dallas.   USL-wise, it's shorter than the distance between San Diego Loyal's new Snapdragon Stadium and downtown San Diego (about 10 miles), or San Antonio FC's Toyota Stadium, which is about 12 miles from the Alamo in downtown S.A.

 

The bigger issue to me is what kind of place the ownership wants-- a very safe, suburban location geared more to families with kids, or a more urban environment favored by the young hipsters that seem to be the target demographic of soccer these days.   The last paragraph of Geaux's post is getting to be a very common theme amongst a lot of the far suburban and exurban folks in this region, which would include the populous moneyed bedroom communities on the north shore (of Lake Pontchartrain) (and St. Tammany is the 4th largest Parish in the state).  Simply put, they won't come into the New Orleans city limits for anything-- Mardi Gras parades, sporting events, concerts, or even travel through the city (there have been a slew of random shootings at and into cars traveling on I-10 on New Orleans East)-- because they are scared of the rampant crime there .

 

Just my two cents, but a downtown stadium, in my mind, will likely cost the team money.  I think it will be a lot easier to get the young hipster types to come out to the near suburbs for a soccer game than it will be to get those moneyed families to come into the heart of the city.