North America Pro Soccer 2024

[MJWalker45]

Just now, GDAWG said:

 

Only DC Power is owned by an MLS team.  

Yup. But I also wonder if the USL is hoping to pull in other MLS teams? Granted I'd expect them to go with the NWSL instead. 

[GDAWG]

Just now, MJWalker45 said:

Yup. But I also wonder if the USL is hoping to pull in other MLS teams? Granted I'd expect them to go with the NWSL instead. 

 

USL Fans don't want any involvement from MLS.  On the USL Reddit it's "F Garber" and "F MLS" as they have delusions of grandeur over USL Championship getting D1 Status and competing against MLS.  

[Brian in Boston]

22 hours ago, GDAWG said:

There are two women's teams in DC, with the DC Power of the Super League apparently owned by the MLS DC United. 

Is DC Power Football Club actually owned by D.C. United?

Everything that I've seen indicates that Devin Talbott - who holds a minority stake in D.C. United - is a member of the DC Power ownership group that is headed by businesswoman Jan Adams. Additional members of the ownership group are real estate executive Jordan Stuart and his wife Stacey Stuart, WNBA player Angel Reese, MLB player Josiah Gray, NHL player Hendrix Lapierre, and actress Crystal Renee Hayslett.

I knew that the DC Power Football Club was set to play its home matches at Audi Field and utilize some of D.C. United's staff, but I hadn't heard anything about the MLS club acquiring a controlling interest in the club. I may have missed news of that development.

[Dilbert]

Canada is getting womens pro soccer. The Northern Super League will begin play in 2025 in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.

[GDAWG]

 

[Digby]

More scuttlebutt about the Sounders maybe building a stadium of their own a decade from now. Still have to feel like this is just posturing to get a better deal/improvements at the 'Hawks stadium, it's hard to see how anything else would be a smart long-term play for the team.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

20 hours ago, Digby said:

More scuttlebutt about the Sounders maybe building a stadium of their own a decade from now. Still have to feel like this is just posturing to get a better deal/improvements at the 'Hawks stadium, it's hard to see how anything else would be a smart long-term play for the team.

 

I could be wrong, but I thought that because of the World Cup, Lumen Field is getting grass permanently.

 

If that's the case, what other upgrades could Seattle want? 

 

The Sounders are having a down year attendance wise,  but that has nothing to do with the stadium and everything to do with how boring they are to watch.

[MJWalker45]

18 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

I could be wrong, but I thought that because of the World Cup, Lumen Field is getting grass permanently.

 

If that's the case, what other upgrades could Seattle want? 

 

The Sounders are having a down year attendance wise,  but that has nothing to do with the stadium and everything to do with how boring they are to watch.

Lumen will have grass for the tournament at least, but I think they should keep it permanently. If the Mariners can maintain grass inside T-Mobile Park, there's no reason they can't do the same for Lumen Field.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

1 hour ago, MJWalker45 said:

Lumen will have grass for the tournament at least, but I think they should keep it permanently. If the Mariners can maintain grass inside T-Mobile Park, there's no reason they can't do the same for Lumen Field.

 

There was a time NexTurf (or whatever) was seen as a game changer, but I think lately it's more known for those weird black pellets that fly up on tackles.

 

Lumen installed grass for Copa America Centenario and it looked fantastic. I hope they can make it happen for forever.

 

I'd also add that a key difference between the baseball and football stadiums is a lid. No one's playing baseball in the rain (and mud), but that would absolutely be the case for both the Sounders and the Seahawks.

[MJWalker45]

4 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

There was a time NexTurf (or whatever) was seen as a game changer, but I think lately it's more known for those weird black pellets that fly up on tackles.

 

Lumen installed grass for Copa America Centenario and it looked fantastic. I hope they can make it happen for forever.

 

I'd also add that a key difference between the baseball and football stadiums is a lid. No one's playing baseball in the rain (and mud), but that would absolutely be the case for both the Sounders and the Seahawks.

The fact that it's so open to the elements is the best reason to switch back to grass. Seattle gets enough rain to justify it, let alone how much better hybrid grass fields can handle football and soccer being played at the same time. 

[Digby]

2 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

If that's the case, what other upgrades could Seattle want? 

 

 

Upgrades on the balance sheet I suspect. Less on rent, more commissions on beer sales.

 

I guess I could see the appeal of having an SSS even if you don't look as terrible in the non-SSS the way that Chicago and NYC and NE have. But a low-rent move to the 'burbs feels so 20 years ago -- when was the last time an MLS team willingly moved to a *worse* location? Flies in the face of everything that we've learned since Seattle themselves joined.

[GDAWG]

Chicago Red Stars at Wrigley Field

 

 

[Dilbert]

At least this was just for one game, but we got to get soccer off the baseball diamonds. And I aint just talking about this event or NYCFC. Im talking teams in the USL as well.

[GDAWG]

 

[Digby]

On 2024-06-09 at 12:08 PM, Dilbert said:

At least this was just for one game, but we got to get soccer off the baseball diamonds. And I aint just talking about this event or NYCFC. Im talking teams in the USL as well.

 

For the occasional one-off "event" game I guess it's fine. People should know what they're getting into for buying tickets, like the people who get nosebleeds for a Winter Classic at a football stadium. (RIP the people who got tickets along the 3rd base line.)

 

At least the ivy walls are a nice TV backdrop, compared to the billboards of Yankee Stadium.

 

 

[GDAWG]

On 6/9/2024 at 11:08 AM, Dilbert said:

At least this was just for one game, but we got to get soccer off the baseball diamonds. And I aint just talking about this event or NYCFC. Im talking teams in the USL as well.

 

USL Championship has been really slow on that front.  One of their newer teams, Brooklyn FC will play in a baseball stadium.  And this is a league whose fans on Reddit and social media have been clamoring for them to be a D1 league to compete against MLS. They can't do that if 1 or 2 teams fold after the season and teams are still playing in baseball stadiums with no future solution.  At least New York City FC has a timeline on when they will finally leave Yankee Stadium but none of the USL Championship stadiums who play in baseball stadiums have a timeline on when they will leave.  

[Dilbert]

The preliminary deadline for NWSL expansion applications has recently passed. The league is looking to award a franchise by the end of the year joining Boston in 2026. Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Minneapolis/St Paul appear to be at the top of the list, with Atlanta, Denver, Jacksonville and Nashville also being possibilities. St Louis however appears to be out of the running.

[Brian in Boston]

ESPN - U.S. Soccer must face trial over MLS, NASL competition

The North American Soccer League's antitrust lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer is going to trial, with deliberations set to get underway on September 9th.

The primary issue at the trial's core is whether the USSF's Professional League Standards were selectively applied and waived in order to suppress competition from the NASL while benefitting MLS and other pro soccer leagues. 

[MJWalker45]

https://www.nbcsports.com/pressbox/press-releases/usl-super-league-and-peacock-ink-multiyear-media-rights-agreement-as-part-of-new-and-expanded-nbcuniversal-streaming-technology-partnership

USL Super League will be on Peacock.

 

"Tampa, Fla., and New York, NY (June 13, 2024) – The USL Super League, a new Division One professional women’s soccer league beginning play in the U.S. this summer, and Peacock announced today that the streaming service will become the “Official Home of the USL Super League,” beginning in the league’s inaugural season. The multi-year agreement is the centerpiece of an expanded partnership with NBCUniversal that will see additional USL leagues and properties leverage NBC Sports Next’s SportsEngine Play streaming service and innovative digital products.

Starting with the USL Super League’s weekend August 17-18, every regular season and playoff match – 115 matches, combined – will be available to stream on Peacock for fans in the United States".

[Digby]

On 2024-06-12 at 7:38 PM, Dilbert said:

The preliminary deadline for NWSL expansion applications has recently passed. The league is looking to award a franchise by the end of the year joining Boston in 2026. Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Minneapolis/St Paul appear to be at the top of the list, with Atlanta, Denver, Jacksonville and Nashville also being possibilities. St Louis however appears to be out of the running.

 

There's some legal machinations against Boston's stadium plan that have me worried, brought about by a coalition of the usual NIMBYs that keep Boston sucky, the annoying old white ladies from Newton who run the parks conservancy, and the local bigots who reflexively oppose everything Michelle Wu does as mayor. I was pretty skeptical that Franklin Park made any sense for a pro team but the stadium plan that the NWSL group put out was pretty complete, thoughtful, and respectful to the surroundings. But this is Boston so we'd rather have a crumbling condemned ruin if it keeps out-of-towners from parking on our street.