Colorado Rapids now the Colorado Arsenal?

[roxfan00]

as somebody said on big soccer...it's searching for launch codes. lol

Heh, I can see the billboards now . . . "Colorado Arsenal . . . Would You Like to Play a Game?"

haha clever...well NORAD is in Colorado.

[Fred T. Jane]

Colorado's association with NORAD makes it a more than suitable nickname, IMNSFHO.

True, but since the stadium is near the old Rocky Mountain Arsenal, I think a name change to something like "Rocky Mountain Arsenal <Insert Obligatory FC Here>" would be better than Colorado Arsenal FC.

But that's just me.

[Gothamite]

Go 3#OPR>W!

[gosioux76]

My guess is that today they will either reveal the word "Colorado" at the top of the logo. Or, maybe to drag it out a few more weeks and be even more irritating, reveal the identity one letter at a time.

[leopard88]

I would like to immediately call for a mascot that looks like Dabney Coleman.

I was thinking a young Matthew Broderick. I would say Ally Sheedy, but that wouldn't be nearly as intimidating as the future Ferris Bueller.

[yh]

I would like to immediately call for a mascot that looks like Dabney Coleman.

I was thinking a young Matthew Broderick. I would say Ally Sheedy, but that wouldn't be nearly as intimidating as the future Ferris Bueller.

Bollocks. Barry Corbin kicks all of their asses. "Hell, I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it'd help!"

[roxfan00]

This was just posted on coloradorapids.com

Rapids European Preseason Trip to Take Team to London

(2/8/2007)

For the Rapids second international trip of the pre-season the team will be going to England from March 8 to the 13 where Fernando Clavijo?s side will be training at the Arsenal Football Club?s Training Center at Colney.

During their time in the London the team will play a couple of exhibition matches against local teams.

Schedule and opponents for the Rapids will be announced on a later date.

Earlier in the offseason Jacob Peterson and Hunter Freeman made a trip to London with the MLS Generation adidas team.

[roxfan00]

Now according to the MLS main website the Rapids will announce at 3pm ET, 1 MT a major groundbreaking international partnership(Arsenal maybe?) and major club changes.

[roxfan00]

Revealed: the US billionaire who is in talks with Arsenal

By Nick Harris

Published: 09 February 2007

Arsenal are involved in advanced talks with a billionaire American sports tycoon, Stan Kroenke, about forming a ground-breaking partnership with Kroenke's Major League Soccer franchise, the Colorado Rapids, The Independent can reveal.

The deal will primarily focus on Arsenal's push for expansion in America, initially at least, but an intriguing aspect is that it will put Arsenal into business with Kroenke, one of America's richest men with a personal fortune of more than $2bn (£1.02bn).

Kroenke, 59, a property magnate, is a prolific sports investor whose portfolio includes the NFL's St Louis Rams, the NBA's Denver Nuggets, the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, and the Rapids. He sees huge potential for football in America, evidenced by heavy investment in the Rapids, including a new, dedicated stadium that will open for the 2007 season. But he has watched with interest as his compatriots Malcolm Glazer, Randy Lerner, George Gillett Jnr and Tom Hicks have bought Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool, and is understood to be open-minded about branching out in England himself.

There is no suggestion that Arsenal's current major shareholders - Danny Fiszman (25 per cent), Nina Bracewell-Smith (15.9 per cent) or David Dein (14.6 per cent) - are looking to sell, but Kroenke would give them a ready-made option if that changed and Kroenke wanted to expand his interests across the Atlantic. Another shareholder, Granada TV (9.9 per cent), would like to offload its shares, but those alone would not hand the buyer significant power.

With three of England's "big four" - United, Chelsea and Liverpool - already in foreign hands, Arsenal alone remain under British ownership. This had led to inevitable takeover rumours in the past year, not dampened by the fact that the hedge fund Lansdowne Partners has been stockpiling Arsenal shares (2.7 per cent). Lansdowne also bought into pre-takeover United, eventually selling to Glazer.

Under the terms of the proposed Arsenal-Rapids alliance, it is planned that the Rapids will be renamed, and become either Arsenal Colorado or Colorado Arsenal. There are also plans to change the colour of the team strip to match the historic maroon strip Arsenal wore last season.

Both the proposed names have been trademarked by Kroenke's Sports Enterprises firm, and their website domain names have been registered to KSE headquarters in Denver, Colorado, in anticipation of the deal being signed. The tie-up could also see the teams play against each other in friendlies, work on coaching initiatives, and develop players. The Rapids have plans to visit England for pre-season training before the 2007 MLS season starts in April. It is not known yet whether they will use Arsenal's facilities. The Rapids will play the final game of their pre-season tour against Valencia in Spain on 21 March.

Arsenal have been involved with a variety of partnership agreements, including the Belgian team Beveren and an academy in the Ivory Coast. They also have a "technical partnership" with Spain's Celta Vigo, a club increasingly likely to be used as a "staging post" for South American talent en route to London. The Rapids tie-up would give Arsenal access to North American talent, or be an option for young players to gain experience.

One stumbling block to Arsenal's link with the Rapids is that MLS rules do not allow franchises to change names or team colours without 18 months' notice, unless a penalty payment is made. Legal work to resolve this issue is ongoing. Arsenal ideally want the deal to begin in time for the 2007 season, when the international media spotlight will focus on the MLS with the arrival of David Beckham at LA Galaxy. An added complication is whether adidas, which provides kit for all MLS teams, will have time to produce a new Arsenal Colorado strip in time for this season's kick-off.

An important figure in forging the partnership is Jeff Plush, 41, the Rapids' vice-president and managing director, who is also a key man in the KSE empire. It is understood he is an Arsenal fan. He has specialised in recent years in the expansion of KSE's "strategic business initiatives, new media enterprises, and brand development".

The Gillett and Hicks takeover at Anfield has highlighted a growing desire by American sports tycoons to invest in English football. In a development which is separate from the Kroenke-Arsenal talks, The Independent understands that another American billionaire, with three franchises "in US sports", has been looking at Premiership clubs. A well-connected source at a New York investment firm said that this unnamed owner considered a bid for Liverpool last year. The source said that the person in question is not Robert Kraft, the owner of the NFL's New England Patriots, whose previous interest in Liverpool was well publicised, but declined to say who it is. The speculator is believed to be considering other options.

Arsenal are an attractive option because of their international status, while Newcastle are seen as ripe for a takeover. The owners of Manchester City and Reading would sell to the right bidder but probably lack the name recognition an American would crave.

source: http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/pr...icle2251275.ece

[AJM]

Nice find...with the outlined trip and information provided, this all but locks up the partnership.

[Roger Clemente]

I can't be the only one who finds naming any sports team FC or AC (or even HC in hockey) incredibly lazy and unoriginal. I don't mind using a regional identity ONLY if it was a tournament that is specifically geared towards regional competition (like the Olympics, or the World Cup). But if it's a league that can possess multiple team in each state, province or even city, please come up with a team nickname, even if it's just a color, like the Reds or Blues or Browns. United, in it's overuse is also becoming a lazy choice for team (and when you break it down, is pretty much another word for "team" for crying out loud.)

Even the NCAA, the only professional athletic organization that is as or more confusing than UEFA, has teams that have mascots or team names separate from their location.

Then again, there are the teams, like Arsenal F.C. who don't even make it known where on earth they are located. Honestly, I never would have guessed by looking at the Arsenal logo that they are from a place called Holloway. Those annoy me even more.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[duma]

so... can anyone make a mockup of the new Colorado kit in Adidas template using Arsenal throwback colors from last season of maroon, gold and white?

[Brian in Boston]

Nice find...with the outlined trip and information provided, this all but locks up the partnership.

Some might refer to it as a "partnership", while others might argue that it seems like another step in formalizing a system in which Major League Soccer becomes little more than a minor-league for top-flight European soccer clubs.

Apparently, it wasn't bad enough for the talent level of Division 1 professional soccer in the United States to have our best domestic players shipped-off to European sides once their skills had developed... now we can have Major League Soccer's place in the scheme of international club soccer firmly cemented in the hearts, minds, souls and imaginations of fans worldwide by rebranding MLS squads to ape the names and colors of top European teams.

Hell... even when the National Football League exports American gridiron football to Europe via NFL Europa, the league's teams bear American-style names unique from those being used in the NFL. It's not as if NFL Europa is comprised of the Amsterdam Buccaneers, Berlin Chargers, Cologne Titans, Frankfurt Vikings, Hamburg Seahawks and Rhein Jaguars.

[Lee.]

Colney.

Dabney Coleman

This is getting way too freaky.

[harperdc]

Some might refer to it as a "partnership", while others might argue that it seems like little more than another step in formalizing a system in which Major League Soccer becomes little more than a minor-league for top-flight European soccer clubs.

Apparently, it wasn't bad enough for the talent level of Division 1 professional soccer in the United States to have our best domestic players shipped-off to European sides once their skills had developed... now we can have Major League Soccer's place in the scheme of international club soccer firmly cemented in the hearts, minds, souls and imaginations of fans worldwide by rebranding MLS squads to ape the names and colors of top European teams.

welcome to the plight of South American leagues, Japanese leagues...hell, minor European leagues as well, a group more and more including Germany as of right now.

the best players want to play in the best league - that's why European players playing in the Euroleague are still jumping into the NBA draft. That's just how the economy of sports works.

and as has been said MANY TIMES already, we're just 80 to 90 years behind the times in regards to aping the styles, looks and names of the European teams - why do you think Arsenal are in red, Juventus in black and white, and Manchester City have used black and red away kits as a tradition? Why are there other teams named "Arsenal" or who use "United" around the globe, and why do you think FC is used so much in countries where that's not how you say "football club" in the native tongue?

I don't mind the way the MLS is working and moving because Rome was not built in a day. This is only a 12-year-old league trying to break into a competitive and VERY established American sports market; it's not going to blossom overnight, and trying to GET it to will just lead to the NASL v. 2.

and, back to the OLDEST FREAKING ARGUMENT on here....they've already tried establishing teams with (mostly bad) American-style nicknames, and are using (IMO better-sounding) European names instead when "the old way" didn't work out.

-------

Arsenal FC (the one in London) won't be bought anytime soon, I don't think they need the cash to sell out like that, and I'm waiting for something official in press-release format until I would start mocking up those new Colorado Arsenal kits. Excuse me for being cynical, but I know how...creative the football press can be in the UK.

[cubbies06]

Colorado Rapids still the name per press conference...

[AJM]

Rapids press conference just wrapped up...it didn't have any sound, which made it impossible to understand what was discussed, but they had logos and kits still with the name Rapids. Both the Manager and Head Coach for Arsenel spoke, but again...no idea what they said.

[cubbies06]

I had sound....Typical "we're excited about this partnership" dialogue...They even plugged the new kit as being available online.....I'm sure Wenger is REALLY excited about a potential USA PR tour...

[TruColor]

Rapids press conference just wrapped up...it didn't have any sound, which made it impossible to understand what was discussed, but they had logos and kits still with the name Rapids. Both the Manager and Head Coach for Arsenel spoke, but again...no idea what they said.

I watched it here locally in Denver...

Still the "Rapids"...new affiliation/partnership with Arsenal FC...since team is owned by Kronke Enterprises, they combined both the Avalanche (Burgundy) and Nuggets (Powder/Sky Blue) colors into the new kits.

Saw Burgundy and Sky Blue kits on display.

[hecticbro]

so... can anyone make a mockup of the new Colorado kit in Adidas template using Arsenal throwback colors from last season of maroon, gold and white?

Why would you need a mock-up? It's just a plain maroon shirt.