patsox Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 I'm glad Miami will not be getting an expansion side. IMO giving them a team would have been a huge roll of the dice. Vancouver and Portland seem like good choices though. From what I hear, those two cities are relatively soccer-crazy and that's always a good thing when you are starting a soccer club. Ottawa also seemed like a decent place, but then again Ontario already has one MLS side and I like the idea of putting a squad on the west coast of Canada better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJM Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Agree with what was mentioned earlier...Single Table would eliminate any unbalance in Western/Eastern Confs. (MLF) Chicago Cannons, (IHA) Phoenix Firebirds - 2021 Xtreme Cup Champions (WAFL) Phoenix Federals - WAFL World Bowl XII Champions (Defunct) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Rumours are coming in now. Vancouver and Portland are in.Portland would be great. The Timbers have great fan support, and MLS would do well to preserve their rivalry with the Sounders. The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrySmalls Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 Rumours are coming in now. Vancouver and Portland are in.Portland would be great. The Timbers have great fan support, and MLS would do well to preserve their rivalry with the Sounders.Add to that the Northwest Cup (or whatever they come up with) and you're set for fiercely competitive matches amongst the three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 They've already got a great one - the Cascadia Cup.I love the idea of transporting these rivalries to MLS - could they have finally done something completely right? The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STL FANATIC Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 They probably can. And I'm probably just bitter (nay, extremely bitter).But can the NW support three brand new teams? JUSTIN STRIEBEL | PORTFOLIO | RESUME | CONTACT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Well, those are three separate markets. Far enough away from each other so as not to overlap, close enough to fuel a natural rivalry. The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee. Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Vancouver is three hours from Seattle, 5 1/2 hours from Portland.Population-wise, Seattle is 3.3 million Metro, Portland 2.2 million Metro, Vancouver 2.1 million Metro. All three cities boast large communities from soccer-crazy nations.I don't think it'll be an issue, personally. Welcome to DrunjFlix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burmy Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 1. Miami tried to build their bid around attracting an aging David Beckham (especially since he's likely going to stay with AC Milan and not come back to the MLS). There are 164 other quality starters in MLS, so let's not risk having it be a "one-man league"...doomed from the start.2. In my POV, Vancouver is a lock to get that MLS team. Considering the competition, I think they have the strongest shot yet. Portland is also a GREAT choice, with strong support for their USL-1 team, one of the better "owners" in sports, Merritt Paulson, and the stadium looking like it'll go smoother than I thought at first.3. Seattle has already proven (before its inaugural season kicks off) that it can handle the big leagues (Sounders FC is a bigger season-ticket seller than the Mariners this year!) Bringing the Cascadia Cup to MLS will only make it stronger. Also, we don't need to wait a year for the name to be chosen; the owners will most likely go with a professionalized version of their USL identities (Whitecaps FC and Timbers FC will work very well).4. You haven't heard the last of Atlanta, Miami, Montreal, Ottawa, and St. Louis' quests for MLS yet! The league is expected to accept two more teams for 2013, so expect to see this happen all over again in two years (likely joined by such cities as Las Vegas, Long Island, Detroit, Phoenix, Minnesota, Cleveland, and maybe a few others) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvus Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 They probably can. And I'm probably just bitter (nay, extremely bitter).But can the NW support three brand new teams?Portland is 176 Miles from Seattle. Vancouver is 142 Miles from Seattle. These are distinct markets and I don't think overlap is a concern.Edit: Also, these aren't really new teams either. The Sounders are moving up from USL to MLS. Whitecaps and Timbers are looking to do the same thing. All three teams can trace lineage back to NASL days as well, so there's history to draw on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosioux76 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Portland's MLS bid could be in some trouble.My story: http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/s...02/daily77.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STL FANATIC Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 So what city are they gonna get to put a bid in to keep St. Louis out? JUSTIN STRIEBEL | PORTFOLIO | RESUME | CONTACT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Your Name Here Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I suppose that this isn't the fans' problem, but where would Vancouver and Portland moving up leave USL-1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrySmalls Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 I suppose that this isn't the fans' problem, but where would Vancouver and Portland moving up leave USL-1?Wouldn't they promote the top clubs in USL-2 and subsequently the best teams and profitable in the PDL to USL-2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikstoll Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I suppose that this isn't the fans' problem, but where would Vancouver and Portland moving up leave USL-1?Wouldn't they promote the tops clubs in USL-2 and subsequentially the best teams and profitable in the PDL to USL-2?tis possiblecleveland is comin up this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Your Name Here Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Wouldn't they promote the top clubs in USL-2 and subsequently the best teams and profitable in the PDL to USL-2?If they're interested. It's not as though there's much more profit, if profit at all, to be made from the move. How many USL-1 sides have auto-demoted themselves? Pittsburgh and Richmond come to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrySmalls Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 Wouldn't they promote the top clubs in USL-2 and subsequently the best teams and profitable in the PDL to USL-2?If they're interested. It's not as though there's much more profit, if profit at all, to be made from the move. How many USL-1 sides have auto-demoted themselves? Pittsburgh and Richmond come to mind.OR they can simply add expansion teams to USL-1, like the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riot! Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Wouldn't they promote the top clubs in USL-2 and subsequently the best teams and profitable in the PDL to USL-2?If they're interested. It's not as though there's much more profit, if profit at all, to be made from the move. How many USL-1 sides have auto-demoted themselves? Pittsburgh and Richmond come to mind.OR they can simply add expansion teams to USL-1, like the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2010.I think that would be the course they take. Rather than promoting teams. Help Change My User Name to Riot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrySmalls Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 Would they put a USL-1 club back in Atlanta since that expansion bid didnt take off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Your Name Here Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 That's my point, USL-1 franchises are often fleeting. Portland and Vancouver (Seattle too, for that matter) are two of the more stable operations in the league. If these keep leaving, there won't be much of a hard core outside of Rochester and Montreal. North American soccer could become top heavy, i.e. MLS or cross your fingers. What with the exorbitant travel costs, I wonder if the PDL model of regional conferences might not be worth considering for USL-1 and 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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