Did the New Jersey Nets tease their Brooklyn logo?

[Gothamite]

Apartments? That's a harder sell. At least a SSS can make an argument that it has public usage.

Apartments seem as likely as an office building.

[goforbroke]

If the two football teams can share a stadium then why do two soccer teams need two different stadiums? I live in NJ but I really don't know how popular the red bulls are in the soccer fan community and if they have been selling our their new stadium, but I can't imagine they are popular enough to justify and 2nd NY SSS, why can't they share?

[JQK]

Because Red Bull sucks, probably wouldn't lease out to another team, and the Cosmos want to be "New York"...

Red Bull alienated Jersey fans by slapping New York on their badge, and NY fans hate going to Jersey.

[gyrocol]

If the two football teams can share a stadium then why do two soccer teams need two different stadiums? I live in NJ but I really don't know how popular the red bulls are in the soccer fan community and if they have been selling our their new stadium, but I can't imagine they are popular enough to justify and 2nd NY SSS, why can't they share?

They aren't anywhere near selling out (not even selling 70% of the available seats this season), and generally get zero attention from anybody in NY.

The rationale is that suburban NY teams without roots in the city just don't work (the original Cosmos played in the city before moving to the Meadowlands where they were selling out). Building in Harrison was a big failure, and they want to right that by building in the city.

[Gothamite]

If the two football teams can share a stadium then why do two soccer teams need two different stadiums? I live in NJ but I really don't know how popular the red bulls are in the soccer fan community and if they have been selling our their new stadium, but I can't imagine they are popular enough to justify and 2nd NY SSS, why can't they share?

Soccer teams play twice as many games as football teams, so sharing is a little more complicated.

The problem here is that, unlike a lot of the other New York teams that actually play in the New York suburbs across the Hudson River, the MetroStars/Red Bulls have never made any significant effort to represent the city. They were quite content to ignore New York, and New York has returned the favor. That's why we need our own team.

[NJTank]

They never embraced Jersey either, and while playing in Harison is smart because that has always been a hot bed for soccer it does nothing to get them noticed.

[-kj]

If the two football teams can share a stadium then why do two soccer teams need two different stadiums? I live in NJ but I really don't know how popular the red bulls are in the soccer fan community and if they have been selling our their new stadium, but I can't imagine they are popular enough to justify and 2nd NY SSS, why can't they share?

Because New York is a special case... mostly in its own mind.

[Gothamite]

Hey, I don't want to hear anything about the arrogance of New Yorkers.

Not while a single Texan draws breath.

[-kj]

Hey, I don't want to hear anything about the arrogance of New Yorkers.

Not while a single Texan draws breath.

[tBBP]

Hey, I don't want to hear anything about the arrogance of New Yorkers.

Not while a single Texan draws breath.

Hey, both extremes can be just about as bad. I know...I done been all through both. Many times. (In fact, I will say Texas is worse than New York in this one way: traffic. Take all the worst parts of NYC-area traffic--all the speeding, lane-switching, cutting folks off just to move one spot ahead in a damn traffic jam, yelling, barking, not paying attention to s#!t--and then add that many more lanes to it and you got Texas.)

Anyway, how'd this thread morph into a discussion of the Cosmos? Wasn't this about the Nets?

[tubby34]

How bout them Nets?

[Gothamite]

We need a new Cosmos thread.

About those Nets, though: here's a rendering of the Barclays Center in concert mode:

Shame that it's not just a wee bit bigger to accomodate the Islanders.

[The_Admiral]

Even at its highest possible capacity, it looks like it's one step below full-fledged major arena, like the Nassau Coliseum or Rosemont Horizon. I blame that unusually high end wall. The Euro-style (as opposed to Eurostile) seat-spelling is cool until I remember it's not for the team but for the arena's naming-rights partner. Frowny-face.

[TheOldRoman]

I blame that unusually high end wall.

Are you speaking of the wall behind the stage? It won't be like in Qualcomm where there is a high wall on that one end. That area will be filled in with seats down to the court.

But yes, this has more of a "really nice college arena" feel to it.

[The_Admiral]

No, upper deck. Looks like there's a lot of seating that could be there but isn't. Maybe it's the whole "worst seats cost the most to build" thing. Certainly doesn't help the versatility of the place, though, as we're seeing with hockey.

[TheOldRoman]

Oh, I agree on that. It gives it even more of a college arena feel. This certainly doesn't look like the state-of-the-art stadium I expected.

[andrewharrington]

Hey, I don't want to hear anything about the arrogance of New Yorkers.

Not while a single Texan draws breath.

Hey, both extremes can be just about as bad. I know...I done been all through both. Many times. (In fact, I will say Texas is worse than New York in this one way: traffic. Take all the worst parts of NYC-area traffic--all the speeding, lane-switching, cutting folks off just to move one spot ahead in a damn traffic jam, yelling, barking, not paying attention to s#!t--and then add that many more lanes to it and you got Texas.)

Anyway, how'd this thread morph into a discussion of the Cosmos? Wasn't this about the Nets?

You forgot about the fact that all the vehicles in Texas are twice as large as they are in New York.

[NJTank]

Oh, I agree on that. It gives it even more of a college arena feel. This certainly doesn't look like the state-of-the-art stadium I expected.

They left a first class arena behind in Newark.

[Gothamite]

Oh, I agree on that. It gives it even more of a college arena feel. This certainly doesn't look like the state-of-the-art stadium I expected.

They left a first class arena behind in Newark.

But too few fans.

[Brian in Boston]

So do the cosmos still play? Or do they just sell merch like the globetrotters? I know the trotters still "play" but its the only team that acts more as a nostalgia brand than a real team.

The Cosmos "play," kind of. For their inaugural game, they had a roster made up of retired European veterans like Dwight Yorke and Sol Campbell, no doubt because Eric Cantona is an executive with the club. It's more of an organization formed with the intent of securing the expansion spot in MLS.

Exactly.

After the NASL folded, the Cosmos moved into youth camps. The organization was sold to new owners a year ago with an eye towards joining MLS. Everything they've done, including selling merchandise, has been towards that (if you'll forgive me) goal.

The New York Cosmos joined the original North American Soccer League as an expansion team in 1971. The team was founded by brothers Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, Warner Communications CEO Steve Ross, and several other minority investors that Ross brought into the fold. The franchise eventually became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Warner Communications. Warner ultimately sold-off Global Soccer, Inc. - the business entity which operated the Cosmos - as part of a corporate reorganization undertaken to stave off a hostile takeover attempt of Warner Communications. Soon thereafter, the NASL folded.

Cosmos' player Giorgio Chinaglia - always a favorite of Steve Ross - was part of the group that purchased the Cosmos from Warner Communications. Following the demise of the NASL, Chinaglia made the decision to operate the New York Cosmos as a Major Indoor Soccer League franchise. The team played just 33 games of the 1984-85 MISL season before folding.

In 1977, the New York Cosmos had established a youth training division - Soccer Camps of America. Through Soccer Camps of America, the Cosmos administered the Cosmos Soccer Camps, Pele Soccer Camps, Giorgio Chinaglia Soccer Academy, Franz Beckenbauer Soccer Camps, Carlos Alberto Soccer Camps, and Werner Roth Soccer Safari. After the MISL New York Cosmos folded, Soccer Camps of America continued to be a going concern, conducting Cosmos-branded youth soccer camps under the leadership of the New York Cosmos' last general manager, G. Peppe Pinton. As part of administering the camp business, Pinton maintained control of the trademarks to the New York Cosmos' name and logo.

In August of 2009, Pinton sold the rights to the New York Cosmos name and logo to English businessman Paul Kemsley. One year later, Kemsley - the former vice-chairman of English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur - publicly announced his desire to acquire a Major League Soccer expansion team that he could brand with the New York Cosmos identity. Kemsley introduced former Cosmos great Pelé as the planned franchise's honorary president on that day, and would go on to tab David Beckham confidante Terry Byrne as the club's vice-chairman, former French international footballer Eric Cantona as the team's director of soccer, and former US soccer player Cobi Jones as the squad's associate director.

On August 3, 2011, the new New York Cosmos organization fielded a team that took the pitch versus Manchester United in Paul Scholes' testimonial match. The Cosmos side was comprised of the likes of Nicky Butt, Wayne Bridge, Sol Campbell, Fabio Cannavaro, Brad Friedel, Robbie Keane, Gary Neville, and Patrick Vieira, playing alongside members of the Cosmos U-23 team.

On October 26, 2011, the New York Cosmos announced that Paul Kemsley was stepping-down as the organization's chairman and CEO. Though the reason cited was Kemsley's desire "to pursue other interests and commitments", rumor had it that unidentified parties underwriting Kemsley's efforts with the Cosmos were unhappy with the lavish spending he was engaging in, as well as the overall direction his stewardship of the organization had taken.

On November 2, 2011, the New York Cosmos announced that a buyout of the company had taken place, with a restructuring of the organization and its management structure to come in the near future. It has been reported that the new owners are Saudi Arabian sports marketing firm Sela Sport.