So could mods move the appropriate ATL * PHI threads to their forums so they don't look so empty? ^.^ Anyway, for furthur discussion, I found this very thorough post by one Grace Weitz on the WPS Fans' Corner site: Real post here so you can actually follow the links. ^.^''
I second the 'woot.' I went to the customer service forum and posted a thank you. As for possible further expansion, the very first thing any potential city needs is an ownership group with the deep pockets to not only fork over the fee but also carry a team's initial (for how long?) losses. Without that owner & deep pockets, nothing will happen. I would like WPS to be very careful about expanding and to focus on building the league first. That said, an even number of teams makes it much easier to get games played in a more condensed time frame (and eliminates some of the need for bye weeks and/or midweek games). I believe StarCityFan posted about that on either the attendance thread or a previous expansion thread. As for the cities you mention (or rather the article to which you link mentions), eliminate Detroit at the very beginning. Even thinking that there might be an ownership group there (which I doubt), the economy in Detroit isn't just in the crapper, it is terribly horrible. There simply isn't the economic base to support local sponsorships, ticket purchases, etc for a niche section of a niche sport. The Detroit Shock have been a successful (on the court) franchise and they very well might not survive. (please note, I am not one to think that the WNBA as a whole will shutdown but the Detroit situation is not good. The very supportive owner died, the economy there is terrible, and well, it doesn't look good). I don't see a WPS team being successful there. I think it would be a BIG waste of WPS resources for them to even try. As for "the Carolinas," if there was an owner willing to put up the money, I think there would already be a team here. It just looks like, to me, that no one wants to own a team. I'd love to be wrong, since I live in NC, but I'll believe it when I see it (or I win the Powerball). According to the ever reliable wiki*, the Railhawks averaged ~3800 last year. (note to self, get your lazy butt to a game. it isn't that far away). In Antonucci's interview w/ Purdy for soccernet[/url] she said I do not think Dallas is "an ideal place" for the simple fact that they were slated to be one of the original teams and they were unable to get their act together (I've read they couldn't find a place to play but I'm guessing there were other problems, too) to have a team in 2009 or 2010. *this post contradicts wiki and suggests that 2008 av. was 4800.
I think WPS would be great in Seattle, but I dont think Qwest would be the place for them to do it. An idea situation ( if they can fix parking) is to expand Starfire or build a new stadium ( about 10-12k) on the other side of the river ( like one of the bids for MLS had). WPS could have it as their home field and the Sounders could use it for friendlies and Open Cups that the current Starfire main field uses. Of course it would take someone with pockets to make it true.
Geographically, I think the Pacific Northwest and either Dallas or Denver are the logical places for expansion. But it all comes down to getting an ownership team and a venue, more than geography. Here in the mid-Atlantic area we'll have three teams next year that are within a couple of hours of drive of each other, simply because there were willing owners and available stadiums in all three areas.
Detroit entering the picture? Canadian firm submits winning bid of $583,000 for Silverdome What? Why was MLS capitalized but now WPS? Rawr. All joking aside, I don't know much about the Detroit situation, besides what was already mentioned above in the thread. What do you all make of this purchase/bid?
Looks like Detroit could be poised to make a move if this goes through...http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement...erdome-into-soccer-stadium?mod=realestate-buy Some serious renovations would be in order, just in the sheer size of the stadium alone. I don't know that it will really work logistically but someone seems to want to give it a shot.
From the Seattle thread: Personally I think Detroit and Carolina are much more viable and likely for expansion to WPS than Houston and Toronto, Detroit because of the above couple posts, and Carolina because of the strong history of women's soccer there. For the same reason, I would be incredibly surprised if Houston came in before Dallas did. Though, I guess, in the end, it does all come down to ownership groups.... And I make and emphatic NO vote to conferences/divisions. We have it correct right now, and I see only complications if we screw with that aspect of WPS's structure.
With the Sol dispersal, can we get some love for San Diego?!? They were well supported in the WUSA and I can only imagine that the fee to play at Toreros stadium is a wee bit cheaper than HDC.
Here's a cheer for San Diego. I think that would be a great locale. My expansion picks: San Diego, Seattle, Salt Lake City. Sssheesh. Yea, places that begin with an S.
The Freedom did, more or less, but I'm not sure how much sense it makes overall. You can build on the coaching staff and maybe a few front office personnel, but there's not going to be a whole lot of commonality between a W-League team and a WPS team in the same location. Perhaps if you have some fan loyalty already, it would make sense.
'Nother article: http://www.examiner.com/x-4128-Bost...USWNT-and-World-Cup-expanding-broadcast-deals Not sure whether or not I'm surprised to still see Dallas in the mix.
looking at the WPS map, They need teams out west or down south. FC gold pride is to alone out there. San Diego Colorado Northwest team Texas Team http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_Professional_Soccer
There is potential that the W-League's Buffalo Flash will make a push for a WPS expansion slot next season. Ownership is seriously considering putting in a formal application to the league, from what my sources tell me. Just my $.02.... Aaron
Interesting. They have some former WPS players on their roster. What's their local sponsorship support and attendance like?
The USL website reports attendance for their five home games so far as: 240, (not given), 127, 209, 323. Familiar-sounding names on the roster include Kelly Parker, Mele French, Jenny Anderson-Hammond, Kimberly Brandao, and Analisa Marquez.
StarCity had it right - attendance is in the 200-300 range for most games, but that's without a lot of local publicity. IMHO, sponsorship is pretty good, with Mazda leading the way (on their kits). So, from all appearances, they have a good beginning setup to make a push for WPS. Local ownership is the owner of a meat manufacturing company (known for their hot dogs, mostly). He owns one of the indoor soccer facilities in the area as well, so he's really committed to soccer at the local level. I think that WPS will give him a decent look, and seriously consider the product he's putting on the field. The management team has been successful in running the show from Day 1, and the output has been fairly consistent over the past 2 seasons. The biggest issue I see them having is the stadium - the only one that I can think of that would meet WPS approval would be Alumni Stadium at the University of Buffalo (aka UB). If UB doesn't allow them to play there, that would be the one big thing that would kill off any expansion bid.
This might interest some of you given this forum, so I thought I would just post it: Buffalo Flash could seek 2011 WPS expansion team I would call it a 99.9% chance Buffalo is in the W-League next year, but I find it interesting that the club would be confident enough to think it can step right into WPS. Also a take on cutting travel: Condensing geographic region of WPS could help league flourish Ideally, WPS can just expand West and play in two conferences to cut travel. Unfortunately, that is a long, long way from happening.
According to Tonia Antonucci, the leading candidates are Los Angeles and Dallas, with Denver as another possibility. http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/sections/wps2.php?article_id=24508
Expansion talk The Los Angeles Sol ceased operations in January and St. Louis Athletica shockingly folded during the season in May, but WPS expansion talks have still moved forward in several markets. Members of a potential ownership group seeking to bring a team to Dallas were in Pennsylvania two weeks ago to tour the Philadelphia Independence's facilities and talk more seriously about acquiring a 2012 expansion team. Dallas and Los Angeles are the leading candidates. Independence owner and WPS expansion committee co-chairman David Halstead identified Seattle as the more distant third candidate. Other areas that have had at least preliminary talks include Denver, Vancouver, San Diego, Ontario, Miami and Kansas City, where a group is interested in bringing a team to the new Wizards Stadium that is set to open next year. "We have two or three or four qualified leads where we have actually gone beyond the general information and they are sincerely interested in getting into the details," Halstead said. Interestingly, the western New York market became a potential surprise entry after the Buffalo Flash won the 2010 USL W-League Championship last month. The Flash ownership group, led by Joe Sahlen, is exploring options in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. The 2011 season is just eight months away and successfully launching a team with such a short lead time could prove impossible, but Buffalo sees an opportunity to ride the momentum of its W-League title into WPS. Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jeff_kassouf/08/11/solo.tweeting.notes/#ixzz0wQLBkdGS I am loving some of the areas being talked about especially seattle and vancouver. I think the northwest would do very well with wps and I also like the thought of kansas city bringing in a team with their new stadium.